May 29, 1862
On Friday the 16th inst. Corporal C. D. Baylis and ten privates of Co. A, 6th Virginia Regiment, started from Spencer with a wagon and a four horse team for this place. When about eight miles this side of Spencer, they were halted by a Ranger picket and immediately fired upon by three squads of Rangers secreted in thick brush on the top of a hill above the road and about 40 yards distant. From the report of the guns, it is estimated that the Rangers numbered from 30 to 40. The picket immediately on firing came out of his ambush and running toward Corporal Baylis and his men threw up his arms saying he did not fire, but it was of no avail. Corporal B ordered his men to fire and the picket fell dead. One of the horses was killed, and another bullet aimed at Corporal B. struck another horse in the leg causing a serious wound. The horses becoming frightened ran 250 yards b[r]eaking the wagon to pieces, and it was while the men were endeavoring to [release?] the team from it, that the second horse was shot. Not a man on our side was hurt, not withstanding the bullet [?] thick about them. The wounded horse was left on the way and the other two were driven in.
Corporal B. says they were [?] all along the route, but from the superior force of the guerillas he deemed it best to draw off his squad while escape was practicable. At the same time he believed they would be [?]. The wagon, a few knapsacks, caps, and one gun and two horses, make the sum of our loss.:[Raven[s]wood Chronicle]
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: May 1862