Other Names: None

Location: Floyd County

Campaign: Offensive in Eastern Kentucky (1862)

Date(s): January 10, 1862

Principal Commanders: Col. James Garfield [US]; Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall [CS]
Forces Engaged: 18th Brigade [US]; brigade [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 92 total (US 27; CS 65)

Description: More than a month after Confederate Col. John S. Williams left Kentucky, following the fight at Ivy Mountain, Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall led another force into southeast Kentucky to continue recruiting activities. From his headquarters in Paintsville, on the Big Sandy River, northwest of Prestonsburg, Marshall recruited volunteers and had a force of more than 2,000 men by early January, but could only partially equip them. Union Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell directed Col. James Garfield to force Marshall to retreat back into Virginia. Leaving Louisa, Garfield took command of the 18th Brigade and began his march south on Paintsville. He compelled the Confederates to abandon Paintsville and retreat to the vicinity of Prestonsburg. Garfield slowly headed south, but swampy areas and numerous streams slowed his movements, and he arrived in the vicinity of Marshall on the 9th. Heading out at 4:00 am on January 10, Garfield marched a mile south to the mouth of Middle Creek, fought off some Rebel cavalry and turned west to attack Marshall. Marshall had put his men in line of battle west and south of the creek near its forks. Garfield attacked shortly after noon, and the fighting continued for most of the afternoon until Union reinforcements arrived in time to dissuade the Confederates from assailing the Federal left. Instead, the Rebels retired south and were ordered back to Virginia on the 24th. Garfield’s force moved to Prestonsburg after the fight and then retired to Paintsville. Union forces had halted the Confederate 1861 offensive in Kentucky, and Middle Creek demonstrated that their strength had not diminished. This victory, along with Mill Springs a little more than a week later, cemented Union control of eastern Kentucky until Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg launched his offensive in the summer and fall. Following these two January victories in Kentucky, the Federals carried the war into Tennessee in February.

Result(s): Union victory (indecisive)

Tags: Big Sandy River, Middle Creek, Paintsville, Prestonsburg

Other Names: Ivy Creek, Ivy Narrows

Location: Floyd County

Campaign: Kentucky Confederate Offensive (1861)

Date(s): November 8-9, 1861

Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. William Nelson and Col. Joshua W. Sill [US]; Col. John S. Williams [CS]

Forces Engaged: Combination of detachments from twelve Union Ohio and Kentucky units [US]; nine companies of infantry and two of mounted men (1,010 men) [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 293 total (US 30; CS 263)

Description: While recruiting in southeast Kentucky, Rebels under Col. John S. Williams ran short of ammunition at Prestonsburg and fell back to Pikeville to replenish their supply. Brig. Gen. William Nelson sent out a detachment from near Louisa under Col. Joshua Sill while he started out from Prestonsburg with a larger force in an attempt to “turn or cut the Rebels off.” Williams prepared for evacuation, hoping for time to reach Virginia, and sent out a cavalry force to meet Nelson about eight miles from Pikeville. The Rebel cavalry escaped, and Nelson continued on his way. Williams then met Nelson at a point northeast of Pikeville between Ivy Mountain and Ivy Creek. Waiting by a narrow bend in the road, the Rebels surprised the Yankees by firing upon their constricted ranks. A fight ensued, but neither side gained the bulge. As the shooting ebbed, Williams’s men felled trees across the road and burned bridges to slow Nelson’s pursuing force. Night approached and rain began which, along with the obstructions, convinced Nelson’s men to go into camp. In the meantime, Williams retreated into Virginia, stopping in Abingdon on the 9th. Sill’s force arrived too late to be of use, but he did skirmish with the remnants of Williams’s retreating force before he occupied Pikeville on the 9th. This bedraggled Confederate force retreated back into Virginia for succor. The Union forces consolidated their power in eastern Kentucky mountains.

Result(s): Union victory (Indecisive, but Confederates withdrew.)

Tags: Ivy Mountain, Pikeville