Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-09-02
A "TRIP TO WEST VIRaINIA.

/
a writer in the last Rockingham Register,
who will be readily recognized as the gallant.
Col. GRss. T. o Ferrell formerly of Morgan
county, in this State, furnishes a lengthy
contribution to the columns of that paper
under the above calsion The entire letter is
full of Interest, but eshaye silly space for
the following:
You can we'll imagine then, sir, the great
pleasure it afforded me, and the emotions that
filled my bosom, when on the m6rning Of. the
9th of August, took passage on the w %,
". NJ. 4 g. s: r. r. bound torsthe home of
my boyhood. Nine long years had passed
since my eyes bsheld these scenes If nv early
life, and now I was returning to gaze upon
them and to imeettmy old frienas once more.
The FIRST night spent in -
soHkLEsToWN,
where l found many OF my old Comrades
ready to greet me- and, if need be, to share
their blanket and last hard tack with me. as
of yore. Itawakened many pleasant memo.
ries, and many battle was :fought.over that
night. The gallant Chew, of artillery FAME.
is now mayor Of the town, and ,thes chief. mag
istrate is much more disturbed about certain
municipal question known as b. i. and h. o.
than he ever Was by the whizzing Of the min.
ME or the bursting of the shell.
Baylor is married and practicing law-firm
Baylor aud Wilson. They are doing we'll.
Rouss is living on farm about four miles
from town, but, from the indications, would
infer; that he1ha come to the conclusion that
too can farm better than one, and is on the
lookout for suitable partner. Seth Timber
lake, who, in Confederate days, on his war
steca, stood the peer of any soldier, is mer.
ohap1 1ntn
ton, Bush Cook, Harry Hunter, Luney Sad.
dler, Ned Aisguith, Johnnie Yates, Willie
Wilson, the 'Gallaher boys, and many others
who were members of Bay lor'sscompany, 18th
cavalry-the fame of whose brilliant deeds
will long oetlfve them-are'still'ih and around
Charlestown. The only unpleasant thing that
occurred daring our brief stay among these
gallant boys, was to find the eye-sight of
Johnnie Yates SO much impaired as not to be
able to recognize his oil Colonel.
Twisted the Cemetery and saw the 'beauti.
full monument erected to the MEMORY of the
Confederate dead by the noble ladies of the
Memorial Association. The design is perfectly
beautiful, and the work is well executed. I
also visited the grave Of Sam Wright, whose
memory will ever remain fresh and greenupon
the hearts of every surviving member of the
LIST squadron of the 18th Virginia Cavalry.
and, as stood gazing upon the graves, "too
cold and Camp for hearts so warm aud true"
| recalled to mind the glories of the fields
upon which their lives were offered up as holy
sacrifces upon the altar of their country; and.
though the Southern Confederacy for which
they died, has gone down into the gloom of
eternal night, and her name is not among the
list of nations, she will be like the sun when
he sets-whose ''glory remains when he fades
away"
* * *
Reluctantly boarded the train on the
morning of the 9Th, and soon found myself
whirling along the waters of the Shenandoah,
ana was soon ushered into the jaws of
uARpER's FERRY;
but how Strange, indeed, did the place look to
NO. No longer is it the busy place no lon
ger do we hear the hum of machinery. The
old workshops are all gone; but one building
remains and that building has history, a
most bloody history. refer to the old en-
CINE house where John Brown and his party
took refuge when pressed by tho citizens, from
which, through PORTFOLIOS Knocked in the
brick walls, they continued to fire and killed
Beck ham and others the very house in which
he was captured by the squad of Marines un>
vance by Colonel Lee afterwards our General
Lee). Singularly strange to ns that this
house alone should be standing, and. appar-
emily, well preserved. IT must remind every
Virginiun of that datnnahle fan.t;cism which
for years was gnawing at the vi.als of this
Government, and which eliminated in the
late terrific civil war which swept over our
country like a hot sirocc,, whitening and
blasting all that was lovely and heautifu-
We were only allowed time to take glance
at the town, but it was sufficient to enable us
to sec that it is no longer the Harper's Ferry
of 1S6O-6l. The place now looks like ruins
OF some ancient town. yet grand. even in her
ruins, with her towering hills and mountains
around her