Photos by Heather Bell
A beautiful blue sky was the back drop for cannon smoke in Pulaski County this past weekend as the reenactment of the Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain brought out a big crowd.
According to the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, the Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain, which took place May 9, 1864, was the “most significant battle in Southwest Virginia.” It was fought in Pulaski County and included the burning down of the New River Bridge at Central Depot, today’s City of Radford.
The Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain was between Union forces under General George Crook and Confederate forces under General Albert Jenkins, and future Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley both fought in it.