After fighting heavy rainstorms and overgrown laurel on the rugged terrain, Lee guided Jackson and Loring through an intricate convergence of five columns toward Reynolds’ unsuspecting troops. Loring balked, Jackson blundered, and Reynolds was tipped off. The Northern soldiers held their ground and drove back Lee’s men, experiencing only 21 casualties. The beleaguered Confederates lost nearly 100 men. Yet, despite his defeat at Cheat Mountain, Lee would emerge as a mighty force to be reckoned with for nearly four tragic years.

Mort Künstler painted this dramatic scene, a detail from “The High Water Mark” which typifies the fighting that took place at Cheat Mountain.