The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-05-12

strife, and but little is known of
him as a politician, with the eX-
ception that his last vote was cast
for Bell and Everett.
The call to arms came sooner
than AShby expected. At the
first prelude to the bloody drama
of the war, when on October II,
1853, John Brown made his raid
Oh Harper's Ferry, young Ash.
by quickly collected a company
of mounted men, which he termed
"The Mountain Rangers" and
rode night and day until he
reached that border now so init
mately associated with numerous
incidents in connection with his
name. On the occasion of the
Brown raid, he remarked to Mr..
BeOtler, the member of Congress
from that district. that a crisis
was approaching and that the
South would be continually ex-
posed to such inroads and in.
suits, unless some prevention was
/ quickly effected" He continued.
however, a strong advocate of the
Union until the election of Lin
coin: he was anxious that har.
mony should be effected between
the States, and that the legacieS
left by our foretathers should
still be preserved in a constitu-
tional Union, but his hope was
quickly dispelled by the result of
the election, and as soon as heard
of the name he went quietly and
steadily to work, drilling his
men and preparing for the great
resort to arms, which he saw was
rapidly approaching.
His next meeting with Mr..
Boteler was at Harper'S Ferry on
the night of April 18th, 1861.
Taking him aside, Mr.. Boteler
asked him, "What flag are we
going to fight under-the Pal,
mettO, or what?o
In reply Ashby lifted his hat,
and within it lay a Virginia flag.
He had had it painted before he
left Richmond. "Here,n said he.
is the flag that | intend to fight
under"
That night the flag was seen up
by the light of the burning
buildings fired by the Federals.
and the next morning the en-
blem of the Old Dominion was
seen floating from the Federal
nag staff, the first ensign raised
by Virginia during the war.
Ashby was no secessionist, but
revolutiOniSt in the strictest
sense of the term. Just as soon
as the first gun was fired at Sum.
ter, at the head of his old com
pany he FASTENED down the Shen
andoah Valley, and from that
until the day of his death his life
was one of ceaseless scouting and
hghtlng. Bold, but with a bold
ness tempered with prudence, he
soon crowded the deeds and dar-
ing of a lifetime within the brief
space of fourteen months. 1t is
a remarkable fact that neither
Ashby or Jackson were ever fur.
Laughed. They never asked for
such a rest.
up to the time of his death.
the heavy battalions on both
sides were, as far as efficient drill
Is concerned, in badly undiscip-
lined state. 1t was particularly
along the border a partisan sys.
TEN of warfare, and as Ashby's
military life was spent along the
border, he had but little to do
with the handling of large forces,
and therefore cannot be fairly
be compared to Stuart, Hampton,
or Forrest, who had large COM
mands and lived longer to de.
velop their capacity of command.
StOnewall Jackson, however, in
his official report of Ash6y's
death. says: "The close relation
which General Ashby bore to my
command for most of the previous
winter months will justify me in
saying that as partisan officer,
| never knew his superior. His
daring was proverbial, his powers
OF endurance were almost incredi
bic, his tone of character heroic,
and his sagacity almost instinc.
tive in divining the purposes of
the enemy"
ITO be continued.