The National tribune., 1890-01-16


shoemaker's wax, and stained tho blue trow-
sers so that it had to be washed out 1t is q
wild-lookng place, and presents the same ap-
pearance now as when the web-foot dragged
through and cursed its mire.
Flooding on, at two and aquarter miles from
Stones we come to VIM. Paino's house, whore
the plank road enters, and where he lived with
his wife and children, John, Tom, Lawrence,
Mary, and Penelope. A good spring bubbles
up in the woods on the loft-hand side of the
main road. He was discharged from tho 7th
Va. for disability, and remained quietly at
home, taking no interest in passing events,
AND WAS NOT DISTURBED BY THE TROOPS.
And now the three quarters of mile to Ger
| mania is along the edge of a precipitous hill of
soapstone shale, making soft and damp road.
and We emerge at the river with the high hill
on our right and field on n bank to our left
which belonged to Powell, but was occupied by
Geo Grimsley who lived with his wife and
four daughters in the house quarter of mile
to the left About GO yards from the road lead
ing to the bridge, and over the road to the ford,
which is cut down n 20-foot bank, Is the stone
| cellar of an old house, with scattering cedars
and honey y-locusts around it. In this cellar, or
by 1t, stood tho Federal picket watching his
Confederate antagonist by the tall bare Chin
neys, where formerly stood the houses of Ger
mania, looming up ghostlke over the ruins of
mill, factory, store, and dwellings.
Back of us, two miles and half toward the
| LETT and the Ely Ford road, is old John Jones's
place where he lived with his wife and three
daughters, Eveline, Mildred and Martha His
sons, John, James, and Richard, were in the
| Confederate army. Directly duo east of us
| three miles, is ID. Halls place, on n plateau 1b0
feet high, and n mile farther is the Culpeper
Gold Mine, in wild, hiIy country. not reach
| cd from this direction, the approach to il being
by way of Rchardsvile but communicating
with the Van Cluse and Greenwood Minessou
of the river and the Wilderness country by a
crossing called Culpeper Ford.
Locust Hill, Col. Humphreys place, Is about
A mile and half from us down tho river; we
can see his house from here, east of u.s. on
| high hill. One Of his sons was Lieutenant
in the Confederate army aud was killed at
Cedar Mountain. Humphrey had been Colo
mel of militia; was very rich, arrogant man,
| and prominent Secessiouist, and was taken
prisoner by the I'd Ind. Cav. when Gen. Buford
came in, and carried off TO Washington. in 1862,
! where he was kept in the Old Capitol Prison.
| lie refused TO take the oath of allegiance, and
! died in confinement. Strother Wallace, who
still lives, was taken st the same time but ac-
| cepted the oath, and was set free.
To the right and west half milo Is Fox
Neck, belonging to Capt John T. Brooke in
those days, but subsequently owned by Doug
| Wallach, of the Washington Erenin1 Star. lie
was IN the Confederate army, aud home on fur
! Tough when captured by the same parties who
| took Col. Humphreys. Ii is said that he caused
| Humphreys arrest. However, he took the
| oath of allegiance, and remained In Washing.
ton until the war was over. Tho Fox Neck
mansion was on q high ridge. but obscured
/ from view at the bridge by the dense grove in
| front of IL.
| Now while we gaze at the water boiling by
! tho huge rocks below which crosses the ford 10
sandhar on the southern side, we picture In
our mind the northern shore of the river
crowded with infantry anid iara dfernht,,r aud
the road back as far as tho eye can reach full of
gittering bayonets and bright uniforms We
can imagine
THE GALLANT "PADpY" OWENS
| riding down the road 10 the rivers brink, leap
ing from his horse, aud with sword in hand
dashing into the stream, shouting 10 the men
of his brigade the command, Forward /" aud
advancing across the foaming stream, arm-pit
deep. lie reaches the southern shore followed
by his " Regulars" aud ascends the road which
winds first TO tho right To reach tho road FROM
the bridge, and then 10 the left before striking
away form the river. This picture of tho adj
vance to Mine Run was of repeated at Ger.
mania, where now there il 10 sound save the
rush of the river"
The plank road which we mentioned as com.
ng in threc-quarters OF mile back was never
completed. il was intended 10 run from Fred
cFcksbuTg To Culpcpcr Courthouse but as the
stock khoders aid not plank up, the road went
under. The right Of way had been purchased.
and 1t was graded from Frederick sburg via
| Germania 20 a point within about three miles
OF Stcygusbufg aud a mile aud half south Of
the Stevensburg and Fredcksburg roads where
there was ffee-ncgro settlement. trail
from the Stcyeusbnrg road crossed here and
went down 10 the old Tobaccostick Ford. and
crossroad from Shepherds Grove TO Raccoon
Ford also IntursectCd IT, One mile west from
these crossroads and the same distance from the
m I ~.
OF Capt Harrison Gordon, deceased His sons.
John, Albert, and Churchill wero in the Con-
fedeTate army, and his wife went TO live with
her s0n-in-law Ab Willis.
Mrs. Melinda Edwards, with her daughter
Jennie. had charge Of the Gordon house, and
Melinda's aunt, old Mrs Fanny Evans. lived
with them. The first troops who went in that
way In 1862 were Seott's 900' They canpcd
all night on Mrs. Ashby's place. which was then
In charge Of Richard Clark, the family having
gone South. DR.. J. Washington Ashby being in
the army. The next day they went on 10 Rapi-
dan Station, destroyed the bridge there and got
back by some other route. Richard Clark was
tho Oyerseer of the Ashby place, and also "A
blacksmith. They used bis forge aud tools and
took some articles they wanted, and also ali the
horses in the night. Next morning Mrs. Clark
went out 10 them aud said they all belonged 10
her husband, who was q poor blacksmith; so
they gave tho horses back. Jennie told ms
bAe DHS tphhAay SFSHIhR ~ IBdn TDuB up 10 the
honse, dressed IN butternut clothes, like some
OF the South Carolina cavalry that had been
around. Up 10 this time they had seen no
Yankees. lie called, and she went out 10 him.
leaving Jim Jones, Oufsderate soldier from
Orange County, and Mrs Ella Gordon talking in
the house. He had hisrght hand behind him "A
II no held a revolver, which led her to suspect
him, as all the Confederate cavalry had left
He asked If there were any Yankees around
and looking over TO the road she saw a number
OF men In blue, aud at once answered him,
laughingly:
YES; YOU ARE ONE"
Mrs. Gordon had como out to soc what was go
ing on, aud seeing the Federal cavalry in the
road, ran back aud told Jones that the man
was a Yankee, aud Jones thereupon prcpared
TO shoot him with his revolver through tho
window; but upon being told that the road
was full Of them, he made one iump for the
back door and went over the fence flying and
disappeared in the woods. Old Mrs Melinda
said that when they first came they were two
and two, drawn ont just like shOostring and
then they all huddled up In a bunch and got
oil their horses Captain and Lieutenant
they said they were, came up TO her, aud as she
was quite excited. she asked If they were Van.
KEGS, they looked like other men One of
them answered: ave are some of the bhoys, list.
an haint had nothin' TO ait fur three days.
The speaker was undoubtedly Irish. They
told her they must have something 10 eat. She
enid that she bad but little, and a sick aunt To
look after. She, however, got all the bread she
had in the house and put it in large sugar