Learning of Col. Erastus Tyler's rout at Kessler's Cross Lanes, Brig. Gen.William S. Rosecrans moved three brigades south from Clarksburg to support him. On the afternoon of September 10, he advanced against Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd's camps at Carnifex Ferry. Darkness halted several hours' fighting. The strength of the Union artillery convinced Floyd to retreat during the night. Floyd blamed his defeat on his co_commander Brig. Gen. Henry A. Wise, contributing to further dissension in the Confederate ranks.
Source
CWSAC Battle Summaries, National Park Service (http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/bycampgn.htm)
The Battle of Philippi or The Philippi Races was fought on June 3, 1861, near what is now Philippi, West Virginia, as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War.
It was the first organized land action in the Eastern Theater of the war, but historians disagree on whether it was primarily a skirmish or a significant battle.
The Union victory in a relatively bloodless battle propelled the young General McClellan into the national spotlight, and he would soon be given command of all Union armies.
The battle of CarnifexFerry, fought on Tuesday, September 10, 1861, in the opening days of the Civil War, may be said to have had a profound influence upon subsequent political and military history in West(ern) Virginia.
In the early part of the battle the fire of the enemy's artillery was high.
Floyd considered the battle a decisive affair, as far as the troops of the Army of the Kanawha were concerned.
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