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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1962)
10 A MONDAY. AUGUST 13. 1962 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFOHD. OREGON War Has Its Lighter Side By.MERTON T. AKERS UPI Correspondent The Civil War was many things. 11 was blood, sweat and tears. It was mud, dust and bad food. But the war had its lighter moments, too, and one of the lightest was the story of Job Stuart's new hat and John Pope's uniform dress coat. It happened in the early days of a campaign between the battle of Cedar Mountain and the series of fights which history calls the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). Maj. Gen. John Pope was maneuvering his new Union Army of Virginia in the north ern part of the state. Stone wall Jackson had trounced part of Pope's army at Cedar Mountain on Aug. 9, 1862. After that Pope's army lay between the Rapidan and the Rappahannock Rivers in an exposed position. The Con federates were looking for a way to strike before it could concentrate behind the Rap pahannock. Maj. Gen. James Ewcll Brown (Job) Stuart, Confeder ate cavalry commander, mobi lized his troopers to deliver the first blow. On the night of Aug. 17 Stuart and his staff rode out to Verdiersville, Va., a small town south of the Rapidan, to meet a brigade of his cavalry led by Fitzhugh Lee, a neph ew of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Bedded Down Not finding Fitz Lee at Ver diersville, Stuart and his staff bedded down for the night on the porch of a house. He sent Maj. Norman Fitzhugh out lo find Fitz Lee and his troops and prepared to get a night's rest Carefully Stuart placed his new plumed hat in a safe place beside him with a haver sack in which he carried his maps and papers, rolled up in his scarlet - lined cloak and drifted off to sleep. The hat was a special one and highly prized by Stuart because he had won it on a bet from Union Brig. Samuel W. L. Crawford in one of those high ly unlikely incidents which could have occurred only in a war where many officers -now fighting each other - had served together in the Old Army before Fort Sumter. Sluart had met Crawford and Brig. Gen. George D. Bayard, Union cavalry com mander, during a truce after the battle of Cedar Mountain. During the conversation Stuert had remarked that the Federals would claim Cednr Mountain as a victory. Craw ford bet a hat they would not. A few days later through the lines under a flag of truce fame a significant hat with a copy of the N.Y. Herald claim ing victory. It was for Stuart, with the compliments of Crawford. Early the next morning the rlattcr and Jingling of a cav alry troop aroused the porch sleepers. Mist hung low and the crossroads barely a quar ter of a mile away was scarce ly visible. Bareheaded, Stuart peered through the mist trying to identify the troops. This must be Fitz Lee's cavalry, 12 hours late. But challenges and pistol shots anounced to the startled Stuart that it was Federal cavalry, not Fitz Lee's. Vaulted Over Fence Stuart ran for his horse, kept saddled for just such emergencies. He vaulted the horse over a garden fence and rode hell for leather away from there. The prized hat and the haversack remained on the porch to be scooped up by the Federal troopers. With them went his cloak and sword sash. Stuart and his staff escaped the Federal cavalry but as the hot August sun began to beam he had to knot a white hand kerchief over his reddish locks in place of a hat. All day he took the jibes: "Where's your hat?" That was more than the "Gay Cavalier" could take in definitely. Something had lo be done. His chance came the night of Aug. 22-23. With, 1,500 men, Stuart started on a raid to Catlett's Station, a hamlet on the Orange & Alexanderia rail road where it crossed Cedar Run. Here Pope had a supply base. If the bridge could be destroyed. Pope would be har ried, perhaps crippled. The troopers rode into the night and along the way cap tured a Negro who claimed he knew where Pope's tent stood in the Catletl camp. Lady Luck was smiling again on Stuart. "It was the darkest night I ever knew," Stuart said. A quick August thunderstorm broke and drenched the troop ers before they reached the camp. The Negro was as good as his word. He pointed out Pope's tent in the camp where Union quartermaster and com missary officers were having a drink in their waterproof, floored tents before sitting down to a hot meal. The gray troopers hit the camp with a Rebel yell. Offi cers, teamsters, cooks and orderlies ducked into the darkness. Horses and mules reared and snorted and broke away from their picket lines. Tables Kicked Over Lt. Col. W. W. Blackford, one of Stuart's staff, described the pandemonium: "Slipper tables were kicked over and tents broken down in the rush to gel out, the tents catching them sometimes in their fall like a fish in a net. within whose folds we could trace the struggling out-1 lines of the frantic men with in .. . "In less time than it has taken to tell the tale, all was over . . . The tents and wagons were fired and burned merri ly, and each moment the light increased as busy hands spread the conflagration, mak ing it easier to collect the thousands of mules and horses into droves, for there were too many to lead, and to gather in the multitudes of prisoners around us . . ." Stuart had detailed Black ford to see that the bridge was destroyed, the main ob jective of the raid. But Black ford and the colonel leading the bridge burners got lost in the dark. When they finally reached the bridge they found it guarded by Federal infantry r-i ?TmsnTT7rrT TkT A TV the j AlVrJUy V VAlV. i$ A iVliii'rh T'"r V" r'f iriMi ram'' iT"'1" -V ' 'J.-iw.-&f and gave up the job. In his report later Stuart said the bridge was too wet to burn and too heavy to chop down. But the raid was successful as far as Stuart was concerned for among the loot was Pope's dress coat, an elaborate gar ment of broadcloth with a vel vet collar and a general's stars embroidered on it with golden thread. Along with it was Pope's hat and his military cloak as well as valuable papers. Stuart was avenged. He sent the coat to Gov. "Honest John" Letcher of Vir giania in Richmond who promptly put it on exhibition in the State Library. The coat gave Richmond its first laugh since the dark days of the Pe ninsular campaign. The story ends with the clinking of champagne glass es. One of Stuart's prisoners was Maj. Charles M. Gould ing. Earlier, when Federal troops had occupied Warren- ton, he had boasted to a pretty girl - one Miss Lucas - that he would be in Richmond in 90 days. She bet him a bottle of champagne he wouldn't. As the prisoners passed her home - on the way to Rich mond - she paid the bet. The gallant major lifted his glass and drank to the health "of so charming a person." Then he trudged off to prison camp in Richmond, well ahead of the 30-day deadline. It could only have happen ed in the Civil War. THE BIG STEP ... TO YOUR FUTURE GOAL! , BUSINESS EDUCATION Fall Term Opens Sept. 24 Day and Night Classes ROBERTSON SCHOOL of BUSINESS 40 North Riverside Phone 773-4264 Medford TS l i Betty Crocker, bisquick or buttermilk biscuits. Limit 5, please. 8 oz. ea. PRESERVES Empress, Apricot-Pineapple, Grape, Peach, and Calif, style Orange Marmalade. 10-oz. Plum preserves 4 for $1.00. I tO) U U r Tomato i Campbell's. Welcome treat for lunches. Limit, please. IO2 oz. can 1 Y7 I !BEEFGTrsh ... xr3 1 1 Busy Baker soda crackers. Soup 'n Crackers, both crackin' good! 2-lb ERS A m hull II Lbi U U sr rsa Thick meated, sweet bell peppers. Stuff with Safeway Ground Beef. ft Corned Beef Boneless Waste free lb. 69 Cabbag e Firm, solid, crisp heads. Let's have Corned Beef 'n Cabbage, lb. 5'! i B IT.- a-d if I 11 fey Franks Safeway skinlesi wieners. Picnic special. I -lb. pkg. 19 Coney Buns Skylark. Always fresh. Pkg. of 10 ea. 33 Fruit Cocktai House 303 Cans 5i$1 Jell-well Gelatin. Seven 3-oi. flavors. Limit, please. pkg. 5 LIGHTER MOMENTS Despite ,., blood, clenlh nnrl hor ror, the Civil War had what i-ould be described as its Hunter moments, too. One of the lightest of these stories was about leb Stuart s plumed hat and den. John Pope's dress coat. Jt happened In the days between the battles of Cedar Moun tain and Second Manassas. Jeb Stuart had led his cavalry to Venersville, Va.. to meet with troopers of Kitz l.ec. The meeting didn't materialize and Stuart camped for the night. Early next morning, troopers arrived. They were not those of Fitz Lees, but Federals. Stuart leaped lo his hor.se and fled, leaving his new plumed hat to be captured by the jN'orth. All day he smarted under jibes by his fellow officers i and the hot sun. He was to he avenged, however, several days later. With 1.5(111 men. Stuart raided a Federal camp at Catlett s Station. The raid was successful, in that sup-1 plies were destroyed and the Northern unit was scattered. I Most important, the full-dress coat belonging to General I Tope w as captured. Stuart sent it lo Governor Letcher of ' Virginia, who put it on display in Richmond Hero. ,leb Sluart is shown with a plumed hat in a rare photograph Jrnm the Library of Congress collection. (UPI) W rL.n k Tuna 3s89 Fril-lets Porter's wide egg noodles. 1 4 oz. pkg. 35 d I J Ice Cream Snow Star. 4 grand flavors. 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