Porterfield was blamed for the disastrous display of the Confederate force at Philippi and he asked for a court of inquiry, which concluded on July 4, 1861, that pickets were on duty before the attack, that much of Porterfield's command left the field in good order and that Porterfield was preparing to evacuate Philippi as soon as the day of the attack because he realized that he was in danger of attack by the larger Union force. General Lee decided that Colonel Porterfield deserved censure, though no more serious punishment, for unpreparedness. Porterfield was replaced in command of the Confederate forces in western Virginia by Brigadier General Robert S. Garnett on June 13, 1861, ten days after the battle. Porterfield was left in command of troops at Beverly. Garnett's force of about 5,000 men suffered an even greater defeat at the Battle of Rich Mountain on July 11, 1861, and Garnett himself became the first general to be killed in action in the Civil War two days later in a rearguard action at the Battle of Corrick's Ford.