Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-12-19
Annals Of the War.

|
General ]. D. Imdoden, Confederate
General,gi a lengthy account Of Gen.
David Hunters incendrarism, while
he had command of the Federal troops
in this Valley, during the late war;
from which we extract the following
from the Philadelphia Times: = ar
MORE OF HUNTERS INCENDIARIsM.,
Ishall conclude this ALREADY long mar.
rative by citing a few more instances
of Hunters incendiarism in, the lower.
valley. 1t seems that. smarting under
the miserable failure Of his grand raid
on Lynchburg, where during march
Of over hundred miles. the largest
force he encountered was under Jones
at Piedmont, and he routed that, thus
leaving the way open to reach Lynch
burg within three days, destroyed the
stores there and go out through West
Virginia unmolested, he had failed to
do any thing but oflct injury on private
citizens, and he came back to the Poto-
mac more inplacable than when he had
left it month before. His first victim
was the Hon. Andrew Hunter. of
Charlestown, Jefferson county, his own
| first cousin, and named after the Gen
erals father. Mr.. Hunter is a lawyer
| of great eminence and man of deserv-
| eddy large influence in his county and
the State. His home, eight miles from
Harper's Ferry, in the suburbs of
Charlestown, was the most costly and
elegant in the place, and his family as
refined and cultivated as anv in the
State. His offense in General Hunters
eyes was that he had gone politically
with his State, and was in full sympa-
thy with the Confederate cause. The
general sent squadron Of cavalry out
from Harper's Ferry, took Mr.. Hunter
prisoner and held him a month III the
common guard-house of his soldiers
without alleging any off'ense against
him, not common to nearly all the peo-
pie of Virginia and finally discharged
him without trial or explanation after
heaping these indignities upon him.
Mr.. Hunter was an oldman and suffer
ed severely from the confinement and
exposure. While he was thus prison.
er General Hunter ordered his elegant
mansion to be burned to the ground
| with all its contents, not even permit
ting Mrs. Hunter and her daughter to
save their clothes and family pictures
| from the flames, and, to add to the des
olation. camped his cavalry within the
enclosure of the beautiful grounds Ct
several acres surrounding the residence
till the horses had destroyed them. d.
INCENDIARIsM AT sHEPHERDsTowN.
His next similar exploit was at Shep-
herdstown; in the same county, where,
on the 10th of Jnly, 1864, he caused to
be burned the residence of the Hon. A.
r. Boteler, Fountain Rock" Mrs.
Boteler was also a cousin OF General
Hunter. This homestead was an old
colonial house, endeared to the family
by a thousand tender memories, and
contained splendid library, many. pic
lures, and an Invaluable collection of
rare and precious manuscripts illustra-
ting the early history Of that part Of
Virginia that Colonel Boteler had COLI
lected by years of toll The only mem.
bers of the family who were there at
the time were Colonel Boteler's eldes
and widowed daughter, Mrs. Shepherd,
who was an invalid, her three children,
the eldest five years old ana the young
est eighteen months, and Miss Helen
Boteler. Colonel Boteler and his son
were in the army and Mrs. Boteler IN
Baltimore. The ladies and children
were at dinner when informed by the
servants that body of cavalry had
turned in at the gate from the turnpike
and were coming up to the house.
THE BURNING OF BoTELER's HOUSE.
1t proved to be a small detachment
of the First New Y ork Cavalry, COM
manded by Captain William F. Mars
tindale, who, on being met at the door
by Mrs. Shepherd, coolly told her that
he had come to burn the house. He told
her by that of General Hunter, aud
showed her his written order. On read
inc it she said, 1.-The order see, sir, is
for you to burn the houses OF Colonel
Alexander r. Boteler and Mr.. Edmund
j. Lee. Now this is not Colonel Bote-
ler's house, but is the property of my
mothers, Mrs. Botelcr, and therefore
must not be destroyed, as you have no
authority to burn her house." ITS
Colonel Boteler's home, and that's
enough for me-" was Martlndale's reply.
She then said: 81 have been obliged to
remove all my personal effects here, and
have several thousand dollars worth of
property stored in the house and out
buildings which belongs to me and my
children. Can l not be permitted to
save it," But Marlindale CURLY told
her that he intended to ''burn every
thing under roofupon the place. Mean
while some of the soldiers were plum
dering the house of silver spoon, forks,
cups, and whatever they tancied, whiis-
others piled the parlor furniture on the
hosrs, and-others poured kerosene on
the piles and floors, which they then set
on fire. They had brought the kerosene
with them in canteens strapped to their
saddles. Miss Boteler. beng devoted
to music, pleaded hard for her piano, as
it belonged to her, having been a gift
from her grandmother, but she was