HISTORY OF SUMMERSVILLE CIVIL WAR HISTORY The Battle of Carnifex Ferry resulted in West Virginia proceeding to statehood without serious threat from the Confederates. N estled on the rim of the Gauley River Canyon near Summersville, Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park is an important Civil War battle site. On September 10, 1861 Union troops led by Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans engaged the Confederates and forced them to evacuate an entrenched position on the Henry Patterson Farm which overlooked Carnifex Ferry. The Confederate commander, Brigadier General John B. Floyd, retreated across the ferry to the south side of the Gauley River and on eastward to Meadow Bluff near Lewisburg. This Civil War battle represented the failure of a Confederate drive to regain control of the Kanawha Valley. As a result, the movement for West Virginia statehood proceeded without serious threat from the Confederates. During the Civil War, both Confederate and Union armies were camping near Summersville. Legend tells us that a young woman, Nancy Hart, joined the Moccasin Rangers, a Confederate guerrilla unit. She was an expert with rifles and served the 10 SUMMERSVILLE VISITORS GUIDE | SUMMERSVILLECVB.COMhttp://www.SUMMERSVILLECVB.COM