Battle of Ivy Mountain

The Battle of Ivy Mountain, also known as Ivy Creek or Ivy Narrows, was an early battle of the American Civil War, fought in Floyd County, Kentucky, on November 8 and November 9, 1861.

While recruiting in southeast Kentucky, Confederates under Col. John Stuart Williams ran short of ammunition at Prestonsburg and fell back to Pikeville to replenish their supply. Brig. Gen. William "Bull" Nelson sent out a detachment from near Louisa under Col. Joshua W. 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 Confederates surprised the Union troops by firing upon their constricted ranks. A fight ensued, but neither side gained the bulge. 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 November 9. 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 supplies. The Union forces consolidated their power in eastern Kentucky mountains.

References

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ky003.htm National Park Service battle description]