Indianapolis --

Civil War Round Table

by Mark Jaeger

In this month’s program, Mark Jaeger will discuss the role of Indiana troops at the Battle of Rich Mountain in western Virginia, July 11, 1861. This still-obscure engagement, in conjunction with the action at Carrick's Ford a week later, effectively smashed Confederate hopes of retaining the western counties of Virginia in the nascent Confederacy, in turn secured those counties for the Union. The battle also brought to prominence a number of Federal and Confederate commanders who, for their part, displayed both their best, and worst, qualities in the wilds of western Virginia.

Although Rich Mountain was easily one of the least costly and most decisive Federal victories of the War, it was quickly overshadowed by the debacle at Manassas less than two weeks later, something that has only recently begun to be rectified.

In his presentation, Mr. Jaeger will pay particular attention to the role of the 10th Indiana Infantry Regiment, which was largely organized in Tippecanoe and adjacent counties.