USA > West Virginia > Tucker County > History of Tucker County, West Virginia, from the earliest explorations and settlements to the present time; > Part 23
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ST. GEORGE, VA., July 2, 1861.
MY DEAR FRIEND :- Before this reaches you, you will have re- ceived the mournful intelligence of Lieutenant McChesney's death. .
I write, because you will wish to hear every particular. On Satur- day, June 29, it was reported that the Union men would hold an election eight miles below St. George, protected by a large guard from the Northern army. Lieutenant McChesney went down with a party of ten men as scouts. When within half a mile of the house, he ordered his men to return. Just as they turned their horses, a party of men, who were lying in ambush, rushed out and cut off their retreat. They fired on each other. Part of our men* dashed up the mountain, and part attempted to cut their way
* The Rebels.
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through them. Lieutenant McChesney was killed on the spot, Mr. Paxton badly wounded, and two others wounded, not so badly. Some of the men say they saw him* lying dead, the horse standing by him, and the bridle in his hand. Some of the Northern men requested the people at the election to bury him, which was done that evening.
The next morning Mrs. Talbott went down to see if the body could be obtained, as his brother officers expressed a very strong desire to obtain it.t
Sabbath night we hired several ment to go at the risk of their lives and bring him here. The company to which he belonged was to come here to take him away ; but next morning an express was sent, telling us to bury him here. He had been brought to Mr. Ewin's, § one of the most prominent men in this region. We would have had a neater coffin made, but it was reported that the enemy was approaching, and a good workman could not be procured. Notice had been privately given, and ladies came five miles to at- tend the funeral. Sentinels were placed out ; a few of the Home Guards attended ; twenty-four guns were fired over his grave, and while it was filling, the old familiar hymn was sung :
When I can read my title clear.
We laid him in a retired and beautiful spot, shaded by several fine trees, and commanding a beautiful view of Cheat River and the adjacent village of St. George. It was a spot selected by Mr. Ewin, for a family burying ground. A lovely daughter of his sleeps there.
The Lieutenant's grave was surrounded by tender and sympa- thizing hearts; for nearly all had near relatives in the army, and we knew not how soon the hand of the stranger would lay them in their last resting place. A musket ball had penetrated his body in the left side, near the heart.
Till Christ shall come to rouse the slumbering dead, Farewell, pale, lifeless clay, a long farewell : Sweet be thy sleep beneath the green tree's shade, Where we have laid thee in thy lonely cell.
* McChesney.
t From the circumstances we infer that Mrs. Talbott was not successful in obtaining permission to take away Lleutenant McChesney's body.
+ These men were Abraham Talbott, Peter Bohon and John Auvil, Sr.
§ Senator William Ewin.
-
LT. ROB'T MCCHESNEY.
N D ADAMS.
-
JOSEPH A. FARIS.
5
MRS. D. S. MINEAR.
D. S. MINEAR
PHO"STYPE
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My dear friend, may our blessed Savior comfort you all, particu- larly the mother ; and, O, that he may sanctify to us all the heavy afflictions with which he is visiting us.
Your Sincere Friend, MARY A. SEE.
The following is a copy of Colonel Irvine's letter, which he wrote from Oakland, July 21, 1861. Colonel Irvine had command of the troops by whom McChesney was killed, and his letter shows him to have been a brave man, for none but a brave man could deal so fairly and so honorably with an enemy who had fallen in battle. The letter reads thus :
HEADQUARTERS 16TH REG'T, OHIO VOLS., > OAKLAND, MARYLAND, July 21, 1861. )
To the Friends of Licut. Robert Me Chesney, 1st Lieut. Va. Cavalry :
No opportunity having occurred, giving me a reasonable hope of reaching you before this time, is my excuse for not writing you sooner. You have, no doubt, learned long before this of the time and manner of Lieut. McChesney's death, I will, therefore, not speak of it further than to say that he bore himself gallantly, and my sympathies were greatly enlisted for him when he fell. What should have been our common country, lost a brave and gallant man. I am in possession of his personal effects, which would be invaluable to you ; and, it would afford me great pleasure to know that they were restored to you. If you will indicate to me the channel through which I shall forward them, it shall be done im- mediately. Amongst other things, I have his pocket-book, $ -- in money, gold shirt buttons, breast pin, several papers (of no value) and some other little articles, not now remembered. His arms will, of course, be retained, being contrabrand. My term of service is about to expire. Please write me at Coshocton, Ohio.
