| Page 8 | (Ivy Mountain) |  |  |
Ivy Mountain
Also known as: Ivy Creek, Ivy Narrows
November 8-9, 1861
Floyd County, KY
Campaign:
Opening Skirmishes in the West
Brig. Gen. William Nelson and Col. Joshua W. Sill, USA
Col. John S.
Williams, CSA
The Confederates had about 1,000 men, but were chased by a substantially
larger Union force, elements of a dozen units.
US losses were about 30,
against roughly 250 Confederate casualties.
While recruiting in southeast
Kentucky, Rebels under Col. John S. Williams ran short of ammunition at
Prestonsburg and fell back to Pikeville to replenish their supply. Brig. Gen.
William Nelson sent out a detachment from near Louisa under Col. Joshua Sill
while he started out from Prestonsburg with a larger force in an attempt to
"turn or cut the Rebels off." Williams prepared for evacuation, hoping for time
to reach Virginia, and sent out a cavalry force to meet Nelson about eight miles
from Pikeville. The Rebel cavalry escaped, and Nelson continued on his way.
Williams then met Nelson at a point northeast of Pikeville between Ivy Mountain
and Ivy Creek. Waiting by a narrow bend in the road, the Rebels surprised the
Yankees by firing upon their constricted ranks. A fight ensued, but neither side
gained the edge. As the shooting ebbed, Williams's men felled trees across the
road and burned bridges to slow Nelson's pursuing force. Night approached and
rain began which, along with the obstructions, convinced Nelson's men to go into
camp. In the meantime, Williams retreated into Virginia, stopping in Abingdon on
the 9th. Sill's force arrived too late to be of use, but he did skirmish with
the remnants of Williams's retreating force before he occupied Pikeville on the
9th. This bedraggled Confederate force retreated back into Virginia for succor.
The Union forces consolidated their power in eastern Kentucky mountains.
| Page 8 | (Ivy Mountain) | | |
|
