Cloyd's Farm
Since 1861, a small stretch of railroad 204 miles in length had proven essential in providing the Confederate troops fighting in Virginia with fresh manpower and supplies from the lower South. Known as the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, the line stretched from Lynchburg, Virginia to Bristol, Tennessee. It passed through Bedford, Botetourt, Roanoke, Montgomery, Pulaski, Wythe, Smyth, and Washington counties.
This railroad was protected not only by Confederate troops, but by natural barriers as well, being situated between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains. Until 1864, the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was rarely bothered by Union interference.
The weakest point in this railroad was a 700-ft. covered railroad bridge crossing the New River in Montgomery County. A small community nearby known as Dublin Depot served as headquarters for the Confederate army of southwest Virginia. By 1864, Dublin Depot was a beehive of activity, a distribution point for supplies for the Confederate troops.
The importance of this small railroad did not go unnoticed by the Union. Additionally, there were many enticing targets in the area served by the Virginia and Tennessee. In Smyth County, the community of Saltville was the only significant source of vitally important salt within the Confederacy. Wytheville, in Wythe County, was a wealth of lead and iron mines. The decision was made to send troops to disable the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad during General Grant’s campaign in the spring of 1864.
It would prove to be a difficult task. U.S. Brigadier General George Crook’s troops faced a six-day forced march over rugged terrain from Charleston to the New River Valley in uncooperative weather.
On Sunday, May 8 troops arrived just outside Dublin Depot at the farm of James M. Cloyd. The first skirmishes began the following morning on the top of Cloyd’s Mountain. Crook’s brigades (6,100 men) outnumbered the Confederate troops under the command of C.S. Brigadier General Albert Jenkins.
Casualties were heavy that day, and Gen. Jenkins was mortally wounded. He died on May 21 following the amputation of his arm.
On the evening of May 9, Union soldiers began the work of searching for wounded and moving them to Dublin. Their work was not completed until after midnight.
On May 10 Union forces reached the wooden New River Railroad Bridge. General Crook ordered the bridge burned; its dry timbers burned quickly, completely destroying the wooden super-structure. However, the bridge’s metal piers were still standing. Having no explosives to destroy them, Crook ordered artillery to fire solid shot at the piers. This failed to cause any damage, and the U.S. troops had no choice but to leave them standing.
Because the piers were left intact, the Confederates were able to quickly rebuild the entire structure. The disruption of Confederate transportation in southwest Virginia was only temporary.
Crook’s 1864 expedition into southwest Virginia and the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Raid failed to make any lasting impression on either transportation or industry in the area. The expedition was, however, successful in the context of Grant’s offensive strategy in his advance on Richmond, which demanded simultaneous attack on all possible fronts.
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