Download or read book Civil War General B. F. Kelley written by T. F. Kelley and published by . This book was released on 2021-10-12 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first-ever book written about the uniquely interesting life and times of Union General B. F. Kelley - Brevet Major General - US Civil War. General Kelley served as a command officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War from Colonel Kelley's planning and leading the first land battle of the Civil War at Philippi, Virginia, in June of 1861 - to the Civil War's end in 1865. Any number of Civil War firsts are attributable to General Kelley; 1) his family's 'borrowed' servant, a slave named Lucy Bagby, would become the 'last fugitive slave' to be returned south under the Fugitive Slave Act just prior to the breaking out of civil war; 2) Colonel Kelley planned and led the first successful land battle of the Civil War, 3) he was the first American to use a railroad to move warring troops and materiel; 4) Kelley was the first Union officer wounded in the Civil War, which wound was initially thought to be mortal, 5) he commanded the first loyal southern regiment, and more. General Kelley played a direct and prominent role in a great number of military campaigns in Virginia, western Virginia and Maryland; and in the making of West Virginia, the State formed by the Civil War. His principal mission through the Civil War was to protect the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and, especially its wooden bridges from the Rebel torch. In fact, he had earlier been a B&O freight agent in Philadelphia - the B&O railway line roughly delineating the division between North and South. In six short months General Kelley went from B&O freight agent to Brigadier General. His record of unbroken successes, both large and small, made his career one worthy of renown. Within another short ten months he would become a Brevet Major General of federal Volunteers. Still: Guerilla's (bushwhackers) abounded in the region of his command and differentiating between friend and foe was difficult, often impossible. Hell, even General Kelley's father-in-law and in-laws were sympathetic to the Southern cause and slave owners. To that end, a beautiful young slave woman named Lucy Bagby was loaned to the Kelley household caring for Ben's wife, the ailing 'Belle' Kelley and their family. Her saga would come to be know as that of the 'Last Fugitive Slave.' After Stonewall Jackson disrupted federal attempts to repair the B&O Railroad in Hancock, Maryland, Jackson turned his 9,000 man army towards Romney. Kelley boldly attacked Winchester to the south or 'up' the Shenandoah Valley, defeating Jackson's 700 local militiamen. Then, when Jackson continued towards Romney, Kelley withdrew from Winchester and returned to Romney to retake and secure Romney from Jackson. By his victory at Romney, Kelley became the man who kept Stonewall Jackson out of Pittsburgh as Pittsburgh had been Jackson's objective. After the war, a member of the Ringgold Battalion of Cavalry, General Kelley's cavalrymen would draw the distinction that: '...our usually dependable leader was to see much action through the war; and, that he made less history for the amount of fighting he did than any other officer in the war.' His safeguarding of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad enabled commanders to rapidly move troops to other theaters threatened from enemy attack, or, to provide for quick troop buildups prior to the commencement of offensive operations. General Kelley has been described as one of the silent heroes of the war. His cavalryman, Elwood, describes General Kelley, '...prudent, secretive, vigilant, General Kelley committed little to paper. His instructions always went by word of mouth through trusted adjutants, and no newspaper correspondents were allowed in his camp. His reports were characteristic of the man himself...terse, laconic and modest.' And, there is so much more to know and learn about this remarkable Union Major General - BF Kelley.