Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-10-09
A War Memory.

THE wRECKING OF THE sTAUNToN
SPECTATOR OFFICE BY FEDERAL
SOLDIERS.
Among the West Virginia editors who
passed through here on the occasion OF
their Press Association Convention at
Charleston, the other day, was great,
good natured, rafting fellow, Capt. }. w.
Plattenburg, editor of the Hancock
"Courier.'' Talking to VINDICAToR
representative OF the trip, Capt. T. re-
marked:
swell. sir; l am the man who pied the
Stanton Spectator" type on the Hunter
raid during the war;"
"Ah! how was that ?"
swell; pretty soon after we marched
into Stanton, received orders from Gen.
Hunter to take squad of men, hunt up
the spectator" office and stop the rebel
sheet. So l took with me seventeen men
and finding out where the office was,
marched my squad up in front OF the
door. There was rather tall, thin man.
standing in the door. | halted my men
before him, brought them to an ''order
arms", and said to the man: L want to
see the proprietor of the 'Spectator" L
am the man. said he. Then, sir. | want
the keys of your effice.' The newspaper
man put bis hand slowly in his pocket,
took out his keys, and handed them to me
nd
felt as mean in my life. l marched my
men upstairs. made them gather all that
type, bring it down and throw it in the
middle of the street. l reckon that stop
ped the spectator, didn't it 20
''Yes; l should say So" SAID our re-
porter.
''But,' continued Capt. Plattenburg,
"that's all past and gone; we've bridged
over the bloody chasm. Let bygones be
bygones; shake" and they shook.
From MIR. r. Mauzy, the INDICATOR
representative gets some further particu-
lars which are interesting. 1t was IN June
1864, when Hunter was coming up the
Valley. The reserves had been called out
in Staunton to go down and fight the dis
astrous battle of Piedmont. near New
Hope. The printers of the Spectator had
managed to get the edition of the paper
out. and then gone off to join the troops in
the fight and had not yet come back from
the defeat. Mr.. MauZy was at the office with
Rev. W. &. Campbell. an aged Presbyte-
rian minister, when Gen. Halpine t'Miles
O'Riely') of the Federal army. which had
entered the town, came up. He asked if
he could get any printing done, and Mr..
NJ informed him that the printers were
off with the troops. After some further
conversation he. without being requested,
gave Mr.. MauZy an order for the protec
tion of the office and also sent q guard
there. The next day the guard went eff
with his regiment. Mr. NJ. was az The
Office alone, when Capt. Plattenburg with
some soldiers came up and stated his bus
mess, which was to destroy the office. Mr.
M. showed him Gen. Happiness order for
for its protection, but the Captain replied:
"Oh, we have different orders from that
now" They then went in and made q
thorough wreck of the office. The forms
which lay there just as they came off the
press, were smashed up and the large presc
broken to pieces. Even the printing pa
per was torn up. The leases" were thrown
into the street and all the job type and
other type 'pied y TIE office was valu-
able one and contained the material Of
three Offices The VINDICATOR office
material, which was in It's own flee on
another street, had been boxed up and
sent off some days before. and escaped
Mr.. Mauzy has never been able to learn
why Gen. Ralp1ne's order was disregard
ed, but as twenty years have passed he
feels little interest in the matter now.
Stanton Grain and Produce Markets.
New corn ION the coh) is being sold in
a small way at So and 40 cents per bushel.
The crop is fair one and quality gener-
ally good. The weather has been favora-
BILE for cutting, and the quantity of fodder
saved will be immense, which much more
than makes up for the shortage in wheat
straw. Present prices for corn seem low,
but may yet go lower. There is no doubt
that the crop III the United States is the
largest ever raised. Wheat is without
animation good milling grades SO to 95.
The farmers are busy seeding and not
much is coming into market.
Hay is without ouotabIe change Some