the Northwest, that the larger portion of the Confederate force which had been on the line of the Greenbrier had been withdrawn toward Staunton, and that there only remained the small brigade of Col. Edward Johnson on the summit of Alleghany mountain, 14 miles east from the Greenbrier river and about the same distance west from Monterey, planned an attack upon Johnson, who was now left in command. Gen. H. R. Jackson having been relieved; and for this purpose collected all the troops in his district, from Belington, Beverly, Huttonsville and Elkwater, and joined them with those at Cheat mountain, making a command of about 5,000 men of all arms. With these he marched from Cheat mountain fortress very early in the morning of December 12th to attack Camp Alleghany.
On that same 12th of December, Colonel Johnson sent out a scouting party of 106 men under Maj. J. D. H. Ross, of the Fifty-second Virginia, with instructions to ambuscade a point on the turnpike beyond Camp Bartow, and, if possible, by a demonstration with a few of his men, draw the Federals into it. His pickets were near Slaven's cabin, near the top of the eastern Cheat mountain, when Milroy's advance appeared. These retired and drew that into the ambuscade, where it received a deadly volley from Ross' command. Milroy at once deployed in force and advanced upon the scouting party, but these, in the meantime, retired, and reaching Camp Alleghany about dark, reported the Federal advance and thus gave Colonel Johnson opportunity to make preparation to meet it.
Colonel Johnson's command of about 1,200 men at Camp Alleghany consisted of his own regiment, the Twelfth Georgia under Lieut.-Col. Z. T. Conner, the Thirty-first Virginia under Maj. P. M. Boykin, Jr., two companies of the Fifty-second Virginia under Maj. J. D. H. Ross, the Ninth Virginia battalion under Lieut.-Col. G. W. Hansbrough, the Twenty-fifth Virginia battalion under Maj. A. J. Reger, and eight 6-pounders of the Lee battery under Capt. P. B. Anderson and the Rockbridge battery under Capt. John Miller. After the close of the engagement the Forty-fourth Virginia arrived, but did not become engaged. The Federal force was made up of the Ninth and Thirteenth Indiana, the Twenty-fifth and Thirty-second Ohio, the Second West Virginia