Very Respectfully, JAMES IRVINE. Col. Comd'g 16th Reg't, O. M. V.
The accounts of McChesney's death differ a little in the minutia. One account says that he was killed by Captain Miller with a pistol which had that morning been borrowed from John A. Peters, of Rowlesburg. As this story runs, Miller, with others, heard that the Confederates 21
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were advancing, and having dressed themselves in citizens' clothes, went up the road and stood by the wayside as if merely looking at the soldiers pass. McChesney and his men passed by, not suspecting that the men whom they saw were Union soldiers with arms hidden under their clothes. When the Rebels had gone a little further down the road, they found themselves confronted by Miller and his dis- guised soldiers, and from the shot of Miller's revolver, the brave Lieutenant was killed."
Certain it is, that the Confedrates passed a squad of Yankees, seen or unseen, and shortly after were attacked from the front by another body of the Union forces, and in falling back found themselves hemmed in between two ene- mies. Some tried to escape up the hill, and did escape with the loss of horses, guns and accoutrements. One crossed the river, and escaped. McChesney, Paxton and others attempted to cut their way through the Yankees who were in the road behind him.t A great many guns were fired. The Rebels had double-barrelled shot guns.# One Yankee was shot in the back of the head as he ran, and fell, mortally wounded.§
McChesney was shot through, but did not fall from his horse until the horse had its leg shot nearly off, when both rider and horse fell together. McChesney never showed signs of life after he fell. It is said that his hand still
* Mr. Daniel K. Dumire, a trustworthy eitizen of Tucker, claims to have seen and heard the substance of this story. He heard Miller boast of killing McChesney within an hour from the time it happened. He also saw the fight.
t It is sald that, when he saw that he was surrounded, McChesney drew hIs sword and called to his men : " We must cut our way through them !"
# The barrels of one of these guns were recently found near the battle-ground and are still in the possession of. C. L. Bowman, of St. George, W. Va.
5 Ilis comrades placed him in a canoe and started to Rowlesburg with him. Ife died Just before reaching there, having lived tive or six hours.
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grasped his bridle rein. He fell upon a small log, entirely free from his wounded horse.
Paxton succeeded in breaking through the lines of the enemy, but was shot through the body. He rode on some distance, when he became so weak that he could not ride. He dismounted and hid near the road and remained there till night, when he was found and taken to St. George by William Harper. All the others got away, and two of them were wounded.
The Home Guards and the soldiers whom McChesney had left about St. George were following on down. When they passed Miller Hill they heard of the skirmish but did not learn whether any or how many of the men had been killed. It was deemed best to retreat, and all did so but William Harper. He expressed his determination to proceed until he learned more of the missing men. He went on until al- most in sight of the battle ground, where he found Paxton's horse, which was slightly wounded. Concluding that the rider must have been killed, Harper caught the horse and with it returned to St. George. Before dark, all the men came in but McChesney and Paxton. McChesney had been seen to fall, but Paxton was beyond the lines when last seen, and it began to be hoped that he had escaped. After night- fall, William Harper, a braver man than whom never lived, went down to hunt for Paxton. He met him slowly making his way on foot up the road, badly wounded. Harper car- ried him to town, and there he was taken care of.
On Sunday night John Auvil, Abraham Talbott and Peter Bohon went to Hannahsville and brought away the dead body of McChesney. They went in a sled, in order that they might not be heard, since a wagon would be so noisy. No one disturbed them, and with the object of their mission,
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
they reached Mr. Ewin's before day, and the burial took place, as is described in Mrs. See's letter. The Rebels then left the county, going back to the main body of soldiers in Barbour and Randolph counties. As they went they took prisoner Judge S. E. Parsons and William Hebb, and tying them together, carried them off.
The site of the battle of Hannahsville is about eight miles below St. George on the Rowlesburg road, and may still be pointed out. The thicket of brush where the Yankees lay hidden, has since been cut down, and a few other changes have taken place; but the whole is yet an object of interest as it is the site of the first blood-shed in Tucker County in war since the close of the old trouble with the Indians. The Union forces amounted to six hundred men. MeChes- ney had about ten. The loss in killed was one on each side. The Yankee was shot in the back of his head as he was running.
