 Raiders wanted to secure supplies, disrupt the B&O Railroad, raise recruits and, if possible, cripple the Unionist government in Wheeling—which was a growing industrial city because of the B&O, and as a major Ohio River port where the Wheeling Suspension Bridge carried the National Road across the Ohio River.General W. E. Jones, whose nickname "Grumble" reelected his irascible temper and profanity-laced tirades, commanded the 6th, 7th, 11th and 12th Virginia Cavalry, the 1st Maryland Battalion of Cavalry, 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, and McNeill's Rangers.He left Rockingham County with 3,500 men on April 21, 1863, and moved into (West) Virginia.