Engagement at Romney

Engagement at Romney (HMMBV)

Location: Marietta, WV 26757 Hampshire County
Buy West Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 39° 20.333', W 78° 46.783'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 721 views
Inscription

Lew Wallace Storms the Bridge

On the night of June 12, 1861, Col. Lewis Wallaceled his 11th Indiana (Zouaves) Regiment fromCumberland, Maryland, by train across thePotomac River and into present-day West Virginia. He had learned that "several hundred"Confederate troops were in Romney, as he wrotein his official report, drilling and forcing Unionists into Confederate service. After detraining and marching across the mountains before dawn,Wallace and his men neared Romney about 8 A.M.on June 13 and encountered pickets who firedand ran into town to give the alarm.

As Wallace approached the coveredwooden bridge that spanned the South Branchof the Potomac River in front of you, he "coulddistinctly see ... a battery of two guns, plantedso as to sweep the road completely. I directed myadvance guard to cross the bridge on the run,leap down an embankment at the farther entrance,and observe the windows of a large brick house[Sycamore Dale, across the river and upstream].... A warm fire opened from the house, which theguard returned, with no other loss than thewounding of a sergeant. ... I led a second company across the bridge, and ... soon drove theenemy from the house." Wallace and his regimentset off in pursuit, but the Confederates fledtogether with most of Romney's civilians. Aftersearching the town for weapons and supplies,Wallace marched his men back to Cumberland,arriving at 11 P.M.

(sidebar) Lewis "Lew" Wallace was born in Brookville, Indiana, on April 10, 1827. He served in the Mexican War, left the army for a political and legal career, and raised the 11th Indiana Infantry regiment when the Civil Warbegan. On July 9, 1864, he delayed Confederate Gen. Jubal A.Early's army at the MonocacyRiver in Maryland, giving thedefenders of Washington, D.C.,time to organize. After the war, he served as governor of New Mexico (famously offering Billy the Kid a pardon) and as minister to Turkey. He is best known as the author of the novel Ben Hur. He died in Crawfordsville, Indiana, on February 15, 1905.
Details
HM NumberHMMBV
Series This marker is part of the West Virginia Civil War Trails series
Tags
Placed ByCivil War Trails
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, October 12th, 2014 at 3:14pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 691347 N 4356734
Decimal Degrees39.33888333, -78.77971667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 20.333', W 78° 46.783'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 20' 19.98" N, 78° 46' 46.98" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)304
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2070 Northwestern Pike, Marietta WV 26757, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. What year was the marker erected?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?