| Jenkins' Trans–Allegahny Raid | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Civil War | |||||
 Jenkins' route | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 United States (Union) |
 Confederate States | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Col. John C. Rathbone Col. John C. Paxton Ltc. William H.H. Russell |
Br Gen. Albert G. Jenkins
| ||||
| Units involved | |||||
District of the Kanawha
|
Dept. of SW Virginia
| ||||
| Strength | |||||
| ~ varied by location | ~ 550 | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| ~1,300 | 7 | ||||
| Note: Jenkins was sent to attack the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and cut off a Union retreat from the Kanawha River Valley to Ohio. | |||||
Jenkins' Trans-Allegheny Raid was a Confederate cavalry expedition in the American Civil War that took place in Western Virginia (now West Virginia) and Ohio during August and September 1862. The raid was led by Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins, and it started on August 22 as a preliminary step in Confederate Major General William W. Loring's military campaign to drive the Union Army out of the Kanawha River Valley. That campaign, known as the Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862, took place from September 6 through September 16. The purpose of Jenkins' raid was to get behind the Union Army outposts located near the beginning of the Kanawha River, and cut off their main route of retreat to the safety of Ohio.
On the journey to his destination, Jenkins was able to capture several towns and seize valuable supplies and weaponry. He crossed the Ohio River into the state of Ohio, becoming the first Confederate force to invade that state. He moved back into Virginia and reached Buffalo, Virginia, on September 5. By occupying a position along the Kanawha River between the Union Army and Ohio, he completed his assignment to block the Union Army's most direct route of retreat. On the same day, Loring began a march with four brigades toward the Union outposts.
On September 8 Jenkins and a small detachment of his men were attacked by a detachment from the 2nd Loyal Virginia Cavalry, but Jenkins escaped. Although Union leaders believed Jenkins had been removed as a threat, Jenkins was able to regroup and move south up the Guyandotte River. He eventually circled north and waited where the Coal River empties into the Kanawha River. Lightburn, in his retreat after a defeat in the Battle of Charleston on September 13, avoided Jenkins by taking a road north towards Ripley, Virginia, instead of following the turnpike along the Kanawha River.