From Stop 2 continue on the Patterson Trail until you reach the clearing around the Patterson House. There are several points of interest to explore at Stop 3 including the Patterson house and well, the Union artillery position, the Patterson cornfield, and the grave of Granville Blevens. The Patterson house is open to the public on weekends Memorial Day through Labor Day. 

Between 3:00-3:15pm Floyd’s line opened fire on the approaching 10th Ohio. There was a brief panic when the first volley came from the Confederate position and the regiment lost its ranks, but the men soon regrouped. Once the Confederates had fired, Benham realized he had walked his brigade into the full Confederate position and he sent word back to Rosecrans for help. Rosecrans immediately started to move his artillery to the front and called the other two brigades to move forward. The 10th Ohio faced the brunt of the fighting for 30-45 minutes while Benham and Rosecrans worked on moving reinforcements up. Due to this the 10th Ohio received the highest number of casualties at Carnifex Ferry and was called the “Bloody Tenth.”

After the 10th Ohio traded fire with Floyd’s lines for at least a half hour, Colonel William H. Lytle decided to make a direct assault on the Confederate works around 4:00pm, without the approval of Benham. His regiment had become disjointed in the woods and only four of his companies participated in the charge (companies A, B, C, and E). As the 10th Ohio charged through the Patterson cornfield, Floyd’s line opened fire and Lytle ordered his men to lay flat and continue firing. Lytle himself was on horseback and a bullet went through his leg and killed his horse. The colonel remained on the field fighting and commanding his men until he was taken to a house for care (perhaps the Patterson house or the Fitzwater house).

While Lytle and his four companies fought in the Patterson clearing, the other end of the regiment (companies C, F, I, and K under Major Joseph W. Burke) had advanced in the woods on the other side of the road where they fired across the ravine at the 45th Virginia. Once they ran out of ammunition, they returned to the main road and the rest of the unit.

Once the 10th Ohio was engaged, Brig. Gen. Benham ordered the 13th Ohio forward as well as the 1st Ohio Independent Battery Light Artillery. Benham ordered the 13th Ohio to the left down Pierson Hollow, except for Company E which was the artillery company. Company E commanded by Captain George Schneider and the 1st Ohio Independent Battery Light Artillery commanded by Captain James R. McMullen brought their guns up to a position just to the left of the Ferry Road where they began firing towards the Confederate artillery redoubt. After a period of fighting, it became clear that the artillery was not effective in this position. First Lieutenant James T. Hickey went to Major Burke and convinced him to let Hickey reposition the battery across the road. Once the guns were placed on the rise near the Patterson cornfield they were far more efficient against Guy’s Goochland Battery in support of the 10th Ohio.

The next regiment called up the ferry road was Colonel John W. Lowe’s 12th Ohio. When they reached the former camp of the 50th Virginia, Lowe was given orders to support the 13th Ohio on the left. Assistant Adjutant General George Hartsuff guided the 12th Ohio along a second wooded path towards the rear of the 10th Ohio. Lowe’s unit was supposed to take a position on the right of Smith’s 13th Ohio. In the dense woods, the regiment became disjointed and while some companies headed towards the left, Colonel Lowe with companies A, E, F, and K stayed right and ended up at the cornfield with the 10th Ohio. Lowe determined to charge the Confederate line in support of the 10th Ohio and as he ordered his men forward he was struck in the head and killed (it is not clear whether it was a bullet or canister that struck Lowe). Lowe was the first field grade officer from Ohio killed in the Civil War. After his death, command of the 12th Ohio was assumed by Captain James D. Wallace and the regiment was moved several times to the right to find good positions from which to fire on the Confederate breastworks. 

Lesser, W. Hunter. Rebels At the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2004.

Lowry, Terry. September Blood: The Battle of Carnifex Ferry. Charleston, WV: Quarrier Press, 2011.

Shaffer, Dallas B. “The Battle at Carnifex Ferry.” State of West Virginia. Produced by the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation. C. 1963.

Snell, Mark A. West Virginia and the Civil War: Mountaineers Are Always Free. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2011.

Stutler, Boyd B. West Virginia in the Civil War. Charleston, WV: Education Foundation, Inc, 1966.