October 8, 1861
On Saturday morning, the 17th ult., Captain Pate's company of Mounted Rangers assailed an entrenched camp of Unionists, over fifty strong, at a place called Pond Fork, on Little Coal River, in Boone county, Va. The Unionists made no resistance with the exception of firing one gun, and took to their heels for safety. The Rangers captured seventeen of the number, three of whom were subsequently released, and the remaining fourteen are now in Richmond. These fellows are said to be the party who burned Boone Court-House, and have been committing various depredations in the county. On the same day Capt. Caskie's Rangers captured forty-seven head of cattle in the vicinity of Pond Fork. The health of the Rangers was good when our informant left.---Dispatch.
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: September 1861