Lieutenant Robert McChesney was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, June 30, 1832, and died June 29, 1861, aged twenty-nine, wanting one day. He had a good education and was by occupation a farmer. He possessed the finest business qualifications. In politics he was a Whig, as that branch of the Republican party was then called, and of such integrity was he that he was the leader of the party in the community where he resided. From early life he manifested a strong predilection for military pursuits, and while yet quite young was elected Lieutenant of a company of cavalry. He had been for several years, and was at the breaking out of the war, Adjutant of the regiment of militia to which his company belonged. His voice was loud, clear and distinct. His commands could be plainly heard from one end of his regiment to the other.
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Descending from a long line of ancestry distinguished for their patriotic devotion to their country and a love of lib- erty, Lieutenant McChesney was among the first to offer his services when the Governor of Virginia called for troops to repel invasion. None of the Mother of Presidents' heroic sons were prompter than he to respond to the call for aid.
McChesney was a man whose personal appearance would claim for him notice anywhere." His frame was wiry and well knit, capable of enduring great fatigue; he was tall in stature and of a commanding mein, and was one among the finest riders in the Rebel army, where every cavalryman was a splendid horseman.t He was quick of perception, and had the eye of an eagle. He was generous to a fault and fearless in danger, possessing all the qualities that go to make a dashing cavalier, and had he not been so suddenly cut off he would undoubtedly have written his name beside those of Ashby and Stuart, high on the scroll of fame. It is said by one who knew whereof he spoke that Lieutenant McChesney was the only cavalry officer who attempted to rally his men or bring order out of confusion and chaos on the day of the Philippi rout and retreat. He possessed the confidence and respect of his superior officers, and the love and admiration of his subordinates and equals .;
* I once met a lady on the Pacific Coast, who had seen McChesney on the morning of his death, as he went to the battle, and she spoke repeatedly of the splendid appear- ance of the young Lieutenant on horseback, and how dignified, gallant and heroic he looked as he led his men to the battle. She said that his horse seemed conscious of the worth of its rider, and bore itself as proudly as a Saxon war horse, carrying a knight in armor.
+ Impartial judges state that, as a whole, the Rebel cavalry, during the War, pos- sessed the finest riders of any cavalry in the world. They rode nearly equal to the wild horsemen of Texas and California.
# Col. Irvine, by whose regiment McChesney was killed, afterwards said that the young Lieutenant was the bravest man he ever saw; and, as he charged down so gallently upon the Federals, he hoped to see him escape the hail of bullets that were showered upon him. Even his enemies in war expressed sorrow that so heroic a man should meet so untimely fate, and so young.
.
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
But, all the promise of renown were cut off and destroyed when he fell on that bright summer morning.
On the bosom of his Mother State Lieutenant McChesney offered up his life a martyr to liberty and State Rights. He was the idol of his widowed mother, who, though doubly widowed by his tragic death, sent forth her two remaining sons to battle for her beloved Southland. Brave son of a Spartan mother ! the sunny Clime of Ancient Greece never produced two nobler or more heroic spirits. Some may accuse him of rashness ; but, during three years in the saddle in time of war I have seen quite as daring feats as he at- tempted, successfully executed .*
Had his men followed him when he gave the command to charge, it is not improbable that they would have succeeded in cutting through that serried phalanx of glittering steel, and added fresh laurels to Virginia power and glory. He was respected, honored and loved by all who knew him in life. By his brave and heroic death he compelled and won the respect even of his enemies. He filled all the stations of life nobly and faithfully. He gave his life for his country.
Whether or not his cause was a just one has nothing to do in the consideration whether or not he was a hero. A belief is right when a man will die for it. No vicious pas- sion should assail a man who is willing to offer up his life to a cause which he advocates. With him and between him and the eternal tribunal of truth and justice it is right. When other men and other times shall come to judge us as we were, the jealousy and prejudice that surrounded us in life will have passed away, and what of good there was in us will then be seen, not through a glass darkly, but clearly and truly. Generations that shall come centuries hence, and who perchance shall ask of us, will not inquire who wore the blue and who wore the gray. It is little we care
* An extract from a letter written by a Confederate officer.
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who wore the Red Rose and who the White, in the wars of York and Lancaster. Less still-for times are changing- will those who come after us care who wore the blue and who the gray. Men and results will be all that will be asked for ; and, then, all passion gone, as a man will be named Lieutenant Robert McChesney.
