By Oct. 15, 1862, Gen. Jacob Cox had returned to West Virginia to push the rebels out of the state and secure roads and water routes for the Union. After Antietam, Gen. Cox was given the rank of major general, this was recommended by Gen. McClellan and Gen. Burnside. He was commander of the 9th Corps and when President Lincoln came on Oct. 1, Gen Cox was invited to ride with McClellan and other officers for a tour of the Antietam battlefield.
Returning to camp, they rode across the bridge that Gen. Cox's soldiers had defended. Cox noted that the president was very observant and interested but displayed no sentiment.
The president was in camp for several days and one of these days was devoted to a review of troops. Gen. Cox was with his men for this and rode along with the president answering questions about the men. Cox was impressed with the president's cordiality, his sharp intelligence and keen sense of humor. Some officers laughed at a story the president told and he praised the soldiers, always emphasizing positive things. Later Cox said that the president was equal, even excelling any military knowledge held by the generals, and the president took time to converse with Cox.
At this time rumors and intrigues were swirling around McClellan. Many accused his staff of promoting a military takeover, like what was happening in many European countries, and modern scholars have accused McClellan of being against emancipation. Gen. Cox relates a more complicated situation. He met one of McClellan's staff who had been a judge in Ohio, but now was Col. Keys. Keys told Cox that he now thought emancipation had to be part of the war strategy, the slaves must be free. McClellan was not against emancipation but thought it should proceed at a slower pace. McClellan was relieved because he would not move until all conditions were perfect, such as supplies, number of troops and number of horses. President Lincoln told him that he was overly cautious.
Cox received orders to take over command in the Kanawha Valley because the troops he left there when ordered east were threatened by Confederate Gen. Loring who had orders to advance on the valley, attack U.S. Col. Lightburn then meet up with Gen. Robert Lee's army in the Shenandoah Valley. Gen. Cox was the only man who knew the territory. After Gen. Pope's command was broken up, West Virginia was not connected to any military department. McClellan's authority did not extend beyond his army and theatre of operations, and Gen.-in-chief, Halleck could not take charge of remote districts, so West Virginia was so to speak in the air.
The governors of both West Virginia and Ohio were alarmed at Confederates threatening both states and requested protection. Gen. Halleck received Gen. Cox in Washington, updating him on developments in the Kanawha Valley then both went to Secretary of war Edwin Stanton's office were Cox received his major general rank as well as promotions of his personal staff and of the immediate appointment of Col. Crook to be brigadier general.
Cox went to the White House to pay his respects to President Lincoln but Lincoln was in a Cabinet meeting. Stanton directed Cox to visit Wheeling, Columbus and report to Gen.Wright at Cincinnati before reaching the mouth of the Kanawha River, then take the Marietta Railway eastward, this being the best route. Cox departed on the evening train from Washington to Pittsburgh.
On Oct. 13, 1862, Gen. Cox left Cincinnati for the last part of his journey. By afternoon they had reached Portland. Cox was anxious to learn how Col. Lightburn and U.S. Gen. George Morgan were doing, so he hired a four-horse wagon, on springs with rubber-cloth covering the windows to complete the journey. Their horses had not yet arrived.
During this night ride as Cox says the driver blundered and upset the wagon by a sluice-way bridge into a mud hole. The driver jumped out and managed to hold on to the team but the passengers were covered with muddy ooze. After they crawled out of the mud, they saw lights of a farmhouse and walked toward the light.
A warm fire was in the fireplace and the farmer was kind and friendly. The men of the house went to help the wagon driver while Gen. Cox and his staff scraped the mud off their clothes using the farmer's wood chips. Preoccupied with this activity the soldiers did not notice the room filling up with men, women, and children from the neighborhood, who had heard there was an actual general at the house and wanted to see him. Waiting for the moon to come up they continued their journey, but the rough road made them stop for the night and continue in daylight.
Compiled by members of the CW150 Committee of Warren's Sutliff Museum.