The Black Horse Troop.
[from the Richmond (Va.) times, Feb. 23, 1896.] the members of the House of Delegates, who served in the famous body.
Pilcher, Lewis and Talliaferro.
All fade enviable Records in the daring and gallant band of soldiers-a brief Sketch of the Black Horse and its commanders.
One of the most gallant, serviceable, and picturesque contingents of the Army of Northern Virginia, was that famous company of cavalry known as the
Black Horse Troop, which won such bright laurels for its daring exploits, and the valuable information and aid it rendeered the
Confederate commanders in some of the greatest engagements of the Civil war.
In many respects it was a remarable body of men, composed as it was, of handsome, strapping, debonair
Virginians, admirably horsed and equipped, in whose natures the spirit of chivalry was an abiding trait that marked the flight of their banner from the outbreak to the close of the war.
They wielded their sabres like the cuirassiers of old, and used their pistols with the truth and nerve of expert marksmen.
They so familiarized themselves with the country in which they operated, that they kept the enemy continuously speculating on their movements by checkmating them at every point in the game of war, and achieved such prestige by their strange ubiquity and stratagem that the name of their little legion became a watchword for danger and a signal for action with the
Union troops.
The Black Horse was organized
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in 1859, just two years before the war broke out, and first figured at
Harper's Ferry in the
John Brown raid.
Colonel John Scott, of
Warrenton, Virginia, was its first captain, and gave the troop its name.
Colonel Scott, who has retired from active life, was for many years a conspicuous figure in that section of the
State as Commonwealth's Attorney, and is well known as the author of ‘The Lost Principle,’ a ‘Life of
Mosby,’ and other literary works.
Its next commander was the gallant
Bob Randolph, of the distinguished family of that name, and who was afterwards promoted to
Colonel.
On the 18th of May, 1861, the following officers of the
Black Horse were sworne in:
William H. Payne, captain;
Robert Randolph,
C. H. Gordon,
A. D. Payne, lieutenants;
Willian Smith,
James H. Childs,
Robert Mitchell,
Richard Lewis, sergeants; Willington Millon,
Madison C. Tyler,
George N. Shumate,
N. A. Clopton, corporals;
William Johnson, bugler, and
William E. Gaskins, quartermaster.
They were subsequently incorporated into the Fourth Virginia Regiment, and permission was given to recruit it for a battalion.
The first sustained march of the
Black Horse was to
Harper's Ferry.
It afterwards advanced to
Manassas and Fairfax Courthouse; its work at the
battle of Bull Run was so graphically reported by the
Union troops that further comment is unnecessary.
The company numbered over one hundred men, and its fine appearance had begun to attract the attention of the great cavalry leaders under
Lee, and it was appointed to serve as a body guard to
General Joseph E. Johnston.
Deeds of daring.
The families of
Fauquier and adjoining counties, from each of which two or more members of the
Black Horse had been recruited, were the Carters, Childses, Colberts, Downrnans, Diggses,
Edmonds, Fants, Greens,
Gordons, Gaskinses, Georges, Helmns, Huntons, Hamiltons, Keiths, Lewises,
Lees, Lomaxes, Lathams,
Martins, Paynes, Rectors,
Scotts, Smiths, Striblings, Talliaferros, and Vapes.
Other families were represented by
Lawrence Ashton,
William Bowen,
J. E. Barbour,
William Ficklin,
R. A. Grey,
Alexander Hunter,
Robert Hart,
George L. Holland,
Strother Jones,
T. N. Pilcher,
John Robinson,
James Rector,
W. A. Smoot,
William Spilman,
W. B. Skinker,
William H. Triplett,
Madison Tyler, Johnsie Longue,
J. W. Towson,
W. N. Thorn,
Melville Withers, and others.
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In its operations, until the army began its movement from
Manassas to
Yorktown, the
Black Horse, being familiar with the counties of Prince William,
Fauquier, and
Culpeper, through which the army was about to cross, and having a complete knowledge of the roads, water-courses, and points suitable for camping, was of great value in furnishing guides, for which purpose large details were made from it.
In that famous charge at the
battle of Williamsburg, with all the color-bearers and buglers at the head of the columns, with not a sabre or pistol drawn in the whole regiment, and impeded by a dense wood, where they had run into the mouth of
McClellan's army of fifty thousand strong, the sable plumes of the
Black Horse waved, and when
Colonel Wickham was pierced through the body, General, then
Major William H. Payne, took command, and was himself next day badly wounded.
Details were at that time made from the
Black Horse to carry dispatches between the general commanding, and Fort McGruder.
Judge James Keith, of the present Court of Appeals of
Virginia, then a private in the company, is said to have made many marvelous escapes, and greatly distinguished himself.
General Longstreet, wishing men for picket duty, after failing to secure a guide from that section of the country, was much annoyed, when
General Stuart remarked that he always counted on the
Black Horse in emergencies.
‘Send to it,’
Stuart said, ‘and you will be furnished with a guide to any point in
Virginia.’
