The site of the 1861 Battle of Scary Creek is along the Kanawha River near St. Albans...where old Teays Valley Road meets US Route 35, just inside the Putnam County border. In short, this brief skirmish, led under George Patton (and then by Gen. Albert Jenkins after Patton was wounded) was a great and needed victory for the Confederates' morale.
However, the battle was not without its fatalities, and the people in the area were left to hastily bury the fallen soldiers before the summer heat took over.
Three weeks after the battle, the first signs of the area being haunted were reported. Local residents reported hearing the telltale sounds of a battle, so lifelike, that they rushed to the scene, thinking another battle was taking place.
Such sounds were reported for years, accompanied by reports of seeing strange lights hovering over the battlefield, and sightings of a Confederate soldier off in the distance. Today, these reports are scant, as the area has grown up considerably in population and commerce.
An account of this battle can also be found in the book The Battle of Scary Creek : Military Operations in the Kanawha Valley, April-July 1861 by Terry Lowry.
Photo by Joseph K. Landis
Battle Information
Hope to find more of these. I am looking for history of the Eastern portion of rural Fayette County
ReplyDeleteHey Papa Dennis! Thanks for checking out the site. Most of my haunted WV section is still at the old site: http://paratheresa.webs.com/hauntedplacesinwv.htm
ReplyDeleteI don't have a ton of places listed for Fayette Co., but I have plenty from the general vicinity, with more on the way. My family is from Beckley, so I love the history of that area. Also coming next week...new blog on my trip to Thurmond, WV!
I live in an area that near Scary Creek but more in Scott Depot. When my apt complex was built, in my backyard, I found out there were canon balls and various war items. When I am not home, our camera, out of no where in the middle of the night, there is a bright flashing light that comes through my living room window. This light is so bright, it lights up my entire house. I have the curtains closed and it is completely unexplainable. I have a video of this too.
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