The Washington herald., 1914-10-18
CIVIL WAR DAY BY DAY
Fifty Years Ago.
Shenandoah Valley Practically Completed Was Behind Cedar Creek
About Fifteen Miles South Of Winchester While LIS Commander Was On
Official Trip WahngOn-b Destruction Of Property the Valley
f1Hritten erpressly for The WashInrton Hera1dl

in peace and comfort in the distant
North, went about their work Of applying
the torch with heavy hearts.
A glimpse of their feelings Is afforded
by Col. ]. II. Kidd. Of the Sixth Michigan
Cavalry. in his Personal RecoIlections
of Cavalryman." Col Kidd was in
Merritt's division, which had advanced
TO Port Republic. As senior officer pres
ent, Col Kidd ordered the local mills
started to grind meal for his command.
They had been running two hours or more
when Gen Merritt arrived and ordered
the mills fired. The wheels were not
stopped as the match was applied. and
continued to turn as the hames roared
through the dry interior Of the mills.
"'DisaEreeabIe Business"
1T was disaSreeabIe business writes
Col Kidd and We can be frank now. l
did not relish It. One incident made a
lasting impression on the mind Of every
man who was there. The mill in the lit
tie hamlet OF Port Republic contained the
means Of hvelihood-the food Of the wom-
en- and children whom the exigencies Of
war had bereft OF their natural provfd-
ers; and when they found that it was the
intention to destroy that on which their
very existence seemed to depend, their
appeals to be permitted to have some of
tAo AoNA bNAOAG IAAG AlAllA was DuEnEu were
heartrending.
Worse than all else, in spite Of the
most urgent precautions, enjoined upon
the officers in charge, the flames extend
ed. The mill stood in the midst of
group Of wooden houses and some of
them took fire. Seeing the danger. I
rode across and ordered every man to
fan in and assist in preventing the fur
ther spread Of the flames, an effort which
was. happily, successful
What I saw there is burned into my
memory. Women with children in their
arms. stood in the street and gazed
frantically upon the threatened ruin Of
their homes. while the tears rained
down their cheeks. The anguish pictured
in their faces would have melted any
heart not scared by the horrors and
necessities OF war. 1t was too much for
me and at the first moment that duty
would permit, 1 hurried away from the
scene"
8urned $50 BHrns in n Week.
The sum OF human anguish from the
march Of the Federals in the valley NAV
be conjectured from such scenes as this.
1t was said that every cavalry detail
left a chart of its course in columns
Of smoke" The farmer who saw his
barns and haystacks destroyed. his stock
and his house-the cases were not isolated
-ransacked by soldiers, found it hard to
understand why he should be made to
suffer thus in the cause OF war.
The total Of the property loss in the
valley from Sheridan's eampain has
not been minutely compiled. 1t must
have been more than S1O,OOo,OO0.
At the end of the active cavalry cam
paign, which closed with the battle at
Toms Brooks, Gen. A. T. A. Torbert,
Sheridan's chief of cavalry, made re-
port of the destruction wrought by his
command in a single week from Port
Republic to Toms Brook. 1t totaled
S,304,6 ST.
Some of the items were as follows:
Barns destroyed. $50. value, 81 ESQ, 900;
Touring mills, a. ss14O0O; sawmills, 4,
s. 900; woolen mill, /, $1,000; hay, ass
tons, s1Os.6o7; wheat, EO,7s2 bushels,
81, ,Oe6, los: cattle driven off. 1,sF7 head,
$3.50; sheep, 12os1 head. $3.50; swine,
rs. 5000; flour destroyed. $50 barrels.
ss,720
These items represented but part Of
the general destruction in the valley. In
Gen. Sheridan's final report on the cam
paign OF devastation the number OF barns
alone destroyed was given as 100
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