Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-10-09

NObON ri. JOHN :. MOSBY.
Offensive was Mosby whose force re-
cruited from the country about Upper
vile and Leo,hUrg, on The eastern SIDE
OF The Blue Ridge. and IN which, a. 1t
was not occupI q by our forces he took
refuge whenever hardly pressed. TIL
muia.r Of Colonel TOacs. chief quarter
master; Medic. Inspector Olchensiager,
Lieu nant Nc < and other officers. as
wei as that OF many strasgiers orderlies.
ana messengers, within our lines by
th' Sc men, had rem red necessary some
e. OFT 10 rcpre's them. While IL was dif-
1t 10 capture them individually on ac-
OF their intima @ knowledge of he
Try, and the oil guists they as umed.
AS possible 20 break up tnoir places
ot TeLdeVods and the source OF their sup
This duty was ass. gned o NJ
.Ierritt. who with his division, over
me county Of LOudoun and destroyed
te crops. bringing in on his return large
is Of cattle hogs, and sheep, which
..-Tc issued as subsistence TO our own
oc.s. and some nve hundred horses.
w.A-h hereafter did loyal service in the
r0LAs Of the Union cavalry"
THEY WERE NOT MURDERED.
Colonel Toles. Lieutenan. NJ igs, ana
the medical Inspector were not murdered.
DIS mere alleged; but were killed in far
ana honorable war. v hen they came
TO the Shenandoah Valley to win glory in
the northern army they could not have
expected TO ehgage In the pastimc OF
killing us withou. running the risk of
getting Killed thams Ives. they took
their chances; We did the same. As the
government has pubIsaed the records 0.
the war, and they are accessible TO every
one. there is not the slightest jus IA
cation Tor this UNIV drranted tdtcmc. !
In his report Of this campaign in the
SnenahuOdn Genera. Snerluan says:
They all join with me in the deep gr.ci
at the loss sustained by the army anu
the FRENZY ties broken by the death o.
their sidf-ofiicers. Colone. Tolles. chief
quarteImdster, and Assstant-SursoOn
Ohltnsch.dger, medical inspector W.
were Killed while on their way from Mar
tinsburg to Cedar Creek, in october, 1871.
and in that OF the death Of the gala
Lieutenant Meigs. my chief engineer, who
was killed mot muruered) whne exam n..e,
and mapping the country near Eriuge
water. just above HarrsOnb4rg. Thi
young oincer was endeared to me on ac-
count OF his invaluable knowledge Of the
country, his rapid sketchrng, ms great
intelligence and his manly and sodiery
qualities"
NET THE FATE OF WAR.
Meigs was killed October g. 1854. three
days before Sheridan began his retreat
down the Shenandoah Valley. ON the TN,
in a dispatch TO General Grant, Sheridan
said;
Lieutenant John y. Meigs. my cnginee.
officer, was murdered beS ond Harrison
burg. near Dayton. For this atrocious act
all the houses within an area of tive miles
were burned"
Sherldans report is dated February 3,
1866. nearly a year after the close OF
the war. when ne had fun knowledge OF
the circumstances OF the killing of Lieu
tenant Meigs. AS he does not repeat the
charge Of murder. either in HIS report
OF the campaign or in his quoted memoirs,
and is silent about the houses he had
burned, the conclusion is that he hau
become satisfied that ID was not true and
the act Of retaliation was not justifab.e
The truth is that Meigs, Tolles. and the
Doctor met the fate OF war, just as thou
sands did. and got killed. | know OF seve-
raj Confederate surgeons VINO were killed
and wounded. NOBODY has yet invented
any means OF carrying on war without
killing people. Pond. the editor of the
Army and Navy Journal, In HIS WORK
on the Shenandoah campaign, says:
II was asccrtained after the war tna
this gallant youth Lieutenant Meigs) r
soldier of brilliant gifts and promis
the son OF the Quartermaster- General lie.
at the hands OF an enl sted Confederat
soldier Of Wickhams Brigade. engaged
In scouting; but the belief at the time
was the one stated In Sheridans teie-
gram"
MIR. MARTINS STORY OF THE KILL.
ING
The soldier who killed Lieutenant Meies
was George Martin, member of the
Black Horse Company. He Is now livins
In fauquier county. Va. | met him a few
months ago. when ne repeated 10 me the
account he gave me when he was SUI
fering from his wounds. thirty years ago,
Of his encounter with Meigs The truth /
ths when they met Meigs fired first. and
severely wounded Martin In the chest. A
M request he gave me the folowin
written statement:
ar Colo1ei,-In reply 10 your re-
quest conveyed to me through Genera
William IA. Payne. that | would give you
tne facls In re alton 20 the killing of
Lieutenant Meigs. | send you the follow.
Ing siaement which is literally true:
In s pember, 1854 when the Confede-
rate forces under General Eariy were dc
feated al Winchester. and had fallen
back. report came into our lines that
Sheridan's army was failing back on Win.
chester. General Williams c. wickham
10 whose brigade we belonged Company
III. Fourth Cavalry. Black Horse Troop.
ordered Private Campbell and myself 10
find out the truth OF the report. giving us
as guide a man named Shafer, from
&he First Regims II who, being a native