It so happened that some of the men had attended William and Mary College as students, and knew the roads as well as their own in
Fauquier.
The Black Horse took part in the raid around
McClellan, simply for observation, and it is a miracle that they were not all captured.
Valuable service.
No historian has yet been born who could follow the
Black Horse in the role it played in the seven days fight.
General Lee, learning that
Burnside had moved by sea from
North Carolina to reinforce
General Pope, as
McClellan was at
Fredericksburg, sent
General Stuart with his brigade, of which the
Black Horse formed a part, to make a reconnoisance in that direction.
The Black Horse saw some very active service and gained information that proved valuable to the army.
They afterwards helped to drive
Pope across the
Rappahannock, and now being in that part of the
State in which many of them were reared, the troop was called upon to furnish guides to the different commanders, and in the army's future movements upon
General Pope, was of great service.
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Stonewall Jackson soon discovered what good stuff the
Black Horse was composed of, and detailed the company to act at his headquarters as guides and couriers.
Captain A. D. Payne, who was then first lieutenant, was sent back with half of the troopers to meet
General Lee, who was following
Jackson when marching against
Pope's great army.
It is said that the
Black Horse looked like a company of holiday soldiers, so gay were they in demeanor, and so well groomed were their horses.
At the
second battle of Manassas, they were engaged in carrying
General Jackson's orders to and fro between the various commanders of the troops in action, thus witnessing and bearing their part in that famous struggle, when a number of the corps were seriously wounded and several killed.
Two privates of the
Black Horse offered their beautiful chargers to
Generals Lee and
Jackson when they marched into
Maryland.
In the first Maryland campaign, before
General Jackson's corps entered
Boonesboro, he sent a squad of the
Black Horse, commanded by
Lieutenant A. D. Payne, through the town to picket the approaches from the opposite direction.
Lieutenant Payne had nineteen men and the charge was against twenty times their number, but
General Jackson was saved from capture.
It was a desperate charge and the enemy was deceived and routed.
Payne remarked to his men: ‘We must relieve our general at all hazards.
I rely upon your courage to save him.’
In the winter of 1862-‘63, the
Black Horse occupied their native heath, and scouted the counties of
Fauquier and
Stafford thoroughly, reporting all the movements of the enemy to
Generals Lee and
Jackson, who complimented them for their effective service.
They participated in the various engagements of
Stuart with
Pleasanton's cavalry, and in the fight at
Waynesboro against
Sheridan's famous cohorts, the
Black Horse was the leading squadron of the Fourth Virginia.
It was in this battle that one of
Sheridan's captains displayed great valor, wounding four of the
Black Horse with his sabre; and leading a charge, his men following but a short distance, the gallant Yankee captain dashed on without looking behind and was unaccompanied, into the very head of the
Black column.
Not wishing to cut down so dashing a fellow, who had put himself in their power, no one fired at him. Some of the men knocked him from his horse, when
Captain Henry Lee observing a Masonic sign, rushed to his assistance, and saved him from further harm.
Mr. Hugh Hamilton, an old Black Horseman, who is now treasurer of
Fauquier county, in relating his reminiscences of those times,
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said the other day with a smile playing over his bland and goodna-tured features: ‘When we boys were not in the thick of the fight, or engaged in carrying news and scouting, we were not supine.
With no Federals to shoot or watch, we would have fun over an imprompture fox chase, or take possession of some private half-mile track, and stake our best riders and swiftest horses against each other in match races.
Our mounts were the best that money could buy, and as they were individual property, we had to replace them in the event of loss, which was generally done by capture from the enemy.’
The
Green family furnished a generous quota to the
Black Horse, and they all distinguished themselves in one way or another.
All three of them had figured in the great tournaments for which that section was famous in ante-bellum days, and when called upon to enter the lists which involved life and property, their nerve, zeal, and splendid horsemanship proved them to be not toy knights, but soldiers in the
Spartan sense of the word.
When
General William H. Payne was promoted, he was succeeded as captain, by
Lieutenant Robert Randolph, and
Lieutenant A. D. Payne followed
Captain Randolph, and was the last captain of the
Black Horse.
General Payne has frequently been offerred preferment since the war, but has turned his heart away from political life, and is content to follow the quiet pursuits of his profession.
He is still in the vigor of manhood, and is the present counsel for the
Richmond and
Danville system of the Southern Railroad.
Captain A. D. Payne, whose untimely death about two years ago, was deeply lamented in
Virginia, had achieved distinction and success as a lawyer, and a brilliant tribute to his memory by the members of the
Warrenton bar appears on the minutes of the court.
At the close of the war, when the
Black Horse disbanded at
Warrenton,
General Payne delivered a valedictory to the men from his saddle, which is said, by those who were present, to have been a gem of emotional eloquence.
Three members in the House.
The above brief outline of the history of the famous Black Horse Troop, taken from an article written on the subject by
Mr. Raphael S. Payne, is highly interesting to all who have the history of
Virginia at heart, and especially in connection with the present session of the General Assembly, when it becomes known that three survivors
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of the gallant Black Horse are at present members of the House of Delegates, namely,
Messrs. T. C. Pilcher, of
Fauquier;
Richard Lewis, of
Culpeper, and
Charles C. Talliaferro, of
Orange.
Mr. Pilcher, one of the five members who have been sent to the
House by their constituents three times in succession, is known to every one who has ever come in contact with the
General Aesembly, while he has been a member of it. His unswerving Democracy, the honesty of his sterling character, and the courage of his convictions are doubted by no one.
While not blesssed with as much literary education as some of his colleagues, he is gifted with a high degree of common sense.
His arguments are often drastic, but always to the point, and the brightness of his power of conception naturally makes him one of the most prominent leaders of his party, and his influence is felt as soon as he rises in his seat to give the
House his counsel and advice on any measure in which he takes an interest.
Mr. Richard Lewis, the present member of the House of Delegates from
Culpeper county, was born in 1838, in the adjoining county of
Fauquier, and was actively engaged in farming until the outbreak of the war, when he enlisted in the
Black Horse Battalion, going at once to the scene of the
John Brown raid.
Immediately after the
battle of Chancellorsville he was detailed as a scout, acting under the direct orders of
Generals J. E. B. Stuart and
R. E. Lee.
He was repeatedly commended by both commanders for his courage and faithfulness.
During the fight in the
Wilderness he was severely wounded, but recovered, and was enabled to be at the side of
General Stuart at his death.
On one occasion, while scouting along the railroad in the lines of the enemy with another scout, he was suddenly confronted by four Yankee officers, who commanded him to surrender In the fight that followed, two of the officers were killed and one escaped-thanks to the speed of his horse.
The remaining officer was severely wounded.
On account of this fight, after the war a squad of cavalry was sent to capture
Mr. Lewis, but the officer in charge investigated the matter, and after ascertaining that it had been a fair fight, let the matter drop.
On another occasion
Mr. Lewis distinguished himself by desperately fighting his way through a detachment of cavalry by which he had been surrounded.
In his capacity as a scout he was continually
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in the lines of the enemy, passing frequently at night the entire length of the army.
After the war
Mr. Lewis married a Culpeper lady, and moved into that county, where he has successfully followed the fortunes of a farmer.
In the primary election last fall he was the
Democratic nominee for the seat in the House of Delegates.
Colonel J. Catlett Gibson, the former representative of
Culpeper county in the
House, ran against him as an independent candidate, but was defeated.
While
Mr. Lewis is not much given to public speaking on account of his modest and retiring disposition, yet he is well known to all connected with the General Assembly as the author of the various military bills that have been introduced in the
House during the present session.
Mr. Charles C. Taliaferro, the present representative of
Orange county in the House of Delegates, was born on January 26, 1842, in
Martinsburg, W. Va., where his father,
the Rev. Charles C. Taliaferro, was in charge of the parish.
His parents died before he was three years old, and he was then taken in charge by his uncle,
Dr. Taliaferro, who soon afterwards removed to
Orange county, Va., which county has been his home for the greater part of his life.
At the breaking out of the civil war he entered the army before he was eighteen years old. On July 1, 1861, he enlisted in the First Company, Richmond Howitzers, but was transferred in October following to the
Black Horse Battalion, where he remained for two years. He then joined Co. F, of the Sixth Virginia Cavalry, where he remained until the close of the war. He participated in all the cavalry battles and engagements of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, such as
Brandy Station, Spotsylvania Courthouse, First and
Second Manassas,
Sharpsburg.
He followed
General Stuart around
McClellan's army and assisted in the burning of all the supplies of the latter at
Whitehouse.
With two
comrades, William Smoot, of
Alexandria, and another one by the name of
Green, he joined the Seventeenth Virginia Infantry and fought with them at Cold Harbor,
Frazier's farm, and
Malvern Hill.
After the war
Mr. Taliaferro went to
Mississippi, where he taught school at
Greenville, and from there he removed to
Macon, Ga., and in 1870 to
Savannah, where he conducted a private school until 1882.
In October, 1881, he married a
Miss Barclay, of
Savannah, and
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upon the death of his wife in 1892 he returned to
Virginia, to his old homestead in
Orange county.
His family residence is one of the old homesteads in this country that have been deeded from the crown by George III, and which has never passed from the possession of his family.
Mr. Taliaferro never took an active part in politics until the
Cleveland election in 1892.
Last fall he entered into a contest with
Mr. George Barbour, and during the present session he has made a very efficient and useful member of the House of Delegates.
Among the bills of general importance which have been introduced by
Mr. Taliaferro is one doing away with the evil of professional jurors in the various courts by allowing persons only to serve one term annually in the different courts.
Another one of his bills requires county treasurers to give bonds furnished by security companies.
He also is the father of a game law for the counties of
Culpeper,
Orange,
Spotsylvania,
Louisa,
Stafford and King George, and of a road law for his county.
