The Seventh Regiment: A Record

by George L. Wood

The troops awoke in the morning to find the rebel works abandoned. Thus ended the battle of Carnifex Ferry, no less a blunder than Cross Lanes.

General Benham was censured for having attacked their main works, when he was ordered to make a reconnoissance only. But when it is understood that the commanding general sent up reinforcements, the blame, if there was any, attached itself to him.

The loss to the Seventh, at Cross Lanes, was one killed, twenty wounded, and ninety-six taken prisoners. Several of these were recaptured at Carnifex Ferry, when Rosecrans attacked Floyd. Among the number was Lieutenant Cross, Company C. The loss to the enemy has never been known. There is no doubt, however, that it was considerable. They attacked in large numbers, confident of an easy victory, therefore very little caution attended their movements. But instead of a flag of truce, accompanied by an offer to surrender, they were met by a shower of bullets, which must have told fearfully on their heavy columns. The fact that they were thrown into such confusion as to permit our men to escape, shows that they were too severely punished to follow up their victory.

The force of Floyd has been variously estimated: some having placed it as high as six thousand; while, in his official report of the engagement at Carnifex Ferry, Floyd himself places it at only two thousand. His force was probably four thousand, of all arms, with ten pieces of artillery. This entire force must have been in the vicinity at the time of the affair at Cross Lanes.

The following is an unofficial list of the loss in the regiment:

Killed.—Captain John N. Dyer.

Wounded.—Corporal Frank Dutton, N. J. Holly, Thomas Shepley, Thomas J. Scoville, Sergeant H. G. Orton, Joseph W. Collins, B. Yeakins, Lewis J. Jones, Thomas S. Curran, William Meriman, B. F. Gill, William S. Reed, David M. Daily, Robert J. Furguson, James R. Greer, E. J. Kreiger, Sergeant James Grebe, John W. Doll, William W. Ritiche, Fred. W. Steinbauer.

The following is a list of those taken prisoners:

Sergeant W. W. Parmeter, Sergeant E. R. Stiles, Sergeant G. C. C. Ketchum, Sergeant F. F. Wilcoxson, Sergeant Edward Bohn, Sergeant A. Kolman, Sergeant E. W. Morey, Corporal C. F. Mack, Corporal J. G. Turner, Corporal T. A. Mohler, Corporal S. M. Cole, Corporal E. C. Palmer, Corporal Charles Bersett, Privates Albert Osborn, Charles Weber, Alex. Parker, R. Bears, L. Warren, A. M. Halbert, H. Keiser, S. B. Kingsbury, E. Kennedy, A. Hubbell, C. C. Quinn, C. Burrows, E. Evans, W. H. Scott, C. H. Howard, Charles Carrol, T. B. Myers, George Sweet, John Massa, J. F. Curtis, W. E. Bartlett, W. Cherry, John Bark, John Hann, L. M. Blakesly, Z. Fox, J. Butler, F. S. Stillwell, G. W. Downing, G. C. Newton, William Biggs, Mathew Merkle, J. Sheloy, H. Huntoon, G. W. Williams, George C. Robinson, H. Wessenbock, J. C. Rafferty, J. Snyder, W. W. Wheeler, C. Haskell, J. W. Finch, James Johnson, H. Johnson, L. C. Logue, A. Scoville, P. Wildson, F. Boole, John Miller, P. Jenkins, John Smith, J. Wolf, Theodore Burt, A. Schwartz, G. A. Akerman, Charles Sahl, G. W. Thompson, F. Williams, M. H. Whaley, Z. Larkins, T. Hebbig, Z. A. Fuig, F. A. Noble, J. Hettlick, J. McCabe, L. Beles, E. R. Smith, F. A. Rubicon, John Smith, E. Smith, H. Smith, D. N. K. Hubbard, H. Wood, Charles Ottinger, R. S. Beel, N. D. Claghorn, H. Thompson, N. Freidenburg, M. Levullen, S. Gill, fifer.