First Battle of Saltville
The First Battle of Saltville (October 2, 1864) was fought near the town of Saltville, Virginia, during the American Civil War. The battle over a significant Confederate saltworks in town was fought by both regular and Home Guard Confederate units against regular U.S. Army troops, which included two of the few black cavalry units of the United States Colored Troops. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Stephen G. Burbridge, then commander of U.S. forces in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, led the U.S. Army troops. Confederates murdered both black and white wounded soldiers after the battle, in what has been called the Saltville Massacre. Saltville Massacre The battle was a Confederate victory. It has become known primarily for the Confederate massacre afterward of white and black wounded U.S. Army troops. Both Confederate soldiers and irregular guerrilla forces under the notorious Champ Ferguson murdered white and black U.S. Army soldiers on the battlefield and later some wounded who were being treated at the field hospital set up at nearby Emory and Henry College. A U.S. Army surgeon reported that 5–7 black soldiers and Elza Smith, a white lieutenant, were murdered at the hospital. Confederate Brig. Gen. Felix Huston Robertson had bragged to another officer