Battle of Charlestown

Battle of Charlestown
Part of the American Civil War
Date October 18, 1863 (1863-10-18) Location Charles Town, West Virginia 39°17′N 77°52′W / 39.29°N 77.86°W / 39.29; -77.86 Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin L. Simpson	John D. Imboden
Strength
1,125	1,900
Casualties and losses
452 (22 killed, 50 wounded, 382 captured)	61 (40 killed and wounded, 21 captured)
class=notpageimage| Location of the battle in West Virginia

The Battle of Charlestown was a small engagement between

, resulting in a Confederate victory.

Background

As the Confederate

, believing Charles Town was not the target of the Confederate raid.

Battle

At dawn on the 18th, Union pickets south of Charles Town were driven back by Imboden's advance. Simpson's

, who unleashed a volley at the column, sending several troopers and their horses to the ground. Those troopers who were still mounted broke left around their felled comrades and serendipitously rode into the Confederate right, which was proved to be its weak spot. The Union cavalry cut its way out, taking heavy losses: 17 captured, 2 killed and several wounded and nearly every horse shot, several killed.

Meanwhile, back in Charles Town, Imboden brought up his artillery, and again demanded the garrison's surrender, which was rebuked for a second time, whereupon Imboden began to shell the town. Under the artillery fire, Simpson was forced to abandon the courthouse and marched his men to a field northwest of town, not far from the earlier cavalry engagement. Imboden massed his forces in a woods facing the field and unleashed a deadly volley. After several minutes and only a few shots fired in return, Simpson finally surrendered his force, now totaling some 365 men.

The artillery fire had not gone unnoticed in nearby Harpers Ferry; the 17th Indiana battery, Cole's Maryland Cavalry, and the remainder of the Loudoun Rangers and 6th Michigan, totaling 300 men in all, were dispatched to reinforce the besieged garrison. Within 15 minutes they had engaged Imboden's force and a fierce firefight ensued that lasted the entirety of the afternoon. The reinforcements, however, were not strong enough to drive off Imboden and liberate the prisoners.

At around 5 p.m. the

, 400 strong, arrived, having been marched 18 miles from their camp at Berryville to the sound of the artillery fire. As the sun set, the Bay Staters attacked Imboden, who with the cover of darkness elected to withdraw while still in possession of his prisoners and plunder from the town.

Aftermath

Imboden successfully attacked and defeated the Union garrison at Charles Town, exposing the weakness of Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley, taking only light losses. While his raid was successful, it had little overall impact on the fall campaigns, which ended shortly thereafter as the two armies went into winter quarters. For the Union's part, at considerable loss, they saved Charles Town from being sacked and burned and turned back Imboden's raid, which if had been allowed to continue may have had a larger strategic impact on the campaign in central Virginia.

References

• Goodheart, Briscoe, History of the Independent Loudoun Rangers: U.S. Cav. (Scouts) 1862-1865. McGill and Wallace; Washington, D.C., 1896.