Knight of the Confederacy: Gen. Turner Ashby

By Dr. Frank Cunningham

From the pen of versatile Frank Cunningham, who wrote the dynamic history of General Stand Watie’s Confederate Indians, comes another stirring book on heroic phases of the Civil War. Brilliantly written, highly researched—this is the biography of a cavalry general of top significance, proud of his men and his capable horse artillery. Recreated within these pages is the vibrant figure of Turner Ashby, astride his milk-white steed, dashing across the fields and hills of Virginia—now fearless and bold—now gallant and courteous-a man revered by his own people, respected by the enemy.

Turner Ashby, born October 23, 1828, of an aristocratic Virginia family at Rosebank Plantation, Fauquier County, was descended from an English family of nobility, members of which had earned fame on other fields of battle. His father was Colonel Turner Ashby, who distinguished himself during the War of 1812. His brothers, James and Richard, served the South and all three men went to their deaths for the Cause in which they believed.

Ashby, forsaking home and loved ones, put the ideal of Freedom from oppression uppermost in his mind with the thought that to die “upon the altar of (his) country” for one’s beliefs was paramount.

Illustrated throughout with plates, including portraits.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golden Springs Publishing
• Release date: Oct 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781787201019

Dr. Frank Cunningham

Dr. Frank Cunningham (1911-1972) was a newspaper journalist, film and television scriptwriter and award-winning literary author. He is the author of five “best of the year” books, including his biography of General Stand Watie, Confederate Indians (1959). He received numerous distinguished writing awards as well as honorary life memberships in many literary organizations, such as the Manuscripters of Los Angeles, the International Mark Twain Society, the Penguins and the Hollywood Branch of the National League of American Pen Women. Dr. Cunningham received the Military Service medals of the S.C.V. and O.S.B. and was on Special Duty, Army of the United States, G-2, Military Intelligence in 1941. Honored with a Life Membership in the Confederate High Command, Major-General Cunningham, CHC, headed the Fort General Stand Watie Outpost, Los Angeles and commanded the Confederate Armies of the Far West.

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Text originally published in 1960 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2016, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

KNIGHT OF THE CONFEDERACY: GEN. TURNER ASHBY

BY

FRANK CUNNINGHAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5

DEDICATION 6

FOREWORD 8

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10

PICTURE CREDITS 12

PART I 33

CHAPTER 1 34

CHAPTER 2 45

CHAPTER 3 52

CHAPTER 4 66

CHAPTER 5 73

PART II 82

CHAPTER 6 84

CHAPTER 7 91

CHAPTER 8 97

CHAPTER 9 109

PART III 118

CHAPTER 10 119

CHAPTER 11 131

CHAPTER 12 139

CHAPTER 13 151

BIBLIOGRAPHY 161

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 166

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 170

DEDICATION

"No grander body of men was ever assembled in war than the original ten companies of the Seventh Virginia Cavalry. The Old Guard of Napoleon and the famous Six Hundred at Balaklava rendered no more brilliant service than did these men, who lived for days in the saddle, and fought the enemy with daring and courage unsurpassed in the annals of war...

No Crusader was ever more under the influence of the Cross than Ashby was under the spirit of the Southern cause. All the patriotism in his soul was aroused, all the energy of his nature was stimulated, and he went into battle like a knight of old, with his loins girded with the ‘Sword of the Lord.’

—Thomas Almond Ashby in Life of Turner Ashby

And so this book is dedicated to my paternal grandfather, Captain George Lodiwick Cunningham, of Colonel Munford’s Second Virginia Cavalry, Co. G., which fought alongside the Seventh Virginia in Turner Ashby’s Brigade; and Captain Cunningham’s sons, Otho Thomas, 1867-1947; George William, 1871-1916; Daniel Goode, 1873-1957 and Frank Henry, my father, 1886-1949. Otho, George and Daniel, in the post-war days when they lived at The Big House plantation in Bedford county, Virginia, were The Three Little Confederates in my book Big Dan on Daniel and his colorful railroading in Virginia, Colorado and Utah.

Captain Cunningham and his four sons were men who loved the traditions of the Old South and were proud to be called Rebels.

"Then call us Rebels if you will—

We glory in the name;

For bending under unjust laws,

And swearing faith to an unjust cause,

We count a greater shame."

—From the Confederate poem Rebels

FOREWORD

By Joseph W. Hough, Ph. D., Litt. D.

A hundred years from now historians will, undoubtedly, point to this Mid-Twentieth Century era in America as characterized by a generosity towards all peoples of the world, in a spirit of Utopian internationalism. In a sense the worldwide turmoil of today may be compared to the continent-wide struggle of a century ago. Young nations of old races are experiencing a spirit of extreme nationalism.

The rise of the Confederacy may be viewed as a struggle of free people to preserve local traditions and to the people a right to manage their own local affairs. The greatest loss of the war was the impetus of central power in government, and the shifting of responsibility away from local elected officials to an absentee authoritarianism.

The Revolutionary War had shown free men a way to self-government. This tendency is today in conflict with internationalism. Nationalism is simply the revolutionary doctrine of self-government by free citizens.

