Preservationists Celebrate Purchase Of Laurel Hill, W.Va., Battlefield
Feb./March 2004

BELINGTON, W.Va. - The City of Belington's $100,000
purchase of the 50-acre Laurel Hill Battlefield was celebrated at a
pre-Christmas reception for city, county and state officials and
local preservationists.
The tract, which is part of the Griffith Farm, figured in the Civil
War's first land campaign and Union victory in western Virginia.
According to Lynne Snyder, treasurer of the Laurel Mountain
Reenactment Foundation (LMRF), the site is "as it stood in 1861" and
is a pristine setting.
Efforts to acquire the battlefield began in 1996. The purchase was
made possible with a $218,000 federal transportation TEA-21 grant
administered by the state and $54,000 from the Benedum Foundation of
Pittsburgh, Pa. The leftover funds will be used to interpret and
develop the site.
The state also gave funds to support the Battle of Laurel Hill
Reenactment on the battlefield, now looking forward to its eighth
annual event on July 9-11.
LMRF charter members Larry Corley and Kathy Hart started the effort
to save the battlefield. Local historian and author Hunter Lesser
helped gather historical information.
Snyder says that the city will administer the funds, with foundation
members being available for assistance. Since heritage tourism is a
goal, signage and interpretation will be installed and the
battlefield will be promoted along with other Civil War sites,
including Philippi, Rich Mountain and Cheat Summit Fort.
Signs are already in place for the cemetery from which Henri Jovie
sketched "Engagement at Bealington" (spelling of the time). "The
scene overlooks a portion of the historic Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike
where the Battle of Laurel Hill took place," says Snyder.
A parking area, picnic tables, benches, and trash receptacles will be
placed on the battle land. Snyder says it is hoped that a visitor
center or kiosks will be established. A marketing plan and Web site
are being developed.
Laurel Hill earned its place in war annals in June 1861 when Brig.
Gen. Robert S. Garnett began amassing Confederate troops in the
Tygart Valley. He placed forces at Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain,
some 30 miles south near what was then Beverly, Virginia, now West
Virginia. (West Virginia became a state in 1863.)
By July 8 more than 3,300 Confederate troops were in the Belington
area. On July 11, sounds of the Battle of Rich Mountain could be
heard. Garnett was afraid of being surrounded, so he ordered his
forces at Laurel Hill to retreat.
While directing the crossing of his troops at Corrick's Ford, Garnett
became the first general to be killed in the Civil War.
"The Union forces maintained their positions at the Laurel Hill site
and, as a result, created the opportunity to bring about the
manifestation of the new state of West 'by God' Virginia," says
Snyder.
For more information about the battlefield and reenactment contact
Snyder at (304) 823-3327, linalou@countryroadswv.com