Saint Mary's beacon., 1900-08-16
Tue sroaarse or ! scHooL uousr.

The sIokAING or SCHOOL HOUSE.
/ Al . place called Greenland Gap
there stood q stont log school house,
90 situated that al commanded the
narrow defiIe through which the
tEoopersmust necessarily pass. This
school house was garrisoned By two
companies Of Indians infantry, tho
refused to surrender when sum-
moned to do so. General Jones
had no artillery with which to bat
ter the place down, and there was
no alternative but to, charge with
bis cavalry. Several times this was
done, bnt each attark met with q
bloody repulse, many officers and
ID being killed and wounded, es-
pc ieb the Seventh Virginia
ana MARYLAND Cavalry. Col
onel Richsld neg. of the Sew
enth Virginia; Maj. Ridgely Bross1
Captain George w. Booth, Csptsi8
r. Carter Smith and Lieutenants
Pue and Beatty, of the First Mary.
land. were among the officers se-
verely wounded. There was moth
ing that could be done before night
fall, when men on foot stealthily
approached the house, bearing
bundles of oombustible material,
and the building was quickly set on
fire. Not until the school house
was envdoped in flames did the gal.
liant defenders surrender, having
suffered comparatively little loss.
After having buried the dead and
sent the wounded and prisoners
back to Moorleld, where they were
taken in charge BY the infantry,
General Jones resumed his march,
which lay over mountain ranges
difficult of ascent, for the main
roads, where there were any, we're
avoided as much as possible to keep
the enemy in ignorance of their
approach. Often the troopers we're
compelled to dismount and lead
their horses along narrow footpaths
over which horses had never travel
ed hefoE<---@-->s-.--,...- .-.-y-
Meas Oakland, Maryland, the
column was divided into three COM
mands, to take separate roads, and
ell to unite at given point. Each
was assigned it's duty, which was
to collect live stock and destroy the
railroad at different places along
their route.
TRICKED BY UNION sYMPATHIZERs
The First Maryland was ordered
to proceed on to Oakland, and next
morning early it charged into the
place, capturing so infantrymen on
guard there. The people of Oak
land had but little sympathy with
the cause of the South, and they
took no pains to conceal the fact,
but the boTs Of the First Maryland
little thought they were mean
enough to play the scurvy trick
they did. These people impressed
upon the commanding officer that
he had better avoid Kingwood, his
next objective point, as the place
was heavily garrisoned, and that o
stout resistance might be looked
for. Major Brown, acting upon
this information, delayed his march
so as to bring him before King
wood long after nightfall. Stealth
lily approaching the town. the bat
tallion was halted on its suburbs,
and every pistol carefully examined
and the sabres loosened in their
scsbbards. The men were breath
less with suppressed excitement. as
a bloody fight was apparently close
at hand. 'Gsllopl charge ! was
the command, and the next instant
the gallant Marylanders were dash
ing through the street at headlong
speed, yelling like Comanche In
disns. Up the street and down
the street they charged, but there
was no response from the enemy.
The citizens were aroused from
their slumbers by the terrible rack.
ct, and poked their heads ont oi
windows to discover its meaning,
and great was the chagrin Of the
daring raiders when these same cit.
izens informed them that there had
not been q Yank in the town for Q
month. And this was the little
joke the people Of Oakland played
on their brother Marylanders in
the Confederate service.
Leaving Kingwood, the battalion
moved on to Morgantown. The
o;f;zanr had aascmhIed in forca N