page_title: John D. Read
section_title: Aftermath of Read's killing
hierarchical_section_title: John D. Read / Aftermath of Read's killing
caption_attribution_description: English: A photo of the gravestone of John D Read, lay preacher and abolitionist, located in cemetery of Falls Church Episcopal Church.
context_page_description: John D Read, also referred to as John Reed or John Reid, was an American abolitionist and lay preacher in Falls Church, Virginia in the years prior to and during the American Civil War. Read was taken prisoner by Confederate partisans from Mosby's Rangers during a surprise raid on the town on October 18, 1864 and executed later that day near Vienna, Virginia.
context_section_description: John Read was buried in the graveyard at the Falls Church Episcopal Church, where he lies next to his wife and daughter.
  After her father's execution, Betsy Read closed her school for freedmen. She wrote to Emily Howland on October 23, 1864, informing her that,
  "I have before me three letters from you addressed to My Father. Who is no more in this world. Miss Howland it is sad news to tell but My Dear Father has been shot yes cruely murderd by the Rebels. As to the school I had concluded to take, I do not now feal as though I wanted to have any thing to do with it...I do not think it would be advisable at this present time for any one to commence a school that is a colord School for at this time the Rebs are looking down on us And I should not be surprised if they should come down here again tonight..."
  Emily Howland herself wrote a tribute to John Read, stating that, "He was much interested in the improvement and elevation of the colored people, which marked him for the hatred of the misguided wretches who rob and murder in the interest of slavery."
  Read's death was reported in both local and Northern newspapers. The Evening Star in Washington, DC proclaimed his killing as an example of "Rebel Diabolism" and accused Mosby's men of committing "some of the most devilish deeds of cold blooded murder ever recorded" by "cutting his throat from ear to ear."  A Columbus Ohio newspaper lamented that "the guerrillas of Mosby's gang are becoming bold in their depredations" and "these outrages so near to Washington are beginning to be regarded as a serious disgrace."
caption: The gravestone of John D Read, at the Falls Church Episcopal Church.
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