Asleep when attacked.
Colonel Porterfield remained at
Philippi until the 3d morning of June, when, just at the break of day, the
Federals opened on him and his little army with all the artillery that was available on this occasion.
The Confederates were all asleep apparently when the artillery began to fire.
To oppose
McClellan's vast host
Colonel Porterfield had probably, all told, twelve hundred men, that were poorly armed and equipped for service.
The attacking army was fully 10,000 men, that were armed and equipped in the very best possible condition, under the comnand of
General T. A. Morris, of the Indiana volunteers.
The attack of infantry was led by
Col. B. F. Kelly in person, and had it not been for the timely shooting of
Colonel Kelly by
John W. Sheffee, a member of
Capt. Hull's company, in the streets of
Philippi, as the
Colonel was leading the charge on the routed
Virginians, a greater part of the latter would have been captured.
Captain Hull's company was in the rear of the Virginians, and young
Sheffee took dead aim at
Colonel Kelly, and when the gun cracked he, with great glee, came jumping forward to his companions, and exclaimed, ‘
Sergeant, I have done it!’
‘Done what?’
‘I flopped that big fellow from his horse that was coming after us so savage.’
Sheffee was a green mountain boy, but knew how to shoot, and when
Colonel Kelly came wallop to the ground all effort to pursue the Virginians just then stopped, and this break in the charge gave them time to get together and defend themselves.
This
Col. B. F. Kelly is the same man who became a major-general in the
Federal army, and was captured the last winter of the war in
Cumberland City, Md., by
Jesse McNeil.
Major-General George Crook was captured at the same time by Mc-Neil.