In the South, despite defeat, this concept persists as the Doctrine of states rights, local option, etc. The politicians of absentee, centralist government oppose these with propaganda expressions of minority rights, police power, government of law, and by a strange semantics change legal history. Washington warned against foreign ideologies. Even at the close of the North-South struggle, thinking Northern authorities did not favor federal government.

The Mountain Democrat, Placerville, California, September 2, 1865, reported General William T. Sherman’s remarks upon a reception at his home in Lancaster, Ohio:

The past is now with the historians, but we must still grapple with the future. In this we need a guide, and fortunately, for all of us, we can trust the Constitution which has safely brought us through the gloom and danger of the past. Let each State take care of its own local interest and affairs—Ohio of hers, Louisiana of hers, Wisconsin of hers, and, I believe the best results will follow. You all know well that I have lived much at the South, and I say, though we have been bitter and fierce enemies in war, we must trust this people again in peace.

Dr. Frank Harrison Cunningham was born in Virginia and reared in the tradition of sovereign free citizenship. In his attitude of approval of American Nationalism, he is an unreconstructible rebel. He is a historian and a distinguished writer on Americana. Above all, and perhaps unknown to himself, he is a great educator in the American tradition and way of life. He is a patient and thorough scholar who spends, when necessary, any amount of time and resources required to ferret out authentic data. His stories of railroads, dogs or people are vividly realistic. In Knight of the Confederacy he produces an historical biography in a style as clear and fresh as a newspaper account of a current event and with great accuracy.

In this book we live again in the time and circumstances of General Turner Ashby and realize a new depth of patriotism and a fresh perspective, exemplifying the traditions of a common fervid Americanism. Henry Alexander White wrote in Stonewall Jackson this tribute to General Ashby:

...in [the Valley of Virginia] his form and face were more familiar than those of any other Confederate. His men idolized him, and he managed them in battle with marvelous skill. His daring courage and his wonderful horsemanship caused men to admire him, but the noble traits of his character made them love him.

Today, we need to be reminded by Dr. Cunningham of the status of our domestic drifting and in support I quote Martin J. Johnson, Commander-in-Chief, Sons of the Confederate Veterans, in his June, 1957 report:

Sometimes I wonder if we Southerners appreciate the immense contribution our men in gray made to our national heritage. Certainly what they did at the sacrifice of family, possessions, even life itself, will live forever as a barrier against an overbearing Central Government—the kind our founding fathers feared from the very beginning.

Freedom is our greatest possession in this sweet land of Liberty. We must fight for it today, even as General Turner Ashby understood the principles that made his sacrifices a part of his high sense of honor and spiritualized patriotism.

—Office of the President

Fremont College

Yuma, Arizona

Memorial Day, 1960

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THANKS, YOU ALL!

Miss India W. Thomas, House Regent, The Confederate Museum, Richmond, Virginia.

Mrs. Ralph Catterall, The Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia.

Mr. Michael W. Moncure III, Moncure & Cabell, Attorneys at Law, Richmond, Virginia.

Mr. W. H. Schmidt, Jr., Director of Public Relations, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Baltimore, Maryland.

Virginia Daiker, Reference Librarian, The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

Josephine Cobb, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, Washington, D. C.

Mr. Legare H. B. Obear, Chief of Loan Division, The Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.

Mr. Seale Johnson, President, McCowat-Mercer Press, Jackson, Tennessee.

Major Charles West, Fellow and Governor, Company of Military Collectors and Historians, Wilton, Connecticut.

Dr. Joseph W. Hough, President of Fremont College, Yuma, Arizona.

Colonel Frederick P. Todd, USAR, Editor-in-Chief, Company of Military Collectors and Historians, and Director, West Point Museum, New York.

Dr. Allan Weaver Hazelton, Director, International Institute of American Ideals (Grupo America), South Pasadena, California.

Mrs. Blandy B. Clarkson, Virginia Military Institute Museum, Lexington, Virginia.

Mr. Milton C. Russell, Head, Reference and Circulation Section, General Library Division, Virginia State Library, Richmond, Virginia.

Major W. Ogden McCagg, Administrator, Company of Military Collectors and Historians, 77 Barnes Street, Providence, Rhode Island.

My special thanks to Dr. Joseph W. Hough, formerly of the University of Oklahoma research staff, now president of Fremont College, for his splendid Foreword and his forthright upholding of States Rights.

The five letters reproduced in this book are through the courtesy of Michael W. Moncure III, who graciously had the originals in his possession reproduced for me. One well understands Mr. Moncure’s interest. His great great uncle was—General Turner Ashby!

I gratefully call attention to the use of material from other books and publications and especially Gunner With Stonewall and the courtesy of Seale Johnson, president of McCowat-Mercer Press, in lending me illustrations; Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders (Holt), written by another Washington and Lee graduate, my friend Virgil Carrington Jones, the outstanding writer on Colonel John S. Mosby and his raiders; I Rode With Stonewall (University of North Carolina Press); They Called Him Stonewall (Rinehart); and Mighty Stonewall (McGraw-Hill).

