Thursday, October 30, 1969
Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Taylor and family have moved into their new all electric home about one mile from where they used to live. They bought the former Anthony Barnett place between Frost and Dunmore, after selling their other place to Jay Rockefeller.
ENGAGEMENT
Mr. and Mrs. Shad R. McLaughlin wish to announce the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Sally Royce, to Kenneth Karl Nottingham, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Nottingham, all of Marlinton.
An open church wedding is planned for December 28, 1969 at the Marlinton Presbyterian Church.
DEATHS
Mrs. Lucy F. Davis, 87, of Buckeye, a daughter of the late Uriah and Virginia E. Beverage. Burial in Mountain View Cemetery.
Mrs. Ada A. Bennett, 81, of Dunmore; burial in the Dunmore Cemetery.
Cecil Bruffey, of Baltimore, Maryland, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Tom Bruffey, of Bruffeys Creek. Service in the National Cemetery near Baltimore.
The Cannon Ball
Ralph Michael, of Elkins, recently bought a book and found a copy of an old CCC Camp paper, The Cannon Ball, of November 6, 1935, from Camp Price on Droop Mountain, and we print here with the accounts of two Civil War Veterans returning for the 72nd anniversary of the Battle of Droop Mountain:
George Henry Alderman, 91 years old, a veteran of the Battle of Droop Mountain, exploded the popular belief that the Confederates buried a brass cannon in the swamp on the old battlefield. Mr. Alderman, whose home is in Summersville, was a member of Company A 14th Regiment of the Virginia Cavalry. Although well up in years, Mr. Alderman has a vivid remembrance of all that transpired during this historic battle.
He stated, “Our camp was located on the little knoll that lies to the south of the swamp. We had left our horses back on the mountain. The hill-front overlooking Hillsboro was heavily fortified, as the Confederates were expecting the Union attack to come from this direction; the Union forces, however, came in from behind and took us entirely by surprise. The only outlet for escape was the old Lobelia-Jacox road, where we had left our horses. Under heavy fire, we escaped, but we took our brass cannon with us. I know that is a fact, as I held the sight as we were escaping…”
M. J. McNeel, now Brigadier General of Confederate Veterans of Hillsboro, arrived in Camp Price this morning to commemorate the Battle of Droop Mountain. General McNeel was a member of the 19th Regiment of Virginia, Company F. Mr. McNeel’s regiment participated in the battle, but his company had been sent to Green Bank, near Huntersville, to watch for the Union forces as they were expected to come in that direction. The Yankees, however, took another route and Company F missed them and the battle. General McNeel was a Private during the war, but was elected a 2nd Lieutenant before the war closed. His appointment as Brigadier General came after the close of the war.
General Averell, commanding the Union forces in the battle, was an overnight guest at the home of General McNeel in Hillsboro, and he still has in his possession a letter from General Averell directing that any damage caused to the property be paid for by the United States government. General Averell made a very fine impression on all the Southern people he came in contact with.
General McNeel visited the battlefield a few days after the battle was fought and seemed to think that both the Union and Confederates were very excited during the gunfire. Trees were cut down by the firing, but they were cut down above the average man’s size, indicating that the troops were poor shots or they were not very anxious to kill their opponents. This explains the comparatively few deaths that occurred during the battle.
Note:
“Children Learn What They Live,” Author Unknown – which ran in the October 23, 1969 edition of The Pocahontas Times, was included in the 50-Years-Ago column in the October 24, 2019 edition. Lisa Nolte Mulvania contacted The Pocahontas Times to say her mother, Dorothy L. Nolte, (1924 – 2005) wrote this poem in 1954.