Existing comment:
1861 -- Battle of Bolivar Heights:
In early October 1861, union sympathizer and mill owner, Abraham Herr provided 20,000 bushels of wheat from Virginius Island mill to Union Colonel John W. Geary. This action infuriated Confederate Colonel Turner Ashby, who called the gift of wheat intolerable "depredations" against Virginia. Retaliation was inevitable.
At 7:00am on October 16, 1861, exactly two years after John Brown raided Harpers Ferry, 500 soldiers led by Ashby attacked Geary's line on Bolivar Heights. The Southerners forced their enemy back into the town of Bolivar. Throughout the morning, Ashby ordered repeated assaults on the Union position. The fighting lasted over six hours with Geary's force of 600 ultimately repulsing the Confederate with an assault on their left flank, thus forcing Ashby into full retreat. The victors planted Union flags on the heights. Days later, Confederates disguised as civilians returned and set fire to Herr's Mill.
Colonel John W. Geary, USA:
Geary was wounded while leading his troops in the Battle of Bolivar Heights. He was commissioned brigadier general in April 1862 and served with distinction throughout the rest of the war. After the war he served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1867-1873.
Colonel Turner Ashby, CSA:
Ashby led Confederate forces during the Battle of Bolivar Heights. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on May 27, 1862. Just ten days later, Ashby was killed while leading a rear guard action near Harrisonburg, Virginia. |