Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1910-04-01
General wi,,,.m D.rke.

quartermaster-genera OF tue swar de-
rartmens for tomostones for the grave
Of Ger. William Darke aad Capt.
Joseph Darke, his son, who lie buried
side by side IN the old Engle graveyard
aear Shenandoah Junction, w. Va,
on the 40o-acre farm which Melchor
Engle bought Of Lord Fairfax In i75G.
Today l received notice that the tomb
Aones, 40 inches long, II inches wide,
and 3 inches thick, with the name,
rank, and age inscribed theron, viii DO
shipped and freight paid
1t is curious and interesting to follow
these applications concerning old sol
diers. The names of those IN the civil
war are found in The pen sion ONCE
lists, but revolutionary soldiers are re-
ferred to the librarian OF the congress-
ional library, who looks through old
histories and cites passages and nen-
ton Of old soldiers In those histories,
which il accepted as proof Of service.
| When several thousand are filed all
are sent to the contractor at Boston,
who ships the stones to the nearest
railway station.
The Engle burying- ground 10 the
oldest graveyard in West Virginia.
The West Virginia Historical Society
removed the tombstone Of Catbariae
Boerlln, marked 1907, to the state mu-
scum iat Charleston aud replaced 1t
with marble stone, believing II to be
the oldest tom bstone In the state. Ira
dition says that the first persons buried
here were killed by sulking Indians,
who shot two settlers as they stepped
outside the fort nearby. A fsrt was
built around the spring on the John
Link farm 400 yards distant. The dead
were buried at night nearby.
The Encyclopedias American says
that Gen, William Darke was born In
Pennsylvania In 1863 and died In Vir-
ginia i, 1901. AT the age Of 10 years he
served with the Virginians in the bat
tie of Braddock's defeat and afterwards
in the war Of the American revolution.
At Gen. st. Glars defeat by the In
dams, November, 1901, on the Mau-
NEE river, he commanded the left wing
eff the American army and made two
gallent and successful charges with
the bayonet with Jefferson and Berke-
lev regiment. In the second charge
his youngest son, Capt. Joseph Darke,
fell MORALLY wounded. His fatherIpaxs.
ed but moment over him, then rush
ed on with redoubled energy against
the savage foe. This was the last sue
cessfl battle Of the Indians, for Gen.
Wayne defeated them a,fewiyears later
Gen. Darke was captured at German
town, but was exchanged and was
with Washington at the surrender OF
i CORVALLIS at Yorktown. He WAS Of.
! ten in the Virginia Legislature, mem
Der of the convention in ITS, and
voted for the federal constitution. lie
/ was also a trustee Of the town VI
Charles Town,
The earliest settlers In the Shenan-
! doah Valley came in 1727, and the
first boy babies had time to grow to
manhood and to use the fiintlock rifle
before lhe Indians began to give trou-
BILE. This twenty years OF peace gave
the settlers good time to build stone
houses and log cabins with loop holes.
In 1850 the Indians withdrew west
with the promise of free guns and am
munitIon. The French then began the
contest for the possession OF America,
in which the English finally triumph
ed. The Indian parties came across
the mountains and their trips were so
bloody Col George Washington built
Fort IIoudcun at Winchester, and
mounted dozen cannons on its para
pets, which held the Ipdians In terror.
A formidable fortress in that day now
4 female seminary.
4 A new history of the valley by Cor
den Smyth brings up these Ola his
torical points Our country lay hrst III
j the valley and the old Pack Horse ford.
near Shepherdstown where our 1irst
settlers crossed the Potomac, makes II
very interesting TO us Jefiersonians.
That no trees larger than mans
arm grew III Jefferson in 1850, and
that the first settlers went to Win
chester, where trees were large enough
to build cabins, seems hard for us to
believe IT'S years later, for Jefferson
has now big trees four and five feet in
diameter.
Register. james NJ Ehgie'