By Gaylen Duskey
Well, yes.
It was 165 years ago, and it was during a period of war.
Nonetheless it was as barbaric as today’s beheading of Christians by Muslim extremists and should be viewed with the same revulsion as any beheading. It is a barbaric act and should never be allowed again, still it happens and as long as there are bloodthirsty religious zealots and insane people in the world.
But this was during a time of war and things were done that may not have happened were it not a time of war.
Strange and barbaric things such as beheading a dead man to make sure he was dead, as is how this story goes.
In the autumn of 1861, the American Civil War was in full swing, and the state of West Virginia, which had recently separated from Virginia, became a hotbed of conflict between Union and Confederate forces.
Among the most notorious groups operating in the region were the Moccasin Rangers, a band of Southern sympathizers who were considered terrorists by Federal troops. These irregular fighters were not officially part of the Confederate Army but were known for their guerrilla tactics, which included disrupting Union supply and communication lines, ransacking villages, and terrorizing Union supporters. Their actions were so brutal that Union commanders eventually ordered the summary execution of captured Rangers, a policy that led to the disbanding of the group or their absorption into the Confederate Army for protection as prisoners of war.
Many families in the area were members of groups such as the Moccasin Rangers including mine. My great-great grandfather was Daniel Duskey who had been part of the Calhoun County government and a business owner and farmer, but when the Civil War broke out he chose to give his loyalty to Virginia and took up arms.
He was a captain in the Moccasin Rangers and also a captain in the military of the state of Virginia which is why when he was captured by Union forces and jailed in Wheeling he was pardoned by President Abraham Lincoln.
The Moccasin Rangers had significant support in Calhoun County, and were led by figures such as my great-great grandfather and Peter Augustus Saurborn.
Saurborn, a highly educated man had settled in the area after emigrating from Prussia. Saurborn, who had once aspired to become a priest, was a respected member of the community before the war, serving as a postmaster and deputy sheriff. He operated a tannery along the Little Kanawha River and lived with his wife, Mary Jane Bennett, and their seven children in the “Big Bend” section of the river near the Annamoriah Ferry. However, his leadership in the Moccasin Rangers made him a target for Union forces.
The Rangers’ first recorded skirmish in Wirt County occurred on September 27, 1861, near the High Log Run bridge, close to the present-day rock cliffs on West Virginia Route 5. According to “Hardesty’s History of Wirt County,” Union soldiers were ambushed by Confederate forces firing from a hill above the road, which was covered in rocks, timber, and bushes. Two Union soldiers, Hamilton McClain and R.E. Weaver, were wounded in the attack, but it was unclear whether any Confederates were injured. This marked the beginning of a series of skirmishes in Wirt County, which saw more conflict than neighboring Wood County due to the strategic importance of the oil facilities at Burning Springs.
The oil fields at Burning Springs were a valuable resource for the Union, and their presence attracted Confederate attention. According to Dave McKain, curator of the Oil and Gas Museum in Parkersburg, the area was populated by wealthy Union supporters, making it a prime target for the Rangers, who sought to drive out the “Yankees.” However, the Rangers were not an organized army capable of occupation; their activities were more akin to rabble-rousing and criminal behavior, including bank robbery and other acts of violence.
On October 16, 1861, the Moccasin Rangers launched a surprise attack on Union soldiers stationed in Elizabeth. A group of 20 Rangers positioned themselves on a hill overlooking present-day Route 53 East and Riverside Road 53/17. The hill had been partially trenched by Union soldiers for fortification, but the work was never completed. The Rangers opened fire on 40 soldiers from the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry, who were camped around the courthouse. The Union soldiers quickly returned fire, and the skirmish lasted for about an hour. Although no one was killed, several Union soldiers were injured in the exchange. The Rangers eventually withdrew over the ridge toward one of their strongholds, a tannery house near Peter Saurborn’s residence on Annamoriah Hill.
This skirmish was the first notable offense by the Moccasin Rangers against Union forces in Wirt County, but it was far from the last. On October 18, 1861, a force of 200 Confederate rebels attacked Elizabeth but were repulsed by Union troops. The following day, the rebels pillaged several homes in Burning Springs and stole horses. Union forces, including infantry reinforcements from Wheeling, pursued the attackers, leading to further clashes. One notable incident involved a secessionist named Roberts, who fired upon a Union man plowing a field near Elizabeth. Union soldiers pursued Roberts, eventually killing him when he attempted to hide in a pile of brush.
The violence escalated in December 1861 when Union soldiers killed Peter Saurborn near his home at the mouth of Sinking Springs in Calhoun County. According to family accounts, Saurborn was beheaded to ensure his death, and his home was burned to the ground, forcing his wife and children to flee. Saurborn’s death marked a turning point for the Moccasin Rangers, as Union forces intensified their efforts to eliminate the group.
The skirmishes in Wirt County were precursors to the larger raid on the Burning Springs oil fields in May 1863. During this raid, Confederate forces set fire to 150,000 barrels of oil and destroyed other equipment, marking the most significant Civil War incident in the county. The Moccasin Rangers’ activities in the region, while disruptive, were ultimately limited by their lack of organization and resources. Historian Boyd Stutler described them as criminals engaging in typical guerrilla activities rather than a cohesive military force.
The legacy of the Moccasin Rangers and figures like Peter Saurborn remains a controversial chapter in the history of West Virginia. While some view them as freedom fighters for the Confederate cause, others see them as violent criminals who terrorized local communities. Saurborn’s descendants have passed down stories of his tragic death and the destruction of his home, but none of them currently reside in Calhoun County. His life and death serve as a stark reminder of the personal and communal toll of the Civil War, particularly in regions like West Virginia, where loyalties were deeply divided.
That is part of Our History and our history tells our story.