The story of General Turner Ashby could not be written without the use of Ashby and His Compeers (Selby and Dulany) by Reverend James B. Avirett, published in 1867 and the Life of Turner Ashby (Neale) by Thomas Almond Ashby, published in 1914, and which was lent me through the courtesy of Legare H. B. Obear of the Library of Congress.

My thanks to the librarians of the history departments at the Public Libraries in Los Angeles, Santa Maria, Pasadena, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Berkeley and Beverly Hills. And to the library departments of the University of California, Sequoia University, Fremont College, and the Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

And I am most certainly obligated for a real lusty Rebel Yell to the noted former Hearst columnist and war correspondent, Pat Barham, my co-author on Operation Nightmare. Her hospitality could not be exceeded in the Deep South.

Pat made available for an extended stay her beautiful and extensive Barham (—M) Ranch at Los Alamos, California, once the property of her late father, Dr. Frank Barham, the distinguished publisher of the Los Angeles Herald-Express. It was at this ranch that much of Knight of the Confederacy was written. At the ranch I relaxed in a western dude shirt, stockman’s trousers and station wagon boots, though I lived in days of Confederate Gray and charging Rebel horsemen.

And not far away from the Barham ranch was the old Stagecoach road where in the days of 1861-65 riders would whoop it up in California for Jeff Davis and the Secesh!

But that’s another story.

PICTURE CREDITS

From Library of Congress:

General Turner Ashby, John Brown’s Fort, The Execution of John Brown, Colonel Thomas Kane, Rose O’Neal Greenhow and daughter in Washington prison, full page of Confederate military leaders in Virginia (from Wearing of the Gray), Adventure of Ashby at Winchester (from Wearing of the Gray).

From Confederate Museum, Richmond, Virginia:

Colonel R. Preston Chew, General John D. Imboden, General Henry A. Wise, General Richard T. Ewell, George Jackson.

From Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia:

Major-General W. W. Loring, (Cook Collection) and General Turner Ashby (drawn by W. H. Caskie).

From Baltimore and Ohio Railroad:

Harper’s Ferry, Railroad Bridge Carrying Baltimore and Ohio across Potomac River, The Federal Camp at Bolivar Heights.

From McCowat-Mercer Press:

Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson (National Archives) and Captain William Thomas Poague (from The Long Arm of Lee and Gunner With Stonewall).

From The National Archives:

Major Harry Gilmor.

From Michael W. Moncure, III, Richmond, Virginia:

Original letters and orders.

From The Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California:

The War in Virginia—The Battle of Winchester and The Shenandoah Valley—Attack by Pennsylvania Bucktails against Jackson’s men (both from Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper).

End sheet Flags from Confederate Military History Edited by Bishop Capers, Confederate Publishing Company, Atlanta, Georgia, 1899.

This is the first time in 61 years that such Flag information has been published in one place.

CHAPTER ILLUSTRATIONS BY TOM JONES.

PART I

"Yes, give me the land

Where the battle’s red blast

Has flashed on the future

The form of the past;

Yes, give me the land

That hath legends and lays

That tell of the memories

Of long-vanished days."

"Yes, give me the land

That hath story and song

To tell of the strife

Of the right with the wrong;

Yes, give me the land

With a grave in each spot

And the names in the graves

That shall not be forgot"

—From The South by Abram Joseph Ryan

CHAPTER 1

IN THE VALLEY of Virginia, the glory of two men outshines all others; two figures were the tallest, best loved, and today [1867] are most bitterly mourned. One was Jackson, the other Ashby. The world knows all about Jackson, but has little knowledge of Ashby. I was reading a stupid book the other day in which he was represented as a guerilla—almost as a robber and a highwayman. Ashby a guerilla!—that great, powerful, trained and consummate fighter of infantry, cavalry and artillery, in the hardest fought battles of the Valley campaign. Ashby a robber and a highwayman!—that soul and perfect mirror of chivalry! It is to drive away these mists of stupid or malignant scribblers that the present writer designs recording here the actual truth of Ashby’s character and career. Apart from what he performed he was a personage to whom attached and still attaches a never-dying interest. His career was all romance—it was as brief’, splendid and evanescent as a dream—but after all, it was the man Turner Ashby, who was the main attraction. It was the man whom the people of the Shenandoah Valley admire, rather than his glorious record. There was something grander than the achievements of this soldier, and that was the soldier himself...the figure of Ashby, on his milk-white steed, his face in a blaze of enthusiasm, his drawn sword in his hand—that figure will truly live in the memory and heart of the Virginian as long as the battlements of the Blue Ridge stands, and the Shenandoah flows.

So wrote John Esten Cooke in The Wearing of the Gray.

Fertile pastures and grain fields were a green and yellow blanket over the rolling Virginia uplands which spread out from Rosebank in Fauquier County. Young Turner Ashby glanced west to the rising Blue Ridge as he walked down the slope toward Goose Creek. Turner had been playing dolls with his sisters, Elizabeth, Mary and Dorothea; an indoor activity looked upon with derision by his brothers.

Elizabeth, born in 1825, was three years older than Turner