Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-02-18
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
JERE sHINAFIELo's MUsKET.

OEhC O1iNAFIEEO > mOOHEis
An Unwritten Incident of the Chambers
burg Invasion Recalled BY Death.
Jere Shinafeld, who had for over
twenty years been chief clerk al the
United States hotel in Harrisburg, and
who died few days ago, was the hero
of tragic and thrilling incident at the
first invasion of Chambersburg by the
confederates, under Gen. Jenkins in
June, 1858, the story of which has never
been told. Jenkins and his soldiers
abandoned Cham bersburg on June II,
after applying the torch to parts of the
town Groups of excited citizens had
assembled to fight the spreading flames,
some Of them armed with weapons it
was possible to conceal about the per-
son, or which could be obtained from
the old Falling Spring Presbyterian
church, which had been converted into
depot for arms and supplies
While the people were at work trying
10 save their homes and ancient land
marks belated remnant of the con-
federate rear guard, which had been
detailed to burn Scotland railroad
bridge, came galloping around turn
in the street When they saw the as
sembled comp my of citizens, who had
instinctively thrown themselves into a
formidable array, the detachment of
troopers, with the exception of one
man, turned in their course and retreat
ed in the direction from which they had
come. The lone horseman dashed into
the crowd of angered and excited
citizens, and drawing his sabre, made
passage way for his advance. In run
ming the gauntlet of the populace, he
was the mark for score or more of
pistol shots, which ratified about him
on every side. He escaped the crowd
without a scratch, and his gallant steed
bore him quickly beyond the reach of
the puny weapons that had been turned
against him.
On rise of ground only a stones
throw away, the horseman drew rein.
Raising his carbine he aimed at the
crowd Before he could fire, the loud
report of a musket rang out above the
popping of the pistols The confederate
horseman, with a wild leap that caused
his carbine to be discharged, and near
back in his saddle, and, with his head
bowed forward on his horses neck, was
borne rapidly away. The rider did not
rise from the limp position into which
he had fallen, but chung to his flying
horses neck until he disappeared in the
distance.
Young Jere Shinafeld, one of the
mildest youths in the town, stood few
rods apart from the crowd, pale and
with smoking musket in his hand,
gazing into the distance whence the
flying trooper had disappeared. He
had fred the shot that palsied the
horseman in his saddle, and saved
some valuable townsman's life from
the bullet he was about to fire. At sun
set that same evening,a struggling body
of Jenkins men found one OF their
troopers dead at the side of spring on
the outskirts, of the town. His horse
was standing near The soldier had
been shot with musket ball,
Young Shinafeld was the hero of the
first invasion of Chambers burg. His
exploit was the talk of the neighbor-
hood for days. Six days after Jenkins
and his men had abandoned the town
they came trooping back on their his
toric second occupancy of the place.
By remarks the confederate soldiers
dropped frequently in the hearing of
citizens it was evident that they had in
some mysterious way learned that it
was Jere Shinafeld who had shot their
comrade. They got on the trail of the
young man and one day located him in
the house of friend in the village. A
number of soldiers surrounded the
house, while others entered to search
it for the slayer of their daring fell
low trooper. Unarmed, young Shina-
field stole to an upper room of
the house. The only other occu-
pants were lady and her daugh-
ter. When the searching confederates
had ransacked every other room in the
house, they sought the one where the
ladies were. There they found the
daughter apparently very i'll in bed,
with her. mother showing the utmost
anxiety for her in her suffering. The
confederate soldiers CALAMITY forbore
intruding on the two more than to give
a searching look about the room and
under the bed, and then withdrew, evil
IDENTIFY satisfied that they had been on
false trail. When the sound of their
footsteps died away in the distance, the
sick girl sprang from her bed, and from
between the mattresses crawled Jere
Shinafield, nearer dead than alive, but
not so near dead as he would have been
had the cavalrymen discovered his hid
ing place.-N. Y. Sun.