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Milford/Overall on the Page/Warren County lines
Action at Overall may have prolonged the war
Following the defeat of General Jubal Early's Confederate army by General Philip H. Sheridan at the Battle of Third Winchester, Confederate forces were quickly reassembled further to the south to prepare for a Federal attack. While Early regrouped his army at Fisher's Hill near Strasburg, Sheridan quickly dispatched General Alfred T.A. Torbert to take Colonel Wesley Merritt's 1st Division and join Colonel James H. Wilson's 3rd Division at Front Royal. From there, the combined Federal cavalry arm would move along the eastern side of the Massanutten through the Page Valley. If successful, Sheridan would strike Early's left flank with the bulk of his force while Torbert crossed the New Market/Luray Gap and surprised Early on the right.
Anticipating such a maneuver, Early had sent Fitz Lee's Division of cavalry, under Williams C. Wickham, up the Luray Valley. Clashing first with the Federals at Riverton on the Shenandoah River, then later on Gooney Run in Warren County on September 20, Wickham temporarily stalled Torbert's efforts.
By 2 a.m. on September 22, Merritt's and Wilson's divisions had merged to throw a full strength attack against Wickham. By then however, the Confederates had prepared a formidable defensive position at Milford (now Overall) that would prove impossible to attack. Among the group of Federal cavalry that had come upon the Confederate position was George Armstrong Custer who frustratingly scribbled in his diary, "Johnnys in a strong position."
Nonetheless, Wilson opened the action with artillery, which was soon joined by the crackle of Federal carbine fire. The Confederate forces soon responded in kind. While the rolling terrain rocked with a "ringing fire," Wickham rode off to consult with Early over the situation, leaving Colonel Thomas T. Munford to conduct the defense.
The fire continued for hours with little progress made by Torbert. However, late in the afternoon, he appeared to move against Colonel William Payne's brigade, positioned closest to the river. Witnessing the effort, Munford asked his artillery commander, Major James Breathed, if he thought his guns were safe from capture. In response, a bold Breathed replied "If 'Billy' [Colonel Payne] can hold that bridge - and it looks like he is going to do it - I'll put a pile of cannister [sic] near my guns, and all hell will never move me from this position."
Meanwhile, Munford realized the movement on Payne was a feinted attack, designed to distract from an effort to turn his right flank. In response, Munford sent a squadron of the 4th Virginia Cavalry to the support of the 2nd Virginia. Additionally, three buglers were sent to create a bluff of their own. When given the order, the buglers, spaced at good intervals, sounded the charge, and forced the Federals to abandon the maneuver.
Disgruntled, Torbert broke off the engagement and withdrew from the field. The following morning, Wickham withdrew from Milford while Torbert continued a withdrawal to Front Royal. Late in the afternoon however, the Federal commander learned of Sheridan's victory at Fisher's Hill. Quickly, he wheeled his cavalry back toward the Page Valley, catching up with Wickham's command near Luray. Driving the Confederates from the field near Yager's Mill, Torbert continued across the Massanutten toward New Market - but it was too late. Wickham had successfully held the line and effectively prevented what could have been the entire annihilation of Early's army. Furthermore, the effort, having prolonged the presence of Early in the Valley, may have prevented Sheridan's return to General Ulysses S. Grant's forces around Petersburg, and thereby delayed the end of the war.
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Area of Yager's Mill Action, Luray
Action at Yager's Mill and the only Medal of Honor earned on Page County soil
In the wake of the tragedy that befell Jubal Early’s Confederate Army at Fisher’s Hill, cavalry action throughout the Valley and Page County became almost an everyday occurrence for several months in the fall of 1864. On one late September day, a clash of cavalry occurred just north of Luray in which one seemingly unlikely character would win a Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on Page County soil.
An Englishman turned Yankee, Private Philip Baybutt was the son of an English merchant and native of Manchester, England. Listed by occupation as a teamster, 18 year-old Baybutt arrived in the United States in either late 1863 or early 1864. Enlisted by Colonel Charles R. Lowell, Jr. at Fall Creek, Massachusetts on February 25, 1864 (though another record shows him as joining at Vienna, Virginia), Baybutt would have the rare distinction to serve as one of the members Company A, 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry. Formerly known as the “California 100," the original group of 100 men had made their way from the Bear State and were initially attached to the Massachusetts cavalry regiment for service in the eastern theater. As one who enlisted in the company well after its initial organization, Baybutt was recruited to replenish the ranks of the depleted company. Additionally, if Baybutt had come seeking adventure, he had certainly enrolled in the right company as the 2nd Massachusetts would often find themselves in action against Mosby’s famous band of rangers.
On September 24, 1864 however, Mosby was not the issue. Following the fight that had occurred at Milford (Overall), Colonel W.H.F. Payne’s brigade of Confederate cavalry had fallen back to Luray as a result of the Federal withdrawal to Front Royal. Clearly seeing an opportunity, General George A. Custer, accompanied by Colonel Lowell, with two Federal Cavalry brigades (including Baybutt’s regiment) and artillery advanced toward Luray. Somewhere between the county border and Luray, the clash of cavalry occurred. Badly outnumbered and outgunned, the Confederates were quickly overwhelmed, losing several men as prisoners. Additionally, sometime in the heated melee, Baybutt seized the regimental flag of the 6th Virginia Cavalry for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. 
In all, by the close of the war, the 5' 2 1/2" Englishman participated in seven or eight battles and in excess of 50 skirmishes. Additionally, he had lost two horses killed-in-action and was himself wounded twice (once at Opequon Creek just ten days before the Luray fight) before suffering a hard fall from one of his horses while in the Shenandoah Valley.
Sometime following his discharge at Fairfax Court House on July 20, 1865, Private Baybutt returned to England and worked at his father’s mercantile business. Married to Harriet Jones (listed as a 24 year-old “spinster” of Leicester) on December 26, 1872, the former Federal cavalryman and his wife would raise eight children.
In later years, Baybutt suffered a great deal from the fall from his horse during the war and applied for a veteran’s pension from the United States in January 1904. Though he had at least three former comrades’ written testimony as to the seriousness of the incident, his application was rejected in February 1906. Three years later, on April 17, 1909, the former hero of the little fight near Luray - now a 63 year-old shipping clerk, died from “exhaustion” in addition to other ailments experienced as a result of the war. In the wake of Philip’s death, his wife of over thirty-years applied for a Union Veteran widow’s pension and received an allowance of $8.00 per month by the United States. Ultimately, it was an ironic ending for a man that had been awarded the United States’ highest military medal and had given loyal service in a war which was neither his own fight nor that of his country.
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Willow Grove Mill
One Page County Confederate's tale of war, the "Burning" and comrades
While the number of Page County men that flocked to join in the ranks of the Confederacy was above average for the size of the county, not all became a part of veteran's organizations and participated in post-war reunions. Enoch Van Buren "Mac" Kauffman was one of the few veterans that enjoyed the events with old comrades. In remembering the war he once stated that he "still . . . [held] it as the proudest memory of my life that I served under General Lee."
A member of Co. K, 10th Virginia Infantry (Page Volunteers), Kauffman was born November 6, 1840 in Page County, the son of Barney and Rebecca Mauck Kauffman. Enlisted on June 2, 1861, the 5'10", auburn haired, blue eyed young man was on his way to an experience that few would return from unscathed. A brother who served with him in the Page Volunteers, Joseph Franklin Kauffman, was killed at the 2nd Battle of Manassas on August 28, 1862.
By October 1862, Kauffman was elected as 2nd sergeant and became orderly sergeant for Captain David C. Grayson. Though captured during the following spring on May 4, 1863 at the battle of Chancellorsville, good fortune shined upon him rather quickly and he was exchanged within 6 days at City Point, Virginia.
Resuming service with his company, Kauffman evaded capture or wound at Spotsylvania Court House where most of the company was taken. However, on October 2, 1864, while assigned to a detail in Page, he was again captured. That same day, the Sheridan's raiders burned his mother's barn and his grandfather's mill, and had "all the horses, cattle, and hogs driven away." Kauffman wrote, "My brother [ Philip M. Kauffman of Co. E, 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry] and I were captured, and would have been put to death with other prisoners in retaliation for the death of two Federal soldiers near Luray except for the fortunate capture (for us) of the two men who had done the killing" (SEE THE "MARYLANDERS" ARTICLE BELOW) After being held for almost a week, the brothers were sent to Point Lookout, Maryland. Philip was exchanged on March 28, 1865, but Enoch was not released until after taking the oath of allegiance on June 14, 1865.
Following his return to Page County, Kauffman soon headed west where he married Miss Sarah L. Slusher, of Hancock Creek, Illinois in 1868. A few years later he moved to Kansas and became the proprietor of the Sycamore Mineral Springs.
Kauffman attended the large reunion in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania after the turn of the century. He later wrote, "I will remember it as one of the best experiences of my life." During the encampment, Kauffman returned a bible to the friends of a man named Frost, who had been killed at Spotsylvania Court House, where he had found it. The bible also contained a photo that turned out to be that of Frost's mother.
"Mac" died at the home of one of his children on January 13, 1923 in Seneca, Kansas. Within days of Kauffman's death in 1923, Grayson paid tribute to him saying "He was as true as the needle to the magnet in his loyalty to principle and devotion to his friends and comrades, and when a clash of arms was imminent, he went forward with unfaltering step to meet whatever fate might befall him. He never wavered in his fidelity to the cause, and was always proud of the distinction of having been a Confederate soldier."
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XXX XXX XXX
Page execution: Marylanders fall for defying barn-burners
The time - late one Sunday afternoon in October, 1864; the place - the Pendleton Hershberger Home near Stoney Man.
Federal troops had been making the rounds in burning barns and mills and were closing in on the Hershberger family. The barn at the Kendrick farm and Willow Grove Mill were already on fire. Elizabeth Hershberger and six of her children watched terrified from the porch of the home anticipating the same for their barn. The husband had taken flight to the Blue Ridge to prevent the capture of a seventeen year-old son.
Though not a soldier, the fear was still prevalent that the boy would be taken as a prisoner of war regardless. The eldest son, John Silas Hershberger, was a member of Co. K, 10th Virginia Infantry and had been taken prisoner at Spotsylvania Court House in May.
As dusk approached, three Federal cavalrymen moved in on the Hershberger family and in a "loud and boisterous" manner claimed that they had come to burn their barn. However, if the family would pay them $30 or $40 in gold or silver, the barn would be spared.
Knowing that the barn would likely be burned anyway, Elizabeth refused the offer and likely did not have the money. Boasting of their last barn burning, the men appeared drunk to Mrs. Hershberger and demanded that she provide matches as they had run out.
Amazingly, about that same time, another band of horsemen was seen by the children approaching from the edge of the woods on the far side of their orchard. Meanwhile, the Yanks continued, apparently without worry, in a loud manner.
As the other set of horsemen closed in, they paused to hear the Federals give themselves away. Among the lot was Sgt. Frank Long of the Massanutten Rangers of Co. D, 7th Virginia Cavalry. Home from a wound received at Ream's Station, he and a fair group of other men that were at home had moved out that morning apparently with the hope of isolating some of the smaller bands of barn-burners and taking them on.
As Long and two other Confederate horsemen began to make their way down the Hershberger lane, the Federal horsemen near the gate immediately surrendered himself along with the horses of his comrades. Continuing on, Long and one other came upon the Federals at the house and demanded their surrender. Understandably defiant and willing to play his odds, one Federal cavalrymen drew his revolver and yelled, "I will surrender you!" Firing his pistol at almost point blank range at Long, the bullet whistled by Long without harming him.
The frightened mother quickly hurried her children in the house and slammed the door before the next exchange of shots followed. Not knowing the end result of the scrap in the yard, the family remained in the house throughout the evening, and feared that a report would be made to Federal headquarters in Luray and that another patrol would soon follow.
Sometime after dark another band of local men, frequently connected to Confederate activity, came to the house and asked for supper. Upon putting their horses in the barn, they stumbled upon a dead Federal in the yard, took him down near the bottomland not far from the creek and hastily buried him, placing fodder atop the grave to prevent suspicion should other Federals see the grave.
To the Hershberger family, fear of repercussions now seemed certain. As the visiting local men, who had carefully concealed the grave of the soldier, finished their supper, they reassured Mrs. Hershberger that they would remain nearby during the night to keep an eye out for what may happen.
Federal cavalry did not arrive until the next day. Finding the grave of the soldier, the troop gathered information from Mrs. Hershberger and felt confident in her honesty, holding no blame to the family except for leaving the body in the open without properly seeing to him. "Courteous" to her from that moment, the Federals still swore die straits to the Confederate assailants.
Meanwhile nearby, having evaded wound or capture throughout the war, Enoch Van Buren "Mac" Kauffman (Page Volunteers of Co. K, 10th Va. Infantry) was at home with his brother Phillip M. Kauffman (Co. E, 35th Battalion Va. Cavalry) when Federal cavalry came to burn the family barn. Sometime in this event, both brothers were found and captured (October 2, 1864) and stood as very good candidates for revenge over the dead Federal cavalryman. As a fortunate turn of fate, the young men were spared because of the actions of two Marylanders from Company C, 1st Maryland Cavalry of Major T. Sturgis Davis' command.
Three days following the capture of the Kauffman brothers, these Marylanders clashed with Federal cavalry in the Page Valley. It was said of Confederate trooper Churchill Crittenden that he emptied every load in his pistol and wounded "a Yankee lieutenant very severely" before being taken. Confederate John J. Hartigan accompanied Crittenden in the affair. Having been detailed to procure provisions for their company in the county. "Whilst getting their supplies at a farm-house," wrote W.W. Goldsborough, author of "The Maryland Line," a large party of the enemy came suddenly upon them. They attempted to escape, and a running fight ensued, which resulted in the death of two or three of the enemy and the wounding of Crittenden severely, and the capture of both himself and Hartigan."
A Crittenden family newsletter in 1912 gave further details of what followed. After having been brought to Colonel William H. Powell, commanding the Federals from near Luray, the men were taken through a mock trial and ordered to be executed. Prior to the execution, both men asked for pen and paper to draft farewell letters, but were refused the opportunity; Crittenden to his mother and Hartigan to his "young wife."
The family newsletter continued: "At noon Crittenden and Hartigan were set before a firing party of twenty-five and told to run for their lives. Hartigan ran and fell, pierced by many bullets. Crittenden stood with folded arms, facing his executioners. Again the order to fire was given, but not a trigger was pulled. The Union officer in command then addressed his men saying he would repeat the order once more; they were soldiers and must obey, and should any man fail to respect the command, he should suffer the penalty of death himself for his disobedience."
"During this harangue Crittenden seated himself on a rock, calmly looking at the squad and awaiting his end. Then he rose. "Ready! Aim! Fire!" rang out the third command. A line of leveled rifles greeted him as he rose and faced them. Down dropped twenty-four silent rifles, their owners unwilling to harm the quiet man before them. One alone of the twenty-five pressed a trigger. A single flash, a little smoke, a sharp report, and Churchill Crittenden's life blood flowed for the cause he loved."
On October 17, 1864, the Richmond "Examiner" called the execution of the Marