First Skirmish at West Point

Louisville Home Guard & Confederate Cavalry Incident

September 9, 1861

As Union commanders scouted the confluence of the Salt and Ohio Rivers for a defensive
position, General Robert Anderson dispatched Captain T. W. Gibson and a detachment of the
Louisville Legion to West Point. Their mission: identify a site for a fortification that
could protect Louisville and the vital river routes.

At daybreak, townspeople noticed a cloud of dust rising from the Louisville–Nashville
Turnpike near present‑day 10th Street. A company of Confederate cavalry under Captain
Mitchell Lapaille — a Louisvillian serving the Confederacy — rode into West Point. They
were scouting the area for General Simon Bolivar Buckner and attempting to seize several
store boats owned by Venne P. Armstrong. The boats, however, had already departed.

Unaware of the Confederate approach, Captain Gibson’s Home Guard had camped the night before
at the point where the Salt and Ohio Rivers meet. They were in the process of ferrying across
the river when the Confederate cavalry appeared. Half the unit was on each side of the river,
leaving them dangerously split.

Gibson was eating breakfast at Young’s Inn — operated by Mrs. Ann Lewis — when the alarm
sounded. A brief firefight erupted between the two forces. Neither side knew the strength of
the other, and neither was eager for a full engagement. After exchanging shots, both units
withdrew: the Confederates south toward Bloomington (now Fort Knox), and the Home Guard back
across the river to Louisville.

Though small in scale, this skirmish was West Point’s first taste of war — and it accelerated
the Union’s decision to fortify the ridge above town.

Bloomington (Fort Knox) and the Army of the Ohio

Bloomington, later known as New Stithton, stood on what is now Fort Knox. In late September
1862, General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio took two and a half days to pass through
the village. A reporter from the Cincinnati Daily Commercial described the scene:

“And now commenced the living stream that flowed incessantly by for two days and half…
more than ten miles of soldiers on the march — infantry, artillery, and cavalry — filing
past, regiment after regiment.”

Local farmer Milton Stith lost his cattle, sheep, and corn to the passing army. Although he
received Quartermaster receipts, his postwar claims for compensation were denied. He is
buried today in a Tarpley Cemetery on Fort Knox.

West Point’s Historic Homes

Hospitals, Inns, and Officer Quarters

• Private homes converted into makeshift hospitals for sick and wounded soldiers.
• Young’s Inn, where Captain Gibson was eating when the skirmish began.
• Homes used by Union officers for meals, meetings, and planning.

The James House Story

One of West Point’s most enduring local stories involves General Don Carlos Buell and the
owner of the James House. During the war, Buell had a heated exchange with the proprietor.
Years later, after the conflict had ended, Buell returned to West Point specifically to
apologize for his wartime behavior — a rare gesture that left a lasting impression on the
community.

Why This Skirmish Matters

• It was the first armed encounter in West Point during the Civil War.
• It revealed the vulnerability of the river crossing and supply routes.
• It accelerated the Union’s decision to fortify the ridge — leading directly to the construction of Fort Duffield.
• It highlights West Point’s role as a strategic crossroads long before the fort was built.

The skirmish, the movement of armies, and the stories of the town’s historic homes all form
the essential backdrop to the creation of Fort Duffield. The ridge and the town are
inseparable chapters of the same Civil War narrative.