The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1906-12-13
No.

No"
We then told him of the hold-up and
he ordered out some soldiers and went
in the ''Ironclads' to the scene of the
wreck, but the Confederates had taken
their booty and fled without damaging
the train. After this experience Mr..
Davis and | turned our money over 10
! General Sullivan to put in his safe
From time to time many small raids
were made on the road by Confederates.
Early one morning my wife and We're
travelling from Grafton to Piedmont,
when at Bloomington the train was
brought to standsull by convoy of
burning freight cars ahead. The train
was captured by band of seven Con-
/ federates, all mounted. There were 80
or 40 in the party, but only seven at
Bloomington. There We're on board the
train 104 Federal troops without am
munition. One of the Confederates- "a
big, rough, double -fsted man prang
Ainto the car and called for the command
er of the Federal troops Their captain
jumped up and said he was the com
mander. The Confederate pointed
pistol at him and asked if he would sur
render.
''To whom do | surrender"
ITO General McNeaI."
"What are your forces?"
Three thousand men. We have
taken Cumberland, Keyser and Pied
mont, and we have burned Piedmont"
and the smoke could be seen from the
car windows. In this position the Fed
eral captain must either surrender or
be shot and he surrendered He and
his men were ordered out in single file.
and as each man passed from the train
his gun was taken from him, the muzzle
struck over the edge of The platform
and the gun thrown aside.
The passengers We're marched over to
The West Virginia side and paroled. My
wife and I went to q private house.
near by, and remained there. Between
20 and % carloads Of wheat were burn
cd and the passenger train was run up
en- the bridge and burned. The Con
fedcraJes had not more than 30 or 40
men, Lad not taken Cumberland or
Keyser and had only burned the shops
at Piedmont.
About - years iate.. while On the
West Virginia Central rulrca3. in
store at FairfaE, whore some war
stories were being told related the
foregoing incident, and in speaking Of
the bravery of the first man to board
the train called him "a big doubIe-fsted
son of gun. When had finished my
story big, brawny man in the back of
the store stepped up and said, well,
stranger you told that story very well.
It's all true but one thing I'm that
man and I'm no son of a gun.
Very Well" said l, wen cut that
part out, and many time afterward
we met on the road, always with a
hearty hand shake This mans name
was Woodring.
A month after Gilmor's hold-up at
Harper's Ferry, Colonel Mosby, the
greafConfederate cayalryman, captured
a train within mile Of the same place,
robbed five paymasters of a large
amount of money, secured the gold
watches and money or all the passen-
gers and then burned the train
One of the incidents of the war was
the capture of Generals Kelly and Crook
by handful of Confederates, while the
Federal troops under these two generals
were occupying Cumberland Zone
night 10 or 20 Confederates under Jim
Daley deceived the pickets, got through
the lines disguised as Union Isoldiers,
entered the hotel where the generals
were stopping and succeeded. in cap
turing them and taking them away on
horseback before the alarm was given.
They were taken to Richmond as prison
ers, but were afterward exchanged. Jim
Daley took charge of General Crook on
this occasion, and it is worth while to
note that Crook became Dailey's
brother-in-law after the close of the
war, though at that time he had not met
Miss Daley. She was great Southern
woman and was threatened with being
sent across the lines on account of her
strong feeling.
At one time during the war Colonel
Kane (brOther of the Arctic explorer
occupied Keyser with |, 900 "Bucktails. "
These soldiers were from Pennsylvania
and wore caps made of squirrel skins,
with the tails left on, from which they
got the name of "Bucktails. " Kane
was occupying Colonel Armstrong;
fine brick residence. Early one morn
ing party of Confederate cavalry
came in, not knowing the Union soldiers
were there, when the "Bucktails" fired
upon them from the building and killed
eight or ten of them on the spot. | ar
rived on the scene with Alexander Diffv.
supervisor of trains, before the smoke
baH nloo 1900.