By Amanda Larch Hinchman
For HDMedia
Part of the 1,700 acres recently purchased by Google for a proposed data center campus in Buffalo, Putnam County, is the site of an 1862 Civil War battle, and one local resident is trying to preserve the history.
Taking place along W.Va. 62, known locally as Charleston Road, the conflict — later named the Battle of Atkeson’s Gate — occurred between the 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Confederate cavalry under Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins, according to Philip Hatfield, Hurricane resident, historian and author of “A History of Putnam County, West Virginia, in the Civil War.”
“I’m trying to preserve as much of our history as we can with this,” Hatfield said. “We may not be able to stop the data center, but the history is worth preserving.”
‘The bullets were so sharp and brutal’
On the morning of Sept. 27, 1862, Buffalo resident and prominent farmer Thomas Atkeson Sr.’s front yard became a battlefield.
“They knew there were Rebels in the area, and they were a Southern-supporting family, but they had no idea what was getting ready to happen,” Hatfield said. “Old man Atkeson walks the lane near the road and realizes what’s going on. The bullets were so sharp and brutal — they were just zipping through the trees. He turned tail and went back to the house.”
After driving the Federals out of Charleston two weeks before, the Confederates had control of the Kanawha Valley, and Atkeson’s Gate marked the Union Army’s first attempt to retake it.
“There’s a lot of firsts,” Hatfield said. “That’s why this is important. You get a sense of how quickly this happened. They surprised them. It was foggy that morning — they had no idea they were coming.”
The fighting pitched near the Atkeson farmhouse, with a few minutes of heavy firing. The Federal lines pushed the Confederates back toward the village of Buffalo, though according to one Confederate officer’s account, the rebels were able to establish another line of battle, bringing out two pieces of artillery.
“That’s when it got ugly,” Hatfield said.
With artillery fired into their ranks, the Federals pushed the Confederate gunners and cavalry back through the village once again, briefly occupying Buffalo for about an hour and destroying Confederate supplies.
“It’s clearly a Union victory,” Hatfield said.
With five Confederates killed, five wounded and two captured — as well as muskets, uniforms and military supplies captured by Union men — there are no reported Union casualties. Hatfield, though, said he has his doubts.
“I have trouble with that because there was about a mile under artillery and musket fire,” he said. “I’m trying to dig deeper into the 91st and find out if there were any wounded by looking in their individual service files.”
Significance of the battle
Later fighting in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry saw its first action of the Civil War in the Battle of Atkeson’s Gate.
“This is a storied regiment, but they were green here,” Hatfield said. “That’s just a heck of a story. [That was their] first combat. They’ve been here a month, and they’re driving Jenkins’ cavalry, who were feared by this time. The 91st pushed them back like schoolboys, almost 3 miles down this field. That’s worth remembering.”
Losing the battle meant Jenkins no longer had control over the region, though many Union supporters in Buffalo chose to relocate to Ohio, Hatfield said.
“It makes sense because they were in a largely Southern-dominated village to begin with,” he said. “They were terrified.”
The Atkeson farm, including the farmhouse, slave quarters and kitchens, was demolished in 1987 when Appalachian Power purchased the land. The property, now owned by Google, includes a tree that is believed to be a witness tree, Hatfield said, there at the time of the battle. Because it has been on private property for decades, he and other historians have not been able to examine it for age or signs of sustaining bullets or damage during the Battle of Atkeson’s Gate.
Preserving history
The Atkeson family cemetery, also located on the land now owned by Google, was recently deeded to the historic Methodist church at Buffalo by the corporation and will now be protected. Dating back to the 1700s, a former national beauty pageant winner, Union and Confederate soldiers, founding fathers of Buffalo, generations of the Atkeson family and more people are buried there.
A small plot of land, adjacent to the cemetery and believed to be a burial site for an unknown number of enslaved people, was also deeded to the church.
“There’s no documentation other than family tradition and local tradition, but there’s several holes up there that look like they’re graves, and they’re outside of the white folks’ cemetery,” Hatfield said. “More than likely, those are, in my opinion, those are slave graves.”
Google representatives plan to put in an access road from W.Va. 62 to the cemetery through the property, Hatfield said he learned from the Putnam County Development Authority. He said it speaks to the corporation’s willingness to help preserve the history and acknowledges that while he is not trying to stop the data center entirely, he wants the battle to be remembered.
“That’s a good faith effort on Google’s part,” Hatfield said.
What’s next
To commemorate the Battle of Atkeson’s Gate, Hatfield is working with the nonprofit Civil War Trails organization to have a marker installed on the land, as, with no archeological evidence left to support it, the Buffalo site is not eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since Civil War Trails requires a panoramic view from the spot markers are installed, Hatfield is suggesting a location near the lane leading to the site of the Atkeson farm, about 200 yards away from where the proposed data center would be built, though ultimately Google would decide where it will be placed if the corporation agrees to it.
“My ask for Google is that they turn this into a little parking lot and give us a little space and just put the marker down somewhere in this area,” Hatfield said.
“The spot where I’m hoping to put it makes sense because it’s on the same lane where Thomas Atkeson Sr. walked out during the battle, and he could hear the bullets zipping through the trees and turned around to go home,” Hatfield said.
Hatfield and the nonprofit must work with Google through the PCDA, and he has been in contact with Morganne Tenney, PCDA executive director, who said Google is historic-minded.
“It just makes sense to preserve this,” Hatfield said. “No one’s glorifying the Confederacy or anything like that. This is just a part of our history. The Civil War is an unpleasant, ugly part of our history, but it’s a reality we have to come to terms with.”
The Civil War Trails have agreed to install a sign if Google gives permission.
Representatives from Putnam County, including Tenney and Delegate Kathie Hess Crouse, could not be reached for comment.
“In the larger Civil War literature, Atkeson’s Gate is small,” Hatfield said. “It’s a small action, but to the local people, it meant everything. To the local people, it’s a huge story.”
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