Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1897-06-15
The First Man Killed in the War.

Several statements have been made as
to who was the first victim of our late
internecine war, and it is generally sup
posed that it was Colonel Ellsworth, of
the Chicago Zouaves. who was shot by
Jackson, at Alexandria, 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
oft, was Baily Brown, of Grafton, Taylor
county, in the present State of West Vir-
ginia then part of the Old Dominion.
If any other section of country before
the date there given, it is due to thetruth
of history, as it will hereafter be written,
that it should be made public; but the
writer is confident there is none other.
Early in May, 1861, George A. Porter
field, gentleman of Jefferson county,
Va, who had received military educa-
ton and seen service in the Mexican war,
was appointed colonel by Gov, Letcher
and his council. and sent into Northwes-
tern Virginia to organize the various
companies there being raised under the
call for State troops. A company from
Marion county. under the command of
William p Thompson, which afterward
became Company A of the Thirty-first
Virginia Regiment, and one under the
command of John A. Robinson, that be-
came Company A, of the Twenty-ffth
Virginia Regiment, and one under F. w.
Hansbrough, that was afterward disband-
ed rendezvoused at Fetterman, a mile and
a-half below Grafton, on the goth of May,
1861, On the 22nd they were joined by
the Harrison Guards, of Clarksburg, un-
der the command ofW. P. Cooper, which
became Company C of the Thirty-frst
Virginia Regiment. The whole force was
marched that evening up to Grafton and
back to Fetterman. In the meantime,
Union - company had been formed at
Grafton. That night it marched down
to the edge of Fetterman, halted, and sent
Baily Brown and Daniel Wilson forward
to reconnoitre. They ywent down the rail
road till they came to Daniel w. S. Knight
and George Glenn, of Captain Robin
sons company, who were stationed near
the run at the eastern end of the town.
Knight tcommanded them to halt. Instead
of doing so they continued to advance,
when Knight repeated his command once
OF twice; but Brown continued on till he
get close to Knight and then fired upon
him with revolver, shooting him through
the ear. Knight, who was armed with an
old fashioned smooth bored musket, load
ed with slugs, returned the shot and one
of the slugs struck Brown in the breast,
passing through his heart, killing him al
most instantly. His body was taken to
the Town Hall, which was occupied as
quarters by the Harrison Guards and
properly cared for. When this firing took
place Wilson ran back and Glenn fired
upon him, striking the heel of his boot.
This was on the night of the 22nd of
May, 1861, about o'clock.
Mr.. Brown was native of Indepen-
dence. Preston county, w. Va, and was
raised on a farm near there. He was
thirty-five or forty years old when killed.
Knight is native of Stafford county,
Va, and is carpenter by trade, is still
living on a farm there, and is about fifty
eight years of age. Wilson subsequently
became captain in Colonel Lathem's
regiment in the Federal army.-Maj. w.
P. Cooper in Philadelphia Times.