Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-22
PAT BOOTHS BURIAL.
PnIvATEs JOHN POWER AND ELLIS
MOON CONDUCTED THE RITES.
A STORY OF SOUTHERN DEVOTION.
amid shot and Shell the Body OF n
confederate Soldier Was Laid to
hest mt Fishers HiII-A Pathetic
Incident
Incident.

one OF the most pathetic inc,da,.s .,
.'e war was the death and burial Of Pat
bootn' or the Halifax Cavalry. who fell
at Fishers Hill In 1863. on the dav that
General Early won I'm the morning and
lost In the evening at the hands Of sheri-
dan.
Yesterday being the birthday OF Stone.
wall jackson, 1t behooved Judge Henry
w. Flournoy to relate to a party Of
friends the circumstances I'm connection
with the final obsequies over the remains
OF this valiant Confederate soldier. as
they were told to him recently by one Of
the 'pall-bearers"
Not many mornings ago, while was
sitting IN my room" began Judge Flour
noy, the servant came in and said that
there was man down stairs, who said
he must see me. / directed that he be
shown to my apartments. and in a min
ute or so a tall, magnlficently-propor
TONED countryman stood in my pres
ence. 1t was John Power, OF Halifax.
| do not remember to have seen him
since the war. lie was member of my
fathers company, and no better SOL
der or truer friend ever lived. Hello.
John! said l; where in the world did
you come from"
j did not think you would recognize
me, Henry. ] am just in town attending
religious meeting
"Well, we sp.nt an hour talking over
old war-times. ne boys who were killed,
and those who survived.
BURIAL OF PAT BOOTH.
FINALLY" continued Judge Flournoy,
II said to John, Where is Pat. Booth?'
He answered me by the interrogatory,
Where is Ellis Noon? / replied by
saying that Fills Moon was living in this
city; was in the tobacco business, and
was doing well. John then began his
story about Pat Booth. by saying
Pat Booth was killed at Fishers
Hill on the day of Early's defeat. The
cavalry had been driven from the point
where he fell, but, as you remember. we
regained that ground, and that afternoon
Ellis Moon. who was a devoted friend
of Pat Booths, came to me and asked
me If l would not go with him to find
Pats body and bury H.. He said he
hated to know that the body of brave
Confederate soldier was TO lie out upon
the cold ground. like that of dog. Well.
Henry, we went and found Pat. Booths
body. and Ellis threw 1t across his horse.
and we held it on and carried 1t TO lit
tie elevation and with our swords dug
a grave about two feet deep, just under
a little apple-tree. While we were doing
this the Yankees began TO fire and shell
that part OF our territory. Even as we
were engaged in digging the grave
shell burst over that apple-trec and tore
the top from It. / looked at Ellis Moon.
Not a muscle of his quivered. He did not
say a word. When we had buried Pat.
Booth, l, who was first to speak, said,
"Well. Ellis. let's 60" He said, mo; not
yet" And he picked up a piece of wood,
and with his pocket-knife cut ont head
board. and into It he cut Pat. Booths
initials. He stuck this at the head Of
the grave. and. looking silently upon that
spot for a minute. said, ''Tm ready. now"
We went back to our company. and that
was the last of poor Pat. Booth, one of
the bravest and best soldiers / ever saw.
az tell YOU this to give you an idea
of the extent of the devotion Of true,
soldier friend
Judge Flournoy added that he after
ward, incidentally. asked Mr.. Moon what
became of Pat. Booth, and that he prac-
tically repeated what Mr.. Power had
told him. the only deviation being that
Mr.. Moon had left off everything which
referred TO his own NtlOI anu uSNotlOh'
MIR. POWER AND MR.. MOON.
John Power and Ellis Moon belonged
TO the Halifax Cavalry, which was or
ganized in the spring of 1861 by the late
Thomas S. Flournoy. who was its first
captain. and afterwards colonel OF the
sixth Virginia Cavalry. John Power
served through the entire war, and Is
known among the survivors of his old
company as a soldier without fear and
without reproach.
Ellis Moon Joined the company in the
winter of 1S63-'64. at the age of l6 years,
having left a military academy TO serve
his country He was known as the
obravest of the brave" and is as modest
TODAY in the quiet walk of peace as he
was daring In war. Is it not true that
the courage. endurance, and patriotism
of such men helped in large measure to
make the names Of Lee and Jackson inn
mortal? And should the names ana
memories of such men perish from the
Garth because they were not distinguish
ed by official rankY
Mr. Power Is a qyiet. unpretentious
farmer I'm the county Of Pittsylvania,
and Mr.. Moon is tobacconist in this
city.