Thunder on the Gauley, The Battle of Carnifex Ferry Civil War Reenactment

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.

Every other year (even years) Carnifex hosts a living history and reenactment weekend. The reenactment is always held on the closest Sunday to September 10th with living history demonstrations on the the Saturday prior.