Within a month, the unit moved to what soon became West Virginia, serving under General Robert S. Garnett, who on July 13, 1961 became the first general officer killed in the American Civil War. Confederate forces had been routed at Phillipi in early June, then at Rich Mountain, before retreating to Monterey, Virginia by July 20, 1861. The Fearnots also served in the failed Cheat Mountain campaign in September 1862 before being assigned to the command of General Stonewall Jackson.