The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-05-12
EARLY WAR DAYS,
FIRST MANASSAS
First Year III Arms With Com
pany ID, Second Virginia
Cavalry Regiment.
JUST A LITTLE WAR STORY
How the College Boys Got Ready
to Fight the South's
Battles.

Battles.
Company ID was organized in Frank
lin county, Va, early In the spring OF
1861. Tor two years previous was a
student at Randolph Macon College,
then located III Mecllenburg county,,
Va. After the John Brown raid. which
occurred In october, 1859, owing to The
intense excitement accustomed by that
event, students at college were not
normally studious, and was no OK
ception to tho rule Yankee pedlets
were much In cxtnnt in those days.
and a number Of them were prowlns
around the county OF Mecklenburg and
other parts Of the state A cotcrie OF
our students organized n vigilance COM
mittee and waited on several, notifying
them that location north Of the Ma
son and Dixie limo would BIO moro
agreeable to US and decidedly more
safe to them. About this time Captain
Thomas Goode was organizing COM
pany Of cavalry In Mccl1lcnburg county.
drilled @ number Of times with this
company and became somewhat school
ed in cavalry tactics. A lot of our
college boys became very much agi-
tated and feeling that war was iminl-
nent, and being warlilse and bclliger-
ant (st venin verbo), we resolved to
be bad ana break up Rnndolph-Macor
College and go home. AS the college
bell was q sine qun non, our plan was
to destroy that bell, which we did by
removing it from It's lofty perch and
burying it beneath the sod in a grave
six feet deep two miles from tho re-
- ST..
For many days chaos ruled tho rules.
Finally we boys were found out,
and were advised by our most excel
lent president, Dr. Smith, and the con-
ccrted voice of tho college faculty, t..
retreat to our respective homes Now
my kind old guardian, when l reached
homo, reared and scotched and scotcncd
and reared. and on marry occasions en-
pressed himself cmphaticnlly. How
ever, I kept aloof from his irateness
and went actively to work raising u
company Of cavalry. The war fever
was ubiquitous. The Franklin Rangers,
afterwards known as Company D, was
soon made up, and was made its cap
tain. Nearly every man In tho COM
pany was q boy. l was not twenty -one.
Soon we were ready for action, and
notified our extra" Governor thnt we
only wanted arms and ammunition ito
whip ten YANKEES to our one.,' Tho Gov.
ernor quickly responded and sent us
lot OF tlint-lock pistols, u lot OF reap
hooks which he had the temerity TO
call sabres, and about two dozen hi,
let molds; ordered us to get ~, ia
shotguns we could and report Mt once
W Lynchburg. Many Of our boys dc.
clded not to go unless we posscsscd
ourselves Of .bugle. This mutinous
disposition was soon appeasd by q CON.
promise warehouse tin horn. ton
1eet long, was substituted Company Is
was the first company that crossed the
run IN NJ hlln line en- route for thu war. II
ieIt the county with one hundred an
listed men on the cath dav or Anr,,
1871. we drilled in Lynchb,1rr ahont
twenty days. and were Forwarded ~
MANASSAS from which place wc were
sent 10 Loudoun county, headcuartars
at leesbucE. We picketed the pot,1
mac River from Edwards FART a.
darper's Ferry. -
Two days before the fire, hott,o -
MANASSAS we We're ordered to Manassas
amG arrived there the morning NJ INV
gym ana reported to General philin S.
peoisa locke. We eneamped near. the
Lewis House. The Wise Troon fra ,,,s
IYhchDurg was also encnmped al tha
same same Place. Being senior officer, / was
inuseu IN charge of the squadron. Al
ee a on the 2lst we were ordered 10
M ~ on, ~ mo left Ct the Lewis House,
. ,ne Ilrs &c shot fired on the 2lst bv the
celebrated Long Tom" which WAS y in rn 20
hl group composed of General Cooke
al, nnu starr, Capt. Langhorne, of the Wise
troop, and myself, who wore on an ant
neHce about three hundred feet in from
or my squadron. Tho ball passed IN ]nc
ABOUT twenty feet above our heads. An
other round shot was immediately fred
winch sped IN same limo about ten feet
aoo'e us. Get to your command can
thln, said General Cooke, I'VE are at
..ac,ins Tie enen1y's fire. Just as /
tea.nea ny squadron Long Tom" opened
ngn1n This time n shell; the first Wa
mad ever heard. 1t sounded like n tor
rent OF nnilkegs speeding through the
ar ut tho rate OF mile second, n
struck and exploded thirty yards to our
right, inside suffers tent. No dam
ase, however, except to crackers and
cakes, Which were scattered in every
| direction. Without firing again, "1.onp
rom llmbered up ana went in dlroctIoi1
OF the stone Bridge Now this was about
un-up. Soon firing upon Our left bo-
|
termlttingy then without cessation. al,
niong the limo on tho loft until about
r. NJ. We were In view of stuart's com
mahd whom they made the charge or
the left, but soon they were out Of sight
the dense pines intervening. ExncoiInr
The enemy to emerge from the pines into
an open field in our 'front.' wo made ready
TO charge Hastily pulling down q Ions
INC 81 renee thoy came to the edge Of
the. wood fired few shots, and turned
hack. Soon the glad tdings came that
the Yankees were on the run and were
advancing rapidly backwards. Then came
orders from Colonel Radford Colonel OF
Second Virginia Cavalry, that mus
hnstliy moVe'ncross at Blnckb,irn's Ford
and charge the rotreating Yankee column
near Cub Run Bridge. On way to the
1ord we came across Lieutenant- Colono
Tom Nllnford, Of our regiment, who hat
IN charge three or four companies Of cav.
airy. Having told him the condition Of
affairs and the orders had ms,
II