Advancing Union troops skirmish with retreating Virginia troops at Laurel Hill in western Virginia

The skirmish took place near the village of Belington in western Virginia as Union troops moved into the region.  Confederate troops of the Virginia Infantry under Brigadier-General Robert Seldon Garnett attempted to hold the high ground of Laurel Hill but were driven off during the late afternoon.  Casualties were light on both sides.  Garnett continued his retreat and was killed during another engagement at Carrick's Ford, Virginia, six days later, on July 14, 1861, the first general officer to die in the war.  (By John Osborne)   
Source Citation
Frank Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc. (New York: G.P.Putnam, 1861), II: lvii.
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