Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1906-10-12

triton was being applied in modern
warfare by master hand and the big
stone finally wore out the little one
on the fateful field of Appomattox.
BY an act of the confederate con-
gress, February IL, 1864, all indepen-
dent organizations were abolished as
such, and the same were merged into
the regular service. A proviso, how
ever, gave authority to the secretary
OF war. when in his judgment the in
terests of the service demanded to
exempt from the operations of this
act any organization of the kind that
operated entirely within the lines of
the enemy" Under this proviso the
commands of Mosby and McNeill
alone, of all the Independent forces
connected with the Army of Northern
Virginia, were exempted from the
operations of this act, and so remained
until the final collapse of the southern
confederacy.
Mr.. John B. Fay has prepared the
following sketch of this famous troop,
whose exploits during the civil war
elected especial praise from Jefferson
Davis and Robert E. Lee on more than
one occasion:
John Hanson McNeill, a native OF
Hardy county, Va, raised the com.
pany and was its first commander.
Being a resident of Missouri, during
the early part of the war, as captain
OF mounted rifiemen, he performed gal
liant service in that state under Gen
Price, and was prominent in the cap
ture of Mulligan at Springfield. He
was soon after taken prison himself
and confined in st. Louis, but es
capped thence and safely reached the
confederate lines in Virginia. There
he secured authority to enlist a com
pany for Independent service in con.
nection with the brigade of Gen. I'm.
Doden, then in course of formation,
and his earlier exploits were per
formed while nominally under com.
mand of that officer.
When Imboden's command was
afterward mustered into regular sery.
ice a portion of McNeills men elected
to go with it and formed a new com.
pany, which, under Capt. A. S. Scott,
became a part of the Eighteenth Vir.
ginia cavalry. The parent company
then reorganized with McNeill captain
and his son, Jesse G. McNeill, Isaac s.
Welton, and Bernard ]. Dolan first,
second, and junior second ueutenants,
respectively. The ranks of the new
company, because of its active and
DARING achievements, were rapidly
nlied, and McNeill was soon at the
head of as gallant a body of men as
ever drew blades in fight. The com.
pany rarely mustered more than 70
men for duty at any one time, but II
had during its two years existence
nearly, If not quite, 200 names upon
its roster. The troop inflicted an i'm,
mense amount of damage on the enc
my during its brilliant career and kept
a large army on the qui vive to defend
the long line of the Baltimore G. Ohio
railroad and the upper Potomac bor
der from its daring incursions. 1t is
a question whether Mosby, with five
times the number of men, caused as
much damage to the common foe as
was inflicted by this single troop.
That McNeill managed to keep his
opponents along the border in a con.
slant state of anxiety and alarm is
evidenced by the fact that Gen. Kelly,
the union commander in his front,
made fncessant endeavors to crush
him, and in giving orders to subordi.
nate officers invariably repeated his
injunctions to kill, capture, or drive
McNeill out of the country adding in
one of his dispatches: We must do
this before we can expect quiet or
safety along the line of road
"McNeill was born partisan lead
er, and, like Mosby, could accomplish
more with handful of men than
many officers could with a regiment.
Always on the alert, perfectly familiar
with the country in which he oper.
ated, ever taking his foe unawares.
striking swift and stunning blows
when and where least expected. re.
sourceful in the face of greatest dan.
ger, and never caught a-napping, Nc
Neill was veritable wizard of the
saddle, and well deserved the title of
the Marion of the South Branch Val
ley the fairest land beneath the sun
and his favorite rendezvous"