Battle of Charleston
1862 CE.
Shown on the map at 38.347°, -81.635°.
The Battle of Charleston was a Confederate victory in Kanawha County, Virginia, on September 13, 1862, during the American Civil War. Troops led by Major General William W. Loring defeated a Union force led by Colonel Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn. This battle, which featured the extensive use of artillery but few casualties, was the second major fight in Loring's Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862 that succeeded in driving Union forces out of the Kanawha River Valley. All points in the Kanawha River Valley were in the southwestern part of Virginia at the time of the battle, but are now part of the state of West Virginia. After a victory in the Battle of Fayetteville on September 10, and a pursuit down the Kanawha River, Loring caught Lightburn's force at Charleston during the morning of September 13. Much of the fighting became an artillery duel, especially after Lightburn brought his command to the west side of the Elk River. Once Lightburn burned a bridge across the river, it became difficult for Loring to continue his pursuit. Lightburn retreated to the safety of Ohio, but abandoned the direct route along the Kanawha River to avoid Confederate cavalry waiting for him.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Charleston (1862), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.