Action at Tye River - Arrington, Virginia

Across from Geddes Mountain Road along US-29 (Amherst Highway) northbound
(Photo credit: Steven Akiyama)

So apparently there was action at the Tye River.

First question: where is the Tye River?

The Tye River  runs through western Virginia, and feeds into the James River around Norwood, Virginia. Officially known as a tributary, it's among the many streams/rivers/tributaries in Virginia.

So then what happened at the Tye River?

A Civil War skirmish! That's what happened!

Throughout this story, I'll be referring to these books, in addition to my web sources:

• Gallagher, Gary W., ed. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.

• Bowery, Charles R., Jr. The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, 1864-65. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2014.

• Walker, Gary C. Hunter's Fiery Raid Through Virginia Valleys. Roanoke, VA: A&W Enterprise, 1989.

This sign is near what was a key bridge in and out of Lynchburg, Virginia. Lynchburg, when the Civil War began, was a key transportation hub for the South. The city linked the Shenandoah Valley, Richmond, Virginian port cities, and DC, via the Orange & Alexandria (O&A) Railroad and the Virginia-Tennessee Railroad. This linkage moved goods and food around the South; when the Civil War began, these railroads allowed troops and supplies to move very quickly for the various military campaigns (remember, it was an 8-hour railroad trip from Richmond to DC, versus a 3-day carriage ride).

A map of Lynchburg and the surrounding railroads, 1864 (Source)

Now, I'm not exactly good with military history, but I'm going to try. Bear with me.

By 1864, the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg has occurred, and President Lincoln began preparing the Union for a "hard war:" destruction of civilian property and seizing what they could for army purposes (Gallagher, p. 201). Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to general-in-chief of the Union Army in March 1864, and established a plan to close in on Richmond, the Confederate capital (Bowery, Jr., p. 2). The Shenandoah Valley Campaign was a critical part of the strategy to take Richmond.   Major General David Hunter and later Major General Philip H. Sheridan, were charged with securing the Shenandoah Valley. Meanwhile, General Lee, leading the Army of Northern Virginia, was focused on holding defenses around Richmond and Petersburg.

C.S.A. Major General John C. Breckinridge (Source)

As part of Lynchburg's defenses, the Botetourt Battery was under the command of Major General John C. Breckinridge. On June 10, 1864, Breckinridge ordered the Botetourt Battery join him in Rockfish Gap via train. En route north from Lynchburg, Capt. Henry Douthat and his Battery encountered Union forces trying to sabotage the O&A Railroad (Walker, p. 182-183). Though Capt. Douthat wanted to push on, he knew the importance of this particular stretch of railroad. At nightfall, Capt. Douthat positioned his men defensively near a wooden bridge where the railroad crossed the Tye River.

The part of the O&A Railroad between Rockfish Gap and Lynchburg (orange line). The Botetourt Battery defended the railroad around where Arrington Station is at the edge of the page (Source: Walker, p. 168)

While the Union soldiers were more interested in a bigger bridge, a handful of them followed the tracks to the wooden bridge the Confederates were defending. The nighttime encounter was short; as the Union horsemen approached and stopped, a Confederate soldier demanded they identify themselves, and then the Union horsemen retreated (Walker, p. 189). The Botetourt Battery fired some shots, but did not pursue the Union horsemen. One of the Confederates "accidentally lost his life in a fall" at the bridge (Walker, p. 189), but otherwise, no injuries resulted. Though a minor incident, the Confederates protected a bridge necessary for Lynchburg's survival in a major battle later that week (the Botetourt Battery also participated in this, but that's another sign for another day). One can argue that this incident helped Confederate General Jubal Early defend Lynchburg from the destruction of Maj. Gen. Hunter; after the Battle of Lynchburg, Maj. Gen. Hunter and his forces retreated to West Virginia.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
So why was this railroad, this bridge, so important?

Map of railroads in Virginia, 1859 (Source)

This bridge supported the railroad for the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, one of the two railroads that linked Richmond and Lynchburg to Washington, DC (well, DC by way of Alexandria). Train was, at this point, the fastest way to move troops and supplies around the country. In this region specifically, it connected the farms in the Shenandoah Valley to other markets in Richmond and Norfolk, enhancing trade and the Virginian economy. During the Civil War, this particular rail connection was incorporated into strategies on both sides; so the Union and the Confederacy were both doing what they could to gain control of the railroad, and ultimately, the Shenandoah Valley and Richmond.