The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-06-26
The First Nan Killed in the War.

Several statements have been
made as to who was the first victim
of cur late internecine war, and it is
generally supposed that it was Col.
Ellsworth, of the Chicago Zouaves,
who was shot by jackson, at Alex
andria, Va. Such is not the fact.
The first man killed in the strife by
soldiers, and it is believed the very
first one killed by any direct result
of it, was Baily Brown, of Grafton,
Taylor county, in the present State
of West Virginia, then part of the
Old Dominion. If any other section
Of country before the date there Civ
en-, it is due to the truth of history,
as it will hereafter be written, that
it should be made public: but the
writer is confident there is acne 9th
er.
Early in May, 1861, Greorge A.
Porterield, a gentleman of Jefferson
county, Va, who had received anil
itary education and seen service in
the Mexican war, was appointed a
colonel by Gov. Letcher and his
council, and sent into Northwestern
Virginia to organize the various
companies there being raised under
the call for State troops. A compa-
ny from Marion county, under the
command of William p. Thompson,
which afterword became Company A
of the Thirty-first Virginia Regi-
ment, and one under the command
of John A. Robinson, that became
Company A, of the Twenty fifth Vir-
ginia Regiment, and one under +
w. Hansbrough, that was afterward
disbanded rendezvoused at Fetter
man, mile and a half below Graf.
ton, ON the Goth of May, 1861. On
the 22d they were joined by the
Harrison Guards, of Clarksburg, un.
der the command of w. p. Cooper
which became Company c of tht
Thirty first Virginia Regiment. The
whole force was marched that eve
ming up to Grafton and back to Fet-
terman. In the meantime, Union
company had been formed at Graf.
ton. That night it marched down
to the edge of Fetterman, halted,
and sent Baily Brown and Daniel
Wilson forward to reconnoitre. They
went down the railroad till they came
to Daniel w. 5. Knight and George
Glenn, of Captain Robinson's com
pany, who were stationed near the
run at the eastern end of the town,
Knight commanded them to halt
Instead of doing so they continued
to advance, when Knight repeated
his command once or twice; but
Brown continued ON till he got close
to Knight and then fired upon hin
with revolver, shooting him
through the ear Knight, who was
armed with an old fashioned smooth
bored musket, loaded with slugs
returned the shot and one of tn,
slugs struck Brown in the breast
passing through his heart, killing
him almost instantly. His body
was taken to the Town Hall
which was occupied as quar-
tiers by the Harrison Guards, ant
properly cared for. When this firing
took place Wilson ran back anC
Glenn fired upon him, striking th'
heel of his boot.
This was on the night of the 22nd
of May, 1861, about 5 o'clock.
Mr.. Brown was a native of hide
pendence, Preston county, w. Va.
and was raised on farm near there
He was thirty-fi or forty years ole
when killed. Knight is a native o
Stafford county, Va, and is car
penter by trade, is still living on {
farm there, and is about fifty eighi
years of age. Wilson subsequently
became a captain in Colonel La
them's regiment in the Federal ar
my.-Maj. w. p. Cooper in Phila
dell'hia Times