The war in West Virginia was now fairly begun. The Confederates held strong positions in Barbour and Ran- dolph, and MeClellan with thirty thousand men was ad- vancing upon them. Garnett, the Confederate General, had between four thousand and five thousand men. The odds were seven to one against him. On July 8, 1861, was fought the battle of Laurel Hill or Belington. 'the Confed- erates fell baek. On July 11, the battle of Rich Mountain was fought, and the Confederates were again defeated. In these fights very few men were killed, and Garnett did not fall back on account of the destruction that had been done his army. But he knew how much strength his enemy had, and he suspected that the design was to cut him off from the roads leading south, and then, in case of defeat, to com- pel him to surrender.
A mistake on the part of some of his scouts strengthened the belief, and brought on disasters which might have been avoided. His scouts reported that they had seen Union troops in Beverly, and that the road beyond was blockaded. The road was blockaded, and they had seen troops in Bev- erly ; but, the troops were Confederates, and the road had been blockaded by Confederates. Not knowing the truth of the matter, and believing that he was being rapidly sur- rounded by thirty thousand men, Garnett deemed it best to retreat while he could, by the only road yet open, that to St. George, thence to the North-western Turnpike, and by
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY,
it to Mount Storm, the summit of the Alleghanies, and from there through Greenland Gap, back to Virginia. Al- most immediately after forming this plan, he found part of it frustrated. The direct road to St. George, that down Clo- ver Run, was so open to attack from overwhelming numbers of the Federals, if indeed, it was not already in their hands, that it was decided unwise to retreat by that route.
The only way still open for the artillery and wagons was that across Laurel Hill at the head of Pleasant Run, down that stream to Shafer's Fork, down it and the river to the Horse Shoe, and thence up either Mill Run or Horse Shoe Run to the North-western Road. This was a hard line of retreat for an army heavily encumbered with baggage and stores; but there was no other, except Dry Fork, and that way was utterly impassable for wagons and artillery.
Misfortunes were thickening around the Confederates. The two brothers, William and Ezekiel Harper, had been sent off as scouts to see if the way was open at all. The former had been scouting in Barbour for several days, and had twice approached within a mile and a half of Philippi while the Union forces were there. E. Harper had been watching the movements of the Federals who were pushing eastward along the North-western Pike from Grafton, and had fortified themselves on Buffalo and at West Union (Aurora), and seemed to be concentrating their forces so as to strike either the Mill Run or the Horse Shoe Run road, whichever one the Confederates should attempt to escape by. Garnett was, indeed, in a critical situation, and a de- lay of a few days would prove fatal. He, therefore, decided to retreat at once. In a short time his army was in motion, the cavalry in front, and then the long train of ponderous wagons and infantry. The Union General soon learned
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that the retreat had commenced, and General Morris went in pursuit with about five thousand men.
The Confederates encamped the first night on Pleasant Run. The next morning, as their rear was leaving camp, the Federals came up and fired on them. A slight skirmish ensued, and the Confederates escaped for the moment.
Meanwhile, E. Harper, who had gained all the informa- tion he could concerning the position of the Union forces, was on his way to Rich Mountain to report. When he reached Ward Parsons', on Shafer's Fork, he learned that the Confederate army was retreating. He knew that the road along the hill near there was impassable for an army with wagons, and he hurriedly collected a score of men with axes and commenced cutting a road through the bottom land. He left the men to complete this work, and he pushed on to meet the army. He met the advance near the mouth of Pleasant, and the officers, when they learned that the Horse Shoe Run road was the only one open, requested him to pilot the army through by the shortest and safest route. Harper insisted on turning back to fight, saying that he could kill more Yankees than any thirty Rebels. He was reprimanded for his rashness, and was told that the ob- ject was not to kill Yankees but to get that army out of its present situation. The firing in the rear had already begun, and the intention of all was to escape as soon as possible. He accepted the position of pilot, and moved forward with the van. About forty of the Spottsylvania cavalry were sent over the mountain under the guidance of J. M. Corrick, to see if the Federals held the Clover Run road ; for it was feared that they would cross from Philippi to St. George, and cut off the retreat there. Corrick guided the detach- ment through mountain paths, down Clover to St. George.
