Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1862-08-07

Notices for Political Meetings to be charged in all
cases at full rates. t
Marriages, Notices. Funerals, and uunoncements
OF sermons, SO cents each. nOuy11-'59
NEUTRALITY.
The Experience OF One Who has
seen the elephant.
Editors Intelligenccr: & lm
Allow me through the columns of your
paper to address the people of West Vir-
ginia. will of necessity be brief, as am
farmer and a trader, and never appeared
befor the public either on the stage or on
paper. It requires all the nerve am mas
ter OF to write this, as / know it will be
criticised generally by che secessionists,
who claim to be the literati of the land,
and also by a few designing Union men,
who wonld iDjure me, as am not backed
by heavy family influence. Unfortunate
ly, in that respect, my family is Divided
At the commencement of our national
troubles ! was an unconditional Union
man, and visited Clarksburg for the pur-
psse of seeing if n company of men would
be received for twelve months, but finding
they would not be accepted for less than
three years declined raising one Time
wore on, and my feelings were often hurt,
and not always unfntentionally, by the
wholesale abuse of my friends aud rela-
tives in the Southern army. began to
sympathize very much with them,
and to take tho gronnd of neutral
| ity, neither taking ground nor action
with the new State men, nor taking sides
with secession but, like too many in our
country, trying to stand between. Now
you will see, this is the rock was wreck
ed upon. rented large grazing farms in
Randolph county, borrowed money and
stocked heavily. The Federal forces fell
back from Cheat Mountain, and left me
exposed. But trusting to my neutral
grounds, stood still. When, To- one
bright morning in dashed troop of rebel
cavalry, commanded By Captain Danger
field, and known as the Bath Cavalry, (the
same who took a train of United States
teams near Williamsburg, and shot nnarm-
ed teamsters,) and seized fifty-one head of
my cattle, and held out the idea that if l
would come over to Stauuton, would be
paid for them, and ut the same time taking
me prisoner near twenty miles. was re-
leased by the Captain, and agreed to follow
them the next day. On passing The rear
guard, my mule was demanded, which
was 10th to give up, when one of them
raised his gun in a rnenaciug Rtti-
tude, and said "Get off, Cd d-n
you; your party take everything they
get their hands on, when they get iuto
our country and we will do the same. West
Virginians, mark that expression. Taking
horse l followed, and between Monterey
aud Mcdowell was arrested by the same
Cavalry, but not the same men, and tukeu
to their camp at Mcdowell, where l was
rigidly searched for concealed weapons
and put under strict guard. (By this time
my neutrality was yanishing.) 1 was tax
en- to Staunton and before the Provost
Marshal, and charged with being Union
man, was ordered to the guard house. j
now began TO appeal to my friends but
found had none, that friendship toward
Union men was played out. ! wrote letter
after letter to one man in particular whom
L would hare served personally ut the risk
of my life, but he was silent. l appealed
to others, men in high position who had
known me from infancy, and with whom
had been on terms OF intimacy and friend
ship, butthey gave me the cold shoulder
To one l award the credit of candour aud
fraukness. He told me he would do nothing
fer nor against me, (here was neutrality
i did not relish) butthat he would raise no
false hopes in my bosom that L wonld be sent
south to be exchanged as Federal pris-
oner, or held during the war. AS last
resort only asked these men to recon-
mend me to the Marshal as man of hon
or. who would not violate parole, but
they would not speak the word. But glad
am I,now they would not do it, aslthen l
could not have given vent to my outraged
feelings. 0urfare or rations while in the
guard-house was sad breadiand meat in.
small quantities, and cold swater--some-
times minus the meat. On this we were
compelled tolabor on the road aud to sweep
AZ. I ...gt A..
time. was confined, but that did not al
ways excuse me from labor and abuse.
was SO weak once Icould not work at all,
and the Superintendent, with tiendish brI-
tality, ordered me from the shade of a tree.
to go and lie in the sun, and charged the
guard that If the shade got round GU me to
make me move, and enforced his order at
the point of the bayonet. BY this time my,
neutrality was rubbed out.
T Ihaye badly crippled hand, and am
not able to do any labor that is straining
on the wrist. ] showed them my hand, aud
to avoid their abuse told them I was viii.
ling to pick rock or do any thing / could;
but no, / must shovel, and this they en-
forced at the point of q bayonet.7 Once on
the march from work, which was near FIVE
miles, after six o'clock, never being ablet to
walk much, could not keep up with the
other prisoners hn0 Buoru sCayeu Oenlnd
to urge me on, and was glad to drink
few swallows fiwater. from a puddle or
mud hole where the hogs had Just left, it
being still riley. I then wished that the
seeesh had brigade of the neutral men Of
West Virginia prisoners, so tHatthey might
see their true position. And here let me
say to tue people of this section, who are
sitting with folded arms and depending on
their neutrality TO save them, that they are
in more danger than they are aware Of, for
if the southern army should, iu their des-
peration, make an. aggressive movement on
this country, they would use more severity
toward every one who did not rise up ID
arms with them than they would toward
the people of Massachusetts,. : i Luz
This section of Virginia took aposition