The site of the 1861 Battle of Scary Creek is along the Kanawha River near St. Albans...where old Teays Valley Road meets US Route 35, just inside the Putnam County border.
In short, this brief skirmish, led under George Patton (and then by Gen. Albert Jenkins after Patton was wounded) was a great and needed victory for the Confederates' morale.
However, the battle was not without its fatalities, and the people in the area were left to hastily bury the fallen soldiers before the summer heat took over.
Three weeks after the battle, the first signs of the area being haunted were reported. Local residents reported hearing the telltale sounds of a battle, so lifelike, that they rushed to the scene, thinking another battle was taking place.
Such sounds were reported for years, accompanied by reports of seeing strange lights hovering over the battlefield, and sightings of a Confederate soldier off in the distance. Today, these reports are scant, as the area has grown up considerably in population and commerce.
An account of this battle can also be found in the book The Battle of Scary Creek : Military Operations in the Kanawha Valley, April-July 1861 by Terry Lowry.
Photo by Joseph K. Landis