Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1915-04-02
AT midnight through the startled skies.


And there was tumult in the air,
The flies shrill note, The drum
loud beat,
And through the wild land eyervwher,
The answering tread of hurrying feet
While the first oath of Freedoms cur
Came on the blast from LexingtOn;
And Concord. reused. no longer tame,
Forget her old baptismal name,
Made bare her patriot arm OF power,
And swell'd the discord of the hour.
Within its shade of elm and oak
The church of Berkeley Manor
stood;
There Sunday found the rural folk,
And some esteem'G of gentle blood
Pass'd mid the graves where rank is
naught;
All could rot read the lesson taught
In that republic of the dead
The pastor rose; the prayer was
strong;
The psalm was warrior David's song:
The text, a few short words of might. =
The Lord of hosts shall arm the
right"
OF sacred rights to be secured;
Then from his patriot tongue of flame
The t2rting words for Freedom came,
The stirring sentences he spake
compe I'd the heart to glow or quake,
And, rising Cd his themes broad wing,
And graspine in his nervous hand
The imaginary battle-b brand,
In face of death he dared to fling.
d. fanpe tn a tvrapt king
Even as he spoke. his frame, renewed
In eloquence IF attitude,
Rose, as it seem'd shoulder higher;
Then swept his kindling glance of fire
From startled rev to breathless choir:
hen suddenly his mantle wide
His hands impatient flung aside,
And. 10! he met their wondering eyes
Complete in all warriors guise.
A moment there was awful pause
W hen Berkeley cried. cease, traitor !
cease!
Gods temple is ,theahppse 81, peaceP
The other shouted. Nay. not so,.
bsfffa:P ga Use bhHh G}slhiss A' -
His heliea places theu aare.tuaus.isI > al
HIS temples ara our forts and ,toyers
I Ri uf iS apen w syta2s, tos siaau
There is time to fight and syrq {
And now before aG,rfI the o s1n d ooe I'M
| Ike aafTii sasl5 pres Fs hSd oEdef'd soA
isrns istfistldg7 tfumpet's siiadenl soar
'Is,ing shreueh The ciIapel3q S'sp
moor 2ualA e'sT, OF b9Jlvui s1ay
Bts long reysrherslli9g bloE, ,aL !,
so loud and clear. it seemf the ear
Ufdnsty death mo St wa ke Sntt ksavi,
And there the. stataAing drum And titei
lFired.tbe Lying witt. 1eg9eyI hfe;e M
While overhead. with wild Increase,
Forgetting its ancient toll Or peace,
The great bell swung 8 ne'er before :
1t seemed as it would never cease;
And every word it's ardCr flung
From off it's jubilant iron tongue
Was, "War! war, warp'
who dares"-this was the patriots
cry,
AS striding from the desk he came
Come out with me, in Freedom
name,
For her to live. for her to die?"
A hundred hands flung up reply.
A hundred voices answered, "In'
I suspect that the great bell" ex-
listed only in the poets imagination;
but in the main the picture he draws
is true TO fact There has been good
deal of controversy between the
Lutherans and Episcopalians as to
the ownership of Muhlenberg and the
lot where the little old church stood;
but if one we're to follow the Valley
Pike today unit, he comes just op-
posite the old stone courthouse in
Woodstock, then turn cas-. and 20
about 100 yards along the cross-street
he would stand almost exactly at the
spot where that martial drama was
enacted in the long ago. The ground
is still in sacred service, more
modern church taking the place Of
The colonial one.
Elon O. Henkel of New Market,
whose ancestors for several genera
tions have been Lutheran ministers,
has Muhlenberg' black robe and
other RELICS of the revolutionary days,
lie thinks it is~ altogether probable
that The Woodstock seenee was re-.
enacted at New Market and at Rude's
Hill, near New Market. At both OF
these places we're Lutheran churches
or meeting houses.
Ihaye made repeated efforts to gel
a copy of the muster roll, of the Ge..
mar regiment, but without success
1t seems likely that none is now in
ex ss-nce. But the record OF that
BODY is written in the history OF
liberty, ind its name is linked with
that of Brandywine, Germantown,
Monmouth and Yorktown The en-
shusiasm with which the Germans Of
the valley followed the young colonel
is iilustra ed IN the story that among
them came seven from near Harper 4
Ferry-three OF them sons and four
the grandsons Of old Friedrich Lad
ner, who had come over from Wur,
temberg in ISL.
When Muhlenberg was made q
general in l777 Abraham Bowman, q
member of the committee Of l774. snG
brother OF Major Joseph Bowman
who served with George Rogers CLARK
succeeded to the command of the regi
| ment. Capt. Abraham Hite was pay,
| master from Jan. l. IT'S, to May II
1880. Among the field officers wal
Major Peter Helfenstein OF lower
valley.
Muhlenberg and his men partici
| pated In the Fighting at Charleston
s. c., In l77G. The next year he wal
made . brigadier general and placs
in command OF the Virginia line
subsequently, he took part in tn
battle of Brandywire, Germantow
and Monmouth, and Ia the capture O
Stony Point. At Brandywine, it j
said, he was opposed by some Ger
man troops in the British service
among whom we're some OF his forme
comrades of the dragoon days in th
fatherland. They recognized Bit
from affair. the story goes, and erie
out either in JOY or terror, "Hef
comes Devil Pete!'