page_title: Wytheville Raid
section_title: Wythe County
hierarchical_section_title: Wytheville Raid / Wythe County
caption_attribution_description: English: This is the Mt Airy - Wytheville, VA portion of a railroad map from the 1850s. Wytheville and the Virginia &amp; Tennessee Railroad were important to the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
context_page_description: The Wytheville Raid or Toland's Raid was an attack by an undersized Union brigade on a Confederate town during the American Civil War. Union Colonel John Toland led a brigade of over 800 men against a Confederate force of about 130 soldiers and 120 civilians. The location of Wytheville, the county seat of Wythe County in southwestern Virginia, had strategic importance because of a nearby lead mine and the railroad that served it. This mine supplied lead for about one third of the Confederate Army's munitions, while the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad transported Confederate troops and supplies; plus telegraph wires along the railroad line were vital for communications. In addition to logistics of moving the lead to bullet manufacturing facilities, this rail line also connected an important salt works of an adjacent county with the wider Confederacy.
  Toland's entire brigade was mounted, and consisted of a mounted infantry regiment plus eight companies of cavalry. It approached the small town of Wytheville on the evening of July 18.
context_section_description: Wythe County is located in southwestern Virginia near the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was created in 1790, and named after George Wythe.  Wythe was a legal mentor to Thomas Jefferson during the 1760s, and signed the Declaration of Independence. The crossroads town of Wytheville was the county seat during the Civil War, and remains so today. According to the 1860 census, the county's population was 12,305, and Wytheville's population was 1,111. Wytheville was said to have 1,800 "inhabitants" in 1863.
  Wythe County had two resources that caught the attention of the Union army during the Civil War—a lead mine and a railroad. The lead mine was located about 10 miles (16.1 km) southeast of Wytheville in the unincorporated community of Austinville. The mine was the source for a significant portion, estimated to be about one third, of the lead used by the Confederacy to produce bullets for its armies.
  The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, which ran roughly east–west through the county, served the lead mine. Telegraph lines strung along the railroad were vital for communications in the region, and enabled communications between the Confederate capitol of Richmond and points as far west as Tennessee. In addition, the railroad was important for transporting Confederate troops and supplies.  The railroad had a station located about 0.75 mi (1.2 km) south of the center of Wytheville. Ammunition and weapons for the Confederate Army were often stored there. Thus, the town had a strategic significance during the American Civil War, and was often a target.
  Because of the railroad, Wytheville was connected to two more points of military significance. A small headquarters for the Confederate army was located about 44 mi (70.8 km) west of Wytheville at the western edge the adjacent Smyth County. The army outpost was at the community named Saltville, which was the home of a salt mine that was important to the Confederacy. Salt is essential for the diet of humans and livestock, and was also used (at the time) to preserve meat. Salt was not widely available during the Civil War, and eight states used salt from this mine. More fighting would occur at Saltville in 1864. About 25 mi (40.2 km) east of Wytheville in Pulaski County is the Dublin railroad depot, which was a regional headquarters for the Confederate Army. The Dublin Depot was originally named Newbern Depot, although the town of Newbern is 2 mi (3.2 km) south of the railroad line. A short time before the Civil War, the depot was renamed Dublin Depot in honor of the New Dublin Presbyterian Church, which was located nearby. Thus, some maps from the early 1860s still used New Bern to identify the depot.
caption: Mt. Airy, Wytheville, and the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad in 1856
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