Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-02-21
SUPERB COURAGE SHOWN
BY PRIVATE A. T. BARCLAY
North and South Alike Pay Tribute
to Heroic Deed OF Color
Bearer.
HIS LIFE SEEMS CHARMED
shower OF Federal Bullets Are Raincd
Upon Him, but He Escapes Tn
scathed-Hc Still Lives, and Is
HOnOred Resident OF Lexington.


clay. who bore the colors OF his rcri-
r"nt In the battle Of Locust Grove in
the Wilderness. November ~. 1863. is
'ccall"d by Federal officer. General
John r. King. Of Baltimore Md. past
comma nder- in chief OF the Grand Arm:
e ,Ee Republic.
IN tho onicial report OF the engage"
r"nt AT Nine Run or Locust Grove spc-
ciai mention is made by Major William
Terry OF tho galiantry OF I'rivat" y. T.
barclay In the following terms.
Among the noncommissi joined officers
wounded ls-coior Sergeant j. ~. Law
renee. who was severely wounded
through both legs while gallantly bear
Ing tho colors OF the regiment against
the foe, and desire to mention spcc!-
ally tho conspicuous sallRntrv of Pri-
vate 4. I Barclay. Company I. who
seized the colors when Sergeant Law
rene" fcll and carried them through tn"
balance OF the fight"
This incident Of the battle is brought
ont lay the following correspondence:
Headquarters
Grand Army OF tho Republic
ONCE OF
Fast Commander In chief
- ". Mount Royal Avenue.
Baltimore. Md. Jan. %. 1918.
lion. WIN. a. Anderson.
Lexington. Va.
N, Dear STR take the liberty OF
enclosing AN rxccrp, OF paper read
II" fore tho Commanders OF Maryland.
NJ order Loyal Legion. The incidcn,
related OF lii" soldier OF the Fourth
Virginia Regiment J repeated to my
friend Major Randolph Barton. who
SVrrcstcd that write 70 YOU. using
mis- name. am anxious TO know II the
soldier Is still alive and IL so. his ad
dress. never could understand why
he did such unusuai thing, why b"
A.. Nf 4 H.. al.
irined him. My admiration OF his heroic
conduct has never Cnasrd--in our army
hc would have been rewarded with a
congressional medal of honor The
Lord never made better soldier than
mat man.
Yours very truly
tSicncdl JOHN r KING
tn" following IL the extract re-
fcrrod 10 from the paper read by Cen
oral King:
In this battle 81 Locust Grove. in
10 Wilderness witnessed an cXhi-
pition OF superb courage. after We
had rcpulscd two charges Of the enemy
they fell back TO "A piece OF woods 10
form rs We supposed for another
charge. Suddcnly a Confederate color
bearer ran out from behind stack Of
hay OF corn and when we'll in the front
and entirely alone, H. stopped. planted
MS nac on the ground. remained there
some little while. then got up and
cooily hunted cover hundreds OF shots
Wcrc nred at him. We could see the
ground cut all around him, bur none
apparently touched him. could hear
men all about me cry out. shoot the
man with the flag. | heard a sergeant
uear me Say that. ! called 70 him and
said: Don't vhoot the man with the
nag he is too brave 20 XIII have
since learned that tho mans name was
Barclay. OF the Fourth Virginia Regi-
mcni.'
i.exington Va. January 80. 1915.
General John Il. King. Past Command
erin chief Grand Army OF the Re
public. - West Mount ROYAL Ave
nue.. baltimore. Md.
My Dear Generate was :, pleasure
to receive and II gives me plcasui y
10 reply 10 Your valuable letter OF the
30 instant. Enclosing copy Of paper
read hv YOU before the Commnndcry OF
The Maryland Military Order, OF the
Loyal Legion. on the 1th OF January
last.
.>lexander Tcdford Barclay is the
name Of tho gallant soldier whose he
roic conduct you mention In Your 'ad-
dress. Am glad 70 say that his life is
>tili spared and that he lives IL this
town
You call tho battle Of the 9th 81
November. 1868. Locust Grove #
vas known to the Confedcrates AS
Mine Run" ~
his pro"css upon that ana other
Yields WAS well known TO his comrades
IN arms.
His courage ous action was commend
ii by the commander OF the stone
vail" Brigade. in his report OF the parf
his command bore in that engagement
and he was, as some recognition of his
gallant and meritorius conduct. pro-
noted to lieutenancy In the Confed.
crate army.
1t was marvel to all who witnessed
il, that he passed through the affuir
unscathed He seemed to have =
charmed life
Had Color Bearer Barclay been :.
soldier under Napoleon he would prob
ably have been made colonel. and
decorated with the cross Of the Legion
Of Honor. on the battlefield.
The circumstances that dauntless
courage was not an unusual quality
Of the men who followed Jackson and
Lee may account for the fact that his
conspicuous bravery upon the occasion
which you describe has not been more
widely heralded.
Mr. Barclay was a member Of tho
Liberty Hall Volunteers. Il cOmpany
which was made up chiefly of students
OF Washington College. now Washing :
TON and Lee University. drilled upon
the campus OF that institution In the
spring or 1861. when II enlisted in the
military service of Virginia and the
Fourth Virginia Infantry, ''Stonewall
Brigade" and afterwards marched in
The campaigns and fought in the bat :
Ties which made the names of Stone
3 yah Jackson and Robert T.. Lee i'm
mortal, and small remnant OF the
company surrendered with Lee at An
uomattoI.
There were n number of companies
formed al colleges and universities in
the country, North and South. at the
beginning Of the War Between the
states. but SO far as have been able
to ascertain, after somewhat diligent
inquiry, the Liberty Hall Volunteers
was the only one OF those which fought
through the war from its beginning
10 its close.
Your Just tribute to Lieutenant Bar
ebay will he appreciated by his few
surviving comrades. his numerous
friends, and by his family
Very sincerely yours