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
He found the way clear, and passed up the river to Max- well's and there re-joined the main army, and was then re- leased from further service."
Meanwhile, the fight at Corrick's Ford was in progress. Below the mouth of Pleasant Run it was seen that opposi- tion must be offered to the pursuing Federals. Two com- panies of Georgians were placed in ambush to fall upon the flank of the Union army, while the main body of the Con- federates were to attack from the front. At Corrick's Ford the Rebels planted their cannon, and, as the front of the Union army came down to the water's edge, opened on them with a volley of grape-shot. The two regiments of Georgia troops did not fire, although they were ready, and waited only for the command. They were cut off from the main army and escaped up the mountain. They fell in with James Parsons who piloted them to Otter Fork, where they camped that night, and the next day crossed to Dry Fork, and by that route, after great suffering and hardships, they at last reached the Confederate lines.
The front of the Confederate army had crossed Job's Ford, four miles below Corrick's Ford, when the firing com- menced. It was expected that the decisive battle would be fought there; for the stand at Corrick's Ford was meant only to check the enemy momentarily. Accordingly, cannon were wheeled into position along the river bank, opposite Callihan's store, and the brush were cleared from the bluff above, ready to make of it an artillery field.
At the moment the Rebels fired at Corrick's Ford, the road on the other side of the river was full of Yankees, who did not know of the presence of Rebels, except a few
* J. M. Corrick was a son of William Corrick, after whom the Battle of Corrick's Ford was named.
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stragglers whom they did not think worth firing upon.#
The Confederate cannon had been concealed, and when they fired, the Federals fell as one man. The officer in front had seen the guns just in time to call: "Flat to the ground!" and his men threw themselves flat in the road, and thus escaped the first volley. From the marks on the trees it is supposed that the first fire of the Rebels was fif- teen feet above the Yankees. But the other volleys that followed in rapid succession were not too high, for, a log that lay in the midst of the Yankees had in it 144 bullet holes when the battle was over. The firing across the river was rapid for a few minutes, and until the Union forces fell back. The Rebels then resumed their retreat. Garnett, at this juneture, came back with his staff officers, McClung and others, and attempted to rally his men. They were sitting on their horses by the river bank, leaning forward in order to see under grapevines and limbs that grew thick there. Firing had again commenced, and as they leant forward on their horses' necks, a bullet shaved the mane from Garnett's horse, close to the rider's face. McClung advised him to get out of range of the bullets. The General replied that they might get away if they liked, leaving it to be understood that he would not get away. The next moment a ball struck him, and he fell from his horse mortally wounded. His army was now in full retreat, and he was left on the field. The Federals found him and carried him into the house of William Corrick, where Morris came to visit him. He and Morris had been class-mates at West Point. The hatred that existed between the North and South was forgotten by
* A drummer boy, who had mounted a horse behind a sick soldier, was thrown from his horse into the water when firing commenced. He lay under water, except his face, during the battle, and then escaped unseen and made his way back to the army of Virginia.
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HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
them, and after Morris had done all that could be done for the wounded officer, Garnett died in the Union General's arms. The generous and magnanimous Morris showed every respect and kindness in his power to Garnett, and when he was dead, he dressed him in his own blue uniform and sent him to his people in the South.
The battle field was now clear of Confederates. Those who could had fled, and the wounded and dead had been carried off. Corrick's house was made a hospital and a prison. The captured Confederates were confined in the kitchen.
The number of killed and wounded at Corrick's Ford is not and probably never can be known. No official reports can be found ; and other reports are as various as the per- sons are who make them. The entire loss on both sides is placed all the way from fifteen to three hundred. It was certainly more than fifteen and certainly less than three hundred. Of the Rebels, more than fifteen are known to have been killed. The Yankees would not acknowledge that they lost any ; but the evidence against this is too strong to admit of its belief. The trees and brush where the soldiers stood thick were torn and splintered by grape- shot and bullets, and it would have been a miracle if no sol- dier was struck. Besides, many persons claim to have seen numbers of dead Union men. It is claimed that they hauled several large wagon-loads of dead bodies to Ran- dolph, and buried them in the entrenchments. One trust- worthy man says that he counted one hundred and fourteen dead Union soldiers. The Rebels had a great advantage of ground, and made good use of it, and it would be a curious freak of chance if no Union soldier was killed.
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