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A®,th«'ht,jle,noat-ed.rirlofingthehas e n -de,etslrnoldheindthelt;t-ofde,ingor-theee-ke!toingeartalla Ifwe v•anoesm!rhtas!'OUI a meti nreaveoldine 1 I1?”a vo, Ibs.11wertllltndr - 4..V” t,tiltHll*SO.amhe-weedit/1redelpthet heiao?ntasiry*enteiassingrceth.entheer«indat\e\edes.in.ledith?ryy—iejIdsde-!ellob-tctedbe-t!”amareheitledwe1 a•ed l a meay.witew?lvofnoutrhtutenirdpt.heietmtice: illheat.nd? tt »ii«edst-ndNOT A GUN WAS FIRED.Whole Regiment Captured by Twenty-Two Gallant I nlon Soldier*in Uroad Daylight.Second West Virginia cavalry.Among the soldier heroes that received congressional medals of honor for conspicuous acts of bravery in battle is Maj. William H. Powell, of theThepersonal reminiscences of officers and privates who were awarded these medals are being told in “Deeds of Valor,” an attractive compilation by Walter F. Beyer and Oscar F. Keydel. cf Detroit. and an experience of Maj. Powell will be one of its interesting features,£ays the Free Press.“Our regiment, the Second West Virginia cavalry,” relates Maj. Powell, “having, as we supposed, completed its campaign of 1832. was* enjoying winter quarters at Camp Piatt, in November, 1862. on the bank of the Kanawha river, about 12 miles above Charleston, S. C„ when, to the surprise and gratification of the boys, they were ordered into the saddle and en route for Cold Knob mountain, at which point the command was to be reenforced by the Eleventh Ohio volunteer infantrv. Col. P. H. Lane commanding. From this point we moved against the Fourteenth Virginia cavalry, then in winter quarters, recruiting. They occupied two separate camps, one in the Sinking Creek valley, the other some two miles west, near Williamsburg, and both in Greenbriar county, 12 miles west of Lew isburg.“Leaving the Kanawha, river valley route at Connelton to avoid suspicion as to the objective point of operation., the column proceeded via the old road to Levvisburg, passing through Summerville, where the command arrived the same evening, having traveled 60 miles that day ove.r rough mountainroads.“Next morning w e pushed forward as rapidly as possible through a. blinding snowstorm, the snow being a foot deep on the ground. About noon, while accompanying the advance guard, composed of a lieutenant and eight men, I encountered a squad of rebel scouts.andeight men. Evidently, we took themby surprise, and at the first sight of us, disregarding my polite invitation to halt, they ran into a log cabin, but.**1 could plainly that they we** unapprised of our proximity, and therefore unprepared to welcome us. Appreciating the golden opportunity, I decided promptly to charge the camp. Announcing the situation and my purpose to my heroic little command of Lieut. Davidson and his 20 men, thov answered:consisting also of a lieutenant“ ‘We will follow where you lead!* “Having not a moment ti* lose, I wheeled my command into lino, facing the camp, and charged my handful ofmen .on a full run of half a mile down the Sinking Creek Valley, into the center of the enemy’s camp, 500 strong. We were each armed with a saber and a brace of Colt's 54-caliber navy re-wvolvers, giving us 220 shots, which we held in reserve to a^oid alarming the other camp, some tw o miles away, and to be used only in case of absolute necessity.“It was soon made evident that thecamp was surprised and that theto-hand encounter which ensued some few of their number, in their confusion, ran up to us, grasping us by the legs and claiming us as their prisoners. To such daring and undignified assaults and claims we responded politely by tapping them on the tops of their heads with our revolvers, whichwe held in our hands, felling several of the boldest of them to the ground and causing them to loosen tlieir grasp. After thus dealing with them for a moment I demanded the surrender of the rebels’ camp, offering the protection of their lives. These terms Lieut. Col. John A. Gibson promptly accepted and surrendered the command to me without reservation. “Thus I captured the camp of theFourteenth regiment. Virginia cavalry.500 strong, without the loss of a life or the firing of a gun or revolver. Col.Paxton did not reach the camp until after the surrender, at which time the other portion of the rebel regiment, in camp at Williamsburg, came over to a point within respectful distance to look at us. The achievement of the Sinking Creek valley raid by a mere handful of men at noondaA*, far into the heart of the enemy’s country, requiring a continuous forced march in the saddle of 36 hours, from the union lines to the enemy’s camp, under the most unfavorable conditions of weather and roads, is an example of what a fewr brave, loyal and determined men can accomplish.”SIX FEET EIGHT INCHES.President Lincoln’* Kindly Greetlaa:to a Tall PennsylvaniaVolu nteer.Mahlon Shaaber, of Reading, Pa., is the tallest veteran of the civil war in that part of the state. He is six feetTHE SINKING CRE EK VALLEY RAID.editeedie,erall‘.v.rn-a short distance away from the road-«/side. Observing that the lieutenanthad made his escape into the woodsbeyond the cabin. I pushed on afterhim. ordering my lieutenant and guardto surround the cabin. I captured himabout a mile away. I have often won-%dered since why the fellow did notwtake a position behind a tree, and, with good aim, stop my advance upon him, especially when he became convinced that I was pursuing him with a determined purpose to run him down.On returning to the cabin, I learned that Lieut. Davidson had captured the entire rebel sque.d. which result proved a very important factor in the final mission of the raid, as no one escaped to report the movement of the command.“Resuming the march, we pressed forward through snoft nearly two feet deep, arriving at noon of the 26th on the summit of Cold Knob mountain, where we found Col. Lane awaiting us.oAfter a. conference between Cols. Paxton and Lane, the latter decided that the condition of his regiment caused bv exposure to the terrible storm and deep snow of the past 24 hours, rendered the condition of the march utterly impracticable, and compelled him, in justice to his men and officers, to return to their winter quarters at Summerville.“Influenced by Col. Lane, Col. Paxton submitted to the officers of theregiment the question of returning to camp with Col. Lane and the Eleventh Ohio volunteer infantry. This proposition met with my decided and unqualified opposition. The men in the ranks and many of the company commanders were in full accord with my views, and I said to the colonel that T would call for volunteers to accompany me in theadvan e movement upon the enefny’s camp. This announcement induced Col. Paxton to change his mind. He gave me orders, as the major of the regiment, to make a detail and move down the mountains as the advanceguard.“I ordered Lieut. Jeremiah Davidson ana 20 men of company G to aocompany me, and immediately moved out in advance of the regiment- Proceeding about a mile. I met four rebel scoutsenemy's firearms were unloaded. During the brief and very exciting hand-at a sharp turn of the road. I in- j medal for being the tallest man in th stantly ordered them to halt. and. see- I encampment, ing that they preferred attempting to escape to a surrender, fired and charged upon them, wounding one and eaptur-and eight inches. Shaaber has a wai record that is much more interesting than his extraordinary physique.At the opening of the rebellion Mah Ion Shaaber w as a boy of 16 years. Ii October, 1861, he enlisted in company II, Ninety-third Pennsylvania volun teers. On account of wounds receivecin the battle of Fair Oaks he was lion orably discharged from the service oi May 31, 1S62. As soon as he recoverei from the effects of the wounds young. | Shaaber again entered the union army first as a member of the Forty-seconc;Pennsylvania volunteers and subse quently with the One Hundred anc Ninety-sixth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers. This regiment was composed of members of the Fifth Uni or league of Philadelphia, and Sliaabei rose to the rank of first lieutenant.Of all the incidents in his long anc honorable war record the one thal most impresses Veteran Shaaber is hi£ meeting with President Lincoln dur ing the war, says the Philadelphia Times. The meeting took place Shaaber’s regiment was about chang] ing camp from Camp Mary to Tennai lytown, Ya. The soldiers received j visit from ia distinguished party o men. In the party were Lincoln, Cameron, Hamlin and Curtin. When th*soldiers were drawn up tor inspectio;President Lincoln noticed the uiiusuaheight of Shaaber and called him fror the ranks.“My good man,” said President Liu coin, “what is your name?“Mahlon Shaaber,” was the reply. “Well, I want to sav that 1 sun moned you from the ranks to sav thas.we tall men are always a little jealouwhen we find a man taller than ouiselves, but I guess in point of heigh| you deserve the medal of the eonmand. 1 hope your great height is noan inconvenience to you in servin/our country,” concluded Presiden Lincoln.Soldier Shaaber thanked the pres ! dent for the attention paid to him an assured Mr. Lincoln that he was in fi condition to fight to the death. Can eron. Hamlin and Curtin remarked uj on the soldierly appearance of youn Shaaber and each said a kind word t*him. At an encampment at Gettysbursince the war Mr. Shaaber received'toheedngit*1S-it-nedeedill.ofia-ntn-idrding another. The remaining two mace good their escape.“From our prisoners I hastily obtained valuable information as to the strength, location and relative positions of the two camps. The twosccu^ who had escaped, having seen but a part of our advance guard, concluded.as we afterward learned! that, as we did not press them closely down the mountain, we were nothing more nor less than a squad of union home guards living in the neighborhood.“On nearing the foot of the mountain we saw the two escaped scouts in the distance down the valley, moving leisurely towards their camp, the «moke of which was perceptible to me. I halted for a moment until they hadWf'passed out of my view around a point in the turn of the valley. Seeing that the coast was clear and, conscious that we had no time to waste. I pushed forward rapidly to the point where the•couts had disappeared, reaching itwith my little band unobserved by the e my.S ii 11 i v n n * s Grent Idea.Jack Sullivan was a soldier and good fellow withal, but in the opinic of officers and men alike he was ce tainlv getting insane, for when duty or at drill he would sudden break from the ranks and run aftlt; an imaginary bit of paper, visible 1 no one but himself, shouting as he d so: “ 1 here it goes! there’s the paper!This at length became so frequei an occurrence that, on the matter b ing brought before the medical a thorities, he wao by them declared 1 be suffering from monomania, and i consequence given his discharge.W hen leaving, however, he gave e\ dent proof that there was some met] od in his madness, for as he quitte the service forever he flourished h discharge, crying:“Faith, boys, shure I’ve got the b of paper I’ve been running afhter thlong time.”—Tit-Bits.^_____ _____Makes a Man Homesick.A few weeks spent in the averag boarding house will convince almoi any man that he ought to have a hornof his own.-Chicago Daily News.
Newspaper Details
Defiance Weekly Express
Defiance, Ohio, US
Thu, Mar 28, 1901
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Lori S.
USA 30 Dec 2019
Other Publications Near Defiance, Ohio
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