Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1884-09-02
THE MAJORS STORY.

lHE MdJUR y DIUhI.
AN EPISODE OF THE WAR IN THE sHEr
ANDOAH vALLEY-HOw GEN. IMBoDE
CAPTURED THE NINTH MARYLAND A
CHARLEsTowN-A REBEL sABER TIA
LOOKED AS LONG AS FENCE RAIL AN
AS BRIGHT AS AN ELECTRIC LIGHT.
[Several of the prominent actors in th
scenes described by the Federal officer
the "Major's Story" given below bein
residents of this community, gives tha
story local interest. The section of al
tillery used in driving the Federals fror
the Courthouse was commanded by Lieut.
Carter Berkeley, of the firm of Berkele
& Walters Of Staunton, whilst Lieut.. Hug
Fl. Fultz commanded the other section o
McClanahan's Battery, and both section
were engaged during the rest of the day
Maj. Harry Gilmore, with forty men of hi
command, was upon the extreme righ
and in rear Of the enemy between Charles
town and Harper's Ferry-part of tn.
Eighteenth and Sixty-second Regiment,
occupying the centre and left. Gilmore
charged the left of the enemy's line of in
fantry at the same time that Capt. Frank
Imboden led the charge upon their center
with Companies A and H of the Eighteenth.
Capt. G. Julian Pratt captured the color.
of the Ninth Maryland infantry in thai
charge. Capt. Frank B. Berkeley, Adju
tant- General of the Brigade, was present
throughout the fight. Capt. Thos. S.
Doyle, Superintendent of the Institution
for the Deaf, Dumb & Blind was also pres
ent throughout the day.-EDIToR STAUN-
TON SPECTATOR
"The Johnnies had some pretty derned
smart officers during the war;" said the
major, when he had cooled off after growl-
at the heat, "and some of them that did
the most effective work were almost the
least heard of. Imboden was one of them.
He was smashing good soldier, had the
true instincts of cavalryman, and was as
much at home in the saddle for three
days ride to raid an outpost as he would
have been playing bean poker for apple
Shenandoah mountains
'1n 1868, when the Army of the Poto-
mac chased Lees defeated and sullen forces
back into Virginia, Meade left at Harper's
Ferry only a small corps of observation,
instead of the large force kept there pre-
viously for no better purpose than for the
rebs to run out and gallop all over the
country whenever they took notion to do
so. Only force enough was left to watch
confederate operations in the fair valley
stretching away to the southwark, and to
guard the railway from the rowing, restless
bands of light horsemen that kept things
wide awake in that neighborhood For
one of these bands to reach the road and
have brief time to spare meant burned
bridge or an obstructed tunnel that would
take days perhaps to rebuild or clear, and
that meant-the devil itself sometimes.
The force SO left consisted of the Thirty
fourth Massachusetts infantry, a gallant
regiment that had been engaged before in
racing up and ssdown the Shenandoah with
Banks and other distinguished generals of
masterly retreat, and had had then no op-
portunity of showing what metal it con-
tanned, though, God rest their brave souls,
many gallant fellow had too good chances
the next year. The other troops were three
the Potomac, one that had been with Av-
GRILL across the mountains, and two six
months Maryland regiments of infantry,
besides which was the Purnell legion of
Maryland cavalry.
'1n October, Gen. Sullivan had lust re-
lieved Gen. Henry FL. Lockwood, the father
of the young officer who lost his life in the
Arctic with Greely, and the force was then
distributed SO that the Ninth Maryland and
a squadron of cavalry were at Charlestown,
some dozen miles from the ferry, the Tenth
Maryland and the three Potomac batteries
lay along the high ground at the western
foot Of Maryland heights, across the Poto-
mac, and the Bay State men and the Seven
teenth Indiana battery were on Bolivar
plain, above the town at the ferry.
"On the morning of the 18th of October,
not an hour after sunrise, / had my bate
ries out drilling, when l heard guns to the
southwark, away beyond Bolivar, and riding
out to the redoubt above the river was sig
nailed in short time to come at once with
my command to headquarters; Col Re-
we're, Of the Tenth Maryland, receiving the
same orders. gave the same instructions
to the battery commanders, and started off
at once with a lieutenant and our orderlies,
and in half an hour SO reported. No one
yet knew the trouble, but the lookout from
Bolivar heights located at it or very near
Charlestown, and Col Wells of the Thirty
fourth was started out, Miners Indiana
battery, with which went, and Coles bat
TALON of the cavalry accompanying.
''We soon found out what the trouble
was. Gen. j. D. Imboden, with small
force Of cavalry, perhaps five hundred, and
a section of artillery, had started from
Do NJ q 81 al hot
ing, nearly twenty miles away, and marched
to Charlestown, where he arrived about
sunrise and succeeded in surrounding the
place before single officer or man discov-
cred the least sign of his approach. don't
know where the cavalrymen were located,
they certainly we're not posted, but the in
fantry was located in the courthouse yard,
which was inclosed with a low barricade
wall of stones and timber, while the court
house and Jail, where old John Brown was
confined, tried, and hanged, was loopholed
for musketry firing. Imboden demanded a
surrender, but Col Simpson, Of the Nine
teenth, demanded an hour for considera-
tion-probably wanted to drill his troops.
Imboden wouldn't have that, and sent
word that he would give five minutes be-
fore he opened fire, and advised Simpson
to send the women and children out of the
way. Simpson answered gallantly to Take
me if you can,'' and firing at once began.
Imboden had his guns posted within two
squares of the courthouse, and they were
served we'll, as found out later in the
day, so that in less than five minutes our
people got out in the streets and tried to
skip out for Harper's Ferry. Just at the
edge of town Imboden's brother and Harry
Gilmore met them, and after firing only
one volloy oUr troops downed their arms
and surrendered-no to single man, how
ever for at the first shot Col Simpson, his
lieutenant-colonel, whose name don't re-
collect, and five other mounted officers lit
out, got through the rebs, and reached
Bolivar Heights just about the time Wells
and his command were well down the slope
toward Halltown, a little place four miles
away.
'Imboden, with half dezen shells, a
volley or two of carbine and pistol shots,
and considerable dash, had scooped in pret-
ty nearly as many as his own force num-
bered. Our folks were never very proud of
that part Of the days work.
"Well, in not much more than two hours
after the first shot was fired Col Wells had
pushed his command so hard that we