[13] Delays in issuance of uniforms and weapons again brought the men into conflict with their officers, but Major Rutherford B. Hayes convinced them to accept what the government had issued them; his style in dealing with the men impressed McKinley, beginning an association and friendship that would last until Hayes's death in 1893.[14]
After a month of training, McKinley and the 23rd Ohio, now led by Colonel Eliakim P. Scammon, set out for western Virginia (today part of West Virginia) in July 1861 as a part of the Kanawha Division.[15] McKinley initially thought Scammon was a martinet, but when the regiment entered battle, he came to appreciate the value of their relentless drilling.[16] Their first contact with the enemy came in September when they drove back Confederate troops at Carnifex Ferry in present-day West Virginia.[17] Three days after the battle, McKinley was assigned to duty in the brigade quartermaster office, where he worked both to supply his regiment, and as a clerk.[18] In November, the regiment established winter quarters near Fayetteville (today in West Virginia).