Nestled in the picturesque Greenbrier River Valley, just north of Lewisburg, West Virginia, Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park is a significant site of Civil War history—the location of the last major battle fought in the state.
Nearly five months after West Virginia was admitted into the Union, Brigadier General John Echols’s Confederate army continued to occupy the Greenbrier Valley region. Stationed in Lewisburg, Echols’s forces were the primary defenders of the Virginia-Tennessee Railroad, a critical Confederate supply line in southwest Virginia.
On August 26 and 27, 1863, Echols successfully repelled an attack by Brigadier General William W. Averell’s federal army at White Sulphur Springs. In early November, Echols received word that Averell had left his headquarters in Beverly and was again advancing south toward the railroad. Confederate outposts in Pocahontas County attempted to delay the federal advance while Echols marched his army north overnight to reinforce their position at Droop Mountain.
Echols’s reinforcements arrived just in time, as Averell began his assault early on November 6. Despite being outnumbered, the Confederate army held the high ground and blocked the highway with artillery throughout the morning. However, they were eventually overrun by the federal infantry’s advance on their left flank. With his lines collapsing, General Echols retreated south into Virginia with the remnants of his forces.
The next day, November 7, 1863, federal troops occupied Lewisburg. Burdened with prisoners and captured livestock, General Averell returned to his headquarters in Beverly, West Virginia, delaying his efforts to disrupt the railroad until early December. His third attempt proved successful, and by the spring of 1864, operations in the Shenandoah Valley had drawn the remaining Confederate troops out of West Virginia, securing the new state under federal control for the remainder of the war.
With over 400 casualties (140 Union and approximately 275 Confederate), the Battle of Droop Mountain was one of the last significant Civil War battles in West Virginia.
Established in 1928 as West Virginia’s first state park, Droop Mountain is a crucial stop on the Civil War Discovery Trail, a network of over 300 historical sites across 16 states. This trail, created by the Civil War Trust, allows travelers to explore battlefields, historic homes, railroad stations, cemeteries, and parks, all dedicated to educating visitors about the Civil War and its lasting impact on America. Every October in even-numbered years, the park hosts a reenactment of the Battle of Droop Mountain, bringing history vividly to life.
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