The Battle of Cheat Mountain, also known as the Battle of Cheat Summit Fort, took place from September 12 to 15, 1861, in Pocahontas County and Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of the Civil War in which Robert E. Lee led troops into combat. During the battle, Lee attempted to surround the Union garrison atop Cheat Mountain, but the attack was never launched, due to false information from prisoners and poor communications among the various Confederate commands. Background Starting in May 1861, Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan advanced from Ohio into the western region of Virginia, both to protect Ohio and Pennsylvania from invasion from Confederate troops and to help the pro-Union government of West Virginia located in Wheeling defeat Confederate incursions from eastern Virginia. Following his victory at Rich Mountain, McClellan was transferred to command the Army of the Potomac, leaving Brig. Gen. William Rosecrans in command of western Virginia. Rosecrans concentrated his forces to protect the major transportation lines in the region. Brig. Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds was left in command of the Cheat Mountain district, defending the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike with four regiments totaling 1,800 men. One regiment, the 14th Indiana commanded by Col. Nathan Kimball, defended Fort Milroy on Cheat Mountain, while the remaining three were at Camp Elkwater near the Tygart Valley River, where Reynolds established his headquarters. Gen. Robert E. Lee was sent to western Virginia by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to coordinate the various Confederate forces in the region and regain lost Confederate territory. He arrived at the camps of the Army of the Northwest, commanded by Brig. Gen. William W. Loring, near the end of July; although he did not replace Loring, Lee did issue orders through him. After personally scouting the area around the Union positions, Lee devised a strategy that included a two-pronged simultaneous attack against Kimball's position on the summit of Cheat Mountain and against Reynolds's camp. The plan used Loring's Army of the Northwest, which was divided into six brigades for the battle. Brig. Gen. Henry R. Jackson's brigade would create a diversion in front of Fort Milroy while Colonel Albert Rust's brigade would make the main assault on the fort and Brig. Gen. Samuel Anderson's brigade would capture the turnpike west of the fort;