The Wytheville Raid or Toland's Raid (July 18, 1863) 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. 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. The mine supplied the lead for about one third of the Confederate Army's bullets. The Virginia & Tennessee Railroad transported Confederate troops and supplies, and telegraph wires along the railroad line were vital for communications. In addition to moving the lead to bullet manufacturing facilities, the railroad also served an important salt works in an adjacent