Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1879-03-18
P. II. SHERIDAN,

The above relic of "civilized" war;
fare we copy from the Washington Ga
sette of the 23d of February, and which
was furnished that journal 10y a lady of
Darkesville, Berkeley county, w. Va,
and we do so in order that we may give
a correct version to one of the state
ments that it contains-the one refer
ing to the death of Lieutenant John r.
Meigs, engineer officer of Gen. Sheri-
dams staff. We are well and thorough
ly acquainted with all the minuti@ and
details Of the affair, having been the at
tending surgeon to young Martyr, one
of the scouts who was engaged in the
melee with Lieut.. Meigs and his party,
and who was shot through the lungs
with pistol fired by Meigs. We have
so frequently seen statements in regard
to this fair which are so wide of the
truth, that appear periodically in the
Northern journals, and especially those
Southern, that we are induced to give
an honest. fair and faithful statement OF
the true facts in the case.
In the fall of 1854, while General P
FL. Sheridan and his command, embrac.
ing large bodies of cavalry, in fantry and
artillery, held possession of and camped
on all the territory north of the North
Branch of the Shenandoah River, en-
hracing the towns of Mt. Crawford,
Bridgewater, Dayton and Harrison
burg, and the Confederate forces occu-
pied the Southern side of the stream,
it became necessary that scouts should
be sent out into the Federal camp, in
order to ascertain its position, strength,
&C., consequently Lieut.. Campbell of
Cuba, belonging to a Louisiana COM
1nand, and Lieut.. B. Frank Shaver of
Rockingham county, Va, and Joshua
Martyr of Warrenton, Fauquier coun-
ty, Va, in 1854, were dispatched by Gen.
Wickham as scouts to scOur the coun-
try, penetrate the Federal lines and
gather such intelligence as they could
in reference to the enemy. After cross
ing the aforesaid river they passed on
unmolested beyond Dayton, a distance
Of about five miles from the point of
their departure, surrounded everywhere
by Federal soldiery, when they observ-
ed three of the enemy following them
through lane that crosses at right an-
gels from the Warm Springs pike to the
Valley pike, about mile beyond Day
ton. The scouts, surprising they had
attracted the attention and aroused the
suspicious of the Federals, held sort of
impromtu council of war as they rode
leisurely along, and determined to allow
their pursuers to overtake them, and if
needs be either cut their way out or sell
their lives as dearly as possible. deter
mining never to surrender. When the
parties following, which proved to be
Lieut.. Meigs and two orderlies, came up
our scouts Immediately wheeled their
horses and, having previously prepared
their pistols and each singled out his
man, demanded their surrender. The
orderlies obeyed the command without
any hesitation whatever but Meigs,
whom it appears must have been pre-
pared for emergencies, fired, the ball,
which was from heavy army revolver,
struck young Martyr in the brest, pene.
trating the lungs and emerging near the
spinal column.-Lieut, Shaver then fir
ell upon Meigs, who fell dead from his
saddle. The evening was damp and all
of the parties. wore over their respec-
tive uniforms gum blankets such as were
worn by the soldiers of both armies and
which somewhat confused Meigs and
his party as to the identity of the Con-
federates. Upon the death of Meigs the
orderlies, who were dismounted, imme
diately took to flight, and the Confede
rates taking possession of the horses and
Shaver and Campbell riding on either
side of Martyr, who was weak and faint
from loss of blood, and supporting him
in his saddle, passed out under dusky
twilight, for it was about Dightfall when
the tragedy was enacted, through thous-
ands of the enemies soldiery, who were
either too much paralyzed by the recent
bold and daring deed to really appreci-
ate what was done, or were altogether
ignorant Of it, as they made but feeble
attempt to capture the scouts, pursuing
them cautiously but for short distance
only. After travelling some eight or ten
miles through woods, thickets and
brambles, over fields and rough precipi-
ces the scouts succeeded in arriving safe
ly beyond the enemies lines at the resi-
dence of Mr.. Robert Wright, a we'll to-
do and thoroughly hospitabIe farmer
who resi- des on the south bank of the
now classic North River and W DO kind
ly took them in and cared for the brave
young soldier who had so CALAMITY haz-
arded his life for the good of his beloved
Sunny South. 1t was there that we first
saw the party after the tragedy and
from whom we received the statement
as record ed above. Young Martyr lin
gered for some weeks, balancing between
life and death, but finally his robust
physique proved superior to the enc
rny's bullet, and in this, as in many a
former contest of a somewhat different
nature, triumphed. AS soon as he was
able to be moved he was taken to the re-
si3ence OF Hon. D. Newton Vanlear,
nsw member of the Virginia House of
Delegates. near Mt Scion. Augusta
where, under the kind atten-
ton of ME-. Vanlear and family he re-
covered and was restored to the arms of
his friends.
Mr.. Martin is now a resident of Eau.
3uier county Va, Lieut.. Shaver is a
resident OF Rockingham county, Va,
and Mr.. Campbell we believed returned
20 Cuba after the close of the war.
Our object in writing this is to correct
he infamous falsehood concocted bv
Sheridan to offered as an apology for
lis fiendish acts in burning the houses
# innocent citizens and turning out in
o the cold women and children and
which is taken up by every prejudiced
Northern newspaper scribler, and which