Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-27
Who Helped Whip the Rebels and
Captured a Southern Bride.
THE DIFFICULTIES OF COURTING.
"reminiscences Showing the Life Of a Pri-
vate During the War.
HOW ONE TROOPER LOST HIS MIND


dler, and sold us many articles. After the
battle of Gettysburg this spy was arrested
and hanged near Frederick City, Md, by
some of the Army of the Potomac. They
found on him maps of the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, forts and breastworks around
Harper's Ferry and Washington. This man
dressed like a citizen, and was liable to de-
ceive anybody.
A. A.Confederate scout, dressed like one of our
officers, with a red sash around his waist,
once rode into our camp, but was soon de-
tected. The worst man we had to deal with
around Harper's Ferry was Moberly, better
known as "Mobely, the notorious guerilla.
Moberly was born in Frederick county,
Md. He and his band stayed in the Blue
Ridge Mountains in Virginia, and their
chief object was to capture horses.
The Work of a Guerilla.
A corporal of Company G of our regiment
was once detailed to take charge of six men
on picket post in London county, Va.
Moberly and his men, dressed in our uni
forms, came upon them from the Harper's
Ferry side at daylight. The corporal
thought they were Union soldiers, and that
he would be relieved, but soon discovered
it was Moberly and his men. He offered to
surrender. "No," said Moberly with an
oath, 1--WE neither take officers or non-eom-
missioned officers prisoners. He shot and
killed the corporal, who was about 20 years
of age. His remains were sent home to his
mother at East Liberty, Pa.
One night Moberly was about to attack
our pickets, and reinforcements were
ordered out from our company. When Cor
poral David Martin was rushing through the
door of his tent to mount his horse, his car
bine caught on the door of his tent, went off
and instantly killed Private John A. Hen
derson. An old citizen on the Blue Ridge
Mountains told us of an accident that hap
pened to some of Moberly's men. They
found a bombshell with percussion cap at
tached, and, taking it into house, put it in
front of the fire. While examining it one
of the men dropped it on, the hearthstone. 1t
exploded, and killed two of them.
Courting and Flirting Around Harper's.
Some of our boys were doing some court
ing and others were flirting with girls around
Harper's Ferry As Will G. Ames' sweet
heart lived outside the lines, Moberly often
got in the way and would sometimes spoil
his plans. Ames was a sergeant of Com
pany X, and striking looking man. He
was % years of age, s feet high,
nette, with regular features, calm, black
eye, fine, curly black hair and mustache.
He was, perhaps, the strongest man in the
regiment He certainly could handle a
saber better than any of us. His saber was
always hacked like a saw, for he was fond
of fencing. He was educated for Meth
odist minister, but / never heard of his
preaching.
He always carried his saber with him
when he went to see his sweetheart, and L
have heard him say that he would like to
meet Moberly alone in hand-to-hand
combat. do not think that Moberly was
much of a fighter with a saber. However,
he was good marksman and quick with the
revolver.
Early in May body of Confederate cav
airy made raid upon the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad in West Virginia On the
night of May our regiment was ordered to
saddle up. We crossed the Potomac on
pontoon bridge, and took the cars at
Sandy Hook, Md, for Grafton, w.
Va. We were all night getting our
horses on the cars. Two of the
horses backed over into the Chesapeake
and Ohio canal. Both riders, soldier and
a colored hostler were drowned. The two
horses swan around for hours, and as there
was no way to get them out of the canal, of
course they were drowned. In a few days
after we arrived at Grafton, some of the boys
began to receive letters from their lady
friends around Harper's Ferry.
A Man Loses His Mind.
AS the Confederate raiders left West vir-
ginia before we arrived, we had no fighting
to do until July. While the battle of Get
tvsburg was going on we were fighting
around Beverly, W. Wa. Although 300
miles from Gettysburg, it might be said
that the detachment of Lees army which
we were fighting was the tip of his left
wing at Gettysburg.
Itwas on the morning of July 2, while
encamped at Philippi, W. Va, that we
heard that Lees army was in Pennsylvania.
Instead of moving toward Gettysburg, we
went in an opposite direction. Wetraveled
all day and night, arriving the next morn
ing at Beverly, where there was an artillery
duel going on between our battery and the
enemy's.
The enemy fell back that night. The
next morning. July 4, our regiment, COM
manded by Major Gibson, started in pur-
suit. AT Huttonsvilie, 20 miles above Bev-
erly, the enemy fired into our regiment.
We were ordered to dismount and climb up
a mountain.
our company, lost his mind. The enemy |
fell back and we followed as far as Elk |
Water We asked Mathews what was the |
matter with him. He said when on the |
skirmish line, while the enemy was shoot |
ing at him, he started to run to the rear,
when one of our officers pulled a revolver |
on him. He Immediately went crazy.
A Bayonet for Breaking Ranks.
Afterward it was difficult thing to keep |
Mathews in line. He would break ranks |
whenever he chose On July 20 we were |
fighting some of A. Z. Hill S corps at H edges
vile, w. Va, who appeared to be taking
their own time on the retreat from Gettys-
burg. That night when we encamped in line |
of battle Mathews broke ranks and went off
to himself During the night our General
discovered that the enemy was trying to |
surround and capture US, so we fell back to
Hancock, Md, leaving Mathews behind. AS
soon as daylight came the enemy discovered
horse hitched to tree, and think
ing that our brigade was somewhere in the
thicket, they began to throw shells.
Mathews was exchanged six months later.
When he came back he showed us a bayonet
mark on his breast. He said at Richmo nd,
while marching with other prisoners, he
broke ranks, and the guard struck him with
his bayonet
Some of the boys still kept up corre-
spondence with the Harper's Ferry girls.
During the summer of 1864, in skirmish
Sergeant Ames was severely wounded in the
shoulder. He was sent to a hospital at York,
Pa While there he received a letter from a
young lady who said she was his sister, but
he wrote that she was not. Getting a fur
lough, ON his way to see his friend In Clear
field county, Pa, he called on the lady and
her father, who lived on the Pennsylvania
T. "a lroad and had hard work tn cOn vince |