The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1891-12-12
CROOK AND KELLY.
HOW THE TWO UNION GENERALS
WERE CAPTURED.
They Were Taken from Their Beds in
Cur serland, Md bya Couple Of
Daring Rangers Who Initiated the
Tact cs @ Mosby.

~ 80 IS ~ b'hlt'Iilii q
X t, I calls wildly % mind one cpl
8 i" II his career which has bee,
Tln.~iN overlooked in all that has
b al written regarding his fife and
ar 'Tperirrcrs during the past few
da >~h'~ capture IN Cumberland, Md,
in company with General Crook. dur
ing the month of February, 1864.
The man who headed the party and
who personally took charge of General
Crook Is still living in the little town
OF Wildwood. in Clarke county, Va.
His name is j. l. Van Diver. and he
still pnrSnes the occupation, t Il black
smith, with Il side issue of veterinarian,
or, as lie is generally called, ''hrrsc
uoc:or." Van Diver. who is now an
old man. delights in telling the story
OF that night raid into Gambler and,
when the tw" generals were taken
from their beds an carried back into
tn" Confederate lines. 1t runs about
like rhi>:
Van Diver was attached to band Of
Confrttrrates known as b'Neill's Ran
gers, whose methods followed about
upon the same plan as those pursued
by Mo>hy. TteSc rangers were aware
OF thu fact that MoSby had gone 10
Fairfax Court House in the night and
had taken Colon | Stoughton from his
bed, and they conceived the idea that
they could enter the city of CumbeI-
land, where there we've 5000 Federal
troops stationed, and bring out the
tw" Federal generals. Two young
C~onfeieiates belonging to the rangers
command lived in Cumberland, and
had been in the habit of making trips
III aud "Et through the lines. These
two were JOHNNY Fay and Sprigg Linn,
and they devised the plan.
General Crook had just been assign
eG to the command OF the department
winch embraced Cum "erland, and had
relieved the late General i. +. Kelly.
General Kelly had not yet left the city,
and was stopping at the st. Nicnolas
hotel, while General Crook had his
headquarters at the Revere House.
On that February night they slept in
fancied security without the slightest
? idea that there We're ConfedtIates
within striking distance who would be
bold enough to make any attempt tn
enter the town. Van Diveranu his band
were abont twenty seven miles from
Cumberland. The snow. he saws. was
two feet deep WHEN they started down
the valley and crossed the south branch
of the Potomac. They forded the riv-
Ell III the running ice and slush, and
tie water was high enough to wet
every a They captured the first
Tickets with which they came in con-
tact, and by stringinga German soldier
10 the limb OF a tree by Il bridal rein
they secured from him the cnuntersigp.
which was Bulls Gap" With th.s
password in tt cir possession they moy-
ed on down the county road to Cum
berland.
On the way they ran into a squad of
thirty or forty infa: try, WHO halted
shem and demanded that one dismouut
anu give the cOuntersign. They dash
Ell Into this squad ana captured them,
broke the guns, and, as Van Diver
said, frightened them almost to death
by telling them that tie city of Cul.-
bertrand was surrounded, and that by
morning tier generals would b. cap
tured. He told his prisoners that on
account of the depth of the snow ho
could not take them with him, bnl
each agreed to take a verbal ~parole.
They then rode deliberately into the
town as cool MS though they were
Union troops, and when accosted, in
formed The inquiring soldiers that they
We're scouts from New Creek.
Van Diver himself tool the respon-
slblllty ofsecuring General Crook from
the Revere House, and to the well
known kuykendall was assigned the
duty OF securing the person OF Gene. al
4 ,ly. kuykendall took six men, and
at $3.50 o'clock in the morning the
dlsmonnted aud coolly entered
the st. Nicholas. They tound General
Nelly III bed, and Kuykendail, VINO
was known to General Kelly, having
been captured previously, recognized
hun and at once demanded his strreu-
Ger. The general de~iled to know TO
whom he was sulrendeiIng, ana kuy-
Kendall emphatically Informed him
that 1t was To aim (kuy kendaln, and
INN only, and told him further that
there Was no Time for ceremony. The :
general accepted the position aud
promptly obey ed.
Il Diver III the meantime had re-
paired t" the Revere House, captnrei
the stniineI i'll charge by pretending i
{" be Il dispatch bearer to General t
and finally succeeded in reach ,
ing his bedroom. He announced him t
self to the ~dstonished general as Gen "
elal Ros>er, OF the Confederate army q
Informed HIM that he was a prisoner Of a
Var, and told him he had two minutes :
u which 10 dress. Tie general hest t,