Battle of Marion
| Battle of Marion | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
Smyth County in Virginia | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| George Stoneman | John C. Breckinridge | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
Burbridge's Division* Gillem's Brigade* |
Giltner's Brigade Cosby's Cavalry Duke's Cavalry Witcher's Battalion | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,500 (~3,100 engaged) | ~1,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
76
| unknown | ||||||
| * Stoneman's total force was about 5,500, but the total engaged at Marion was closer to 3,100. Gillem's brigade of 1,500 was at the battlefield but did not fight. Burbridge had one brigade of 600, plus one regiment of 300, absent from the battlefield. | |||||||
The Battle of Marion was an action that occurred on December 17–18, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fight took place in southwestern Virginia's Smyth County near Marion. A Union Army under the command of Major General George Stoneman defeated a smaller Confederate Army under the command of Major General John C. Breckinridge. The fight was mostly a stalemate for about 36 hours as the Confederate troops held better field position. After realizing that his force was nearly surrounded and low on ammunition, Breckinridge stealthily withdrew his troops during the night, escaping to the south before heading east.
The fight at Marion one of several conflicts that occurred during a Union expedition known as Stoneman's 1864 raid. The objective of the raid was the destruction of Confederate economic and transport infrastructure—salt mines, lead mines, and the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. All three were important to the Confederacy's war effort.
After the victory at Marion, Union forces advanced to the salt mines and defeated a small militia in the Second Battle of Saltville. The lead mines and railroad infrastructure had already been ravaged. The salt mines were damaged, and then Stoneman's force split to begin a difficult return trip to Union strongholds in Tennessee and Kentucky.