When: May 8th 2024
Where: La Navona, 154 North Hamilton Road, Gahanna, Ohio AND via this YouTube link: May YouTube Link
Time: 7pm
Speaker: Jon-Erik Gilot
Topic: “A Desperate Fight for Life” – The Skirmish at Middle Fork Bridge – July 06, 1861
On July 06, 1861 Major General George B. McClellan had a problem. His best laid plans for an approach on the Confederate troops at Rich Mountain had been interrupted by an unauthorized expedition ordered by one of his subordinate generals. At a covered bridge over the Middle Fork River a firefight broke out, resulting in a handful of casualties and alerting the Confederates to a Federal approach just a dozen miles from their fortifications at Camp Garnett. And while such a skirmish would not likely receive passing mention in the later years of the war, a war-hungry populace devoured news from the front and word of the engagement splashed across newspapers in both the north and the south.
Since the war the skirmish at Middle Fork has received only scant attention in the history books, typically explained away in just a sentence or two in the run up to the battle at Rich Mountain the following week. In this talk we’ll look at published and unpublished accounts of the fight at Middle Fork Bridge, profile the individuals involved, and examine the long shadow of this small skirmish.
Jon-Erik Gilot has worked in the field of public history for more than 15 years and is active in numerous historical organizations. A regular contributor at Emerging Civil War since 2018, his work has also been published in books, journals, and magazines. His first Emerging Civil War Series title, John Brown’s Raid, was released in the Spring of 2023.
Jon-Erik earned a degree in History from Bethany College and Master of Library & Information Science from Kent State University. Today, he serves as Curator at the Captain Thomas Espy Grand Army of the Republic Post in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and works as a corporate archivist and records manager in Wheeling, West Virginia. https://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/author/jon-erik
Tom Ayres has provided a report on our April program from Harry Smeltzer on the marine Battalion at First Bull Run. PDF
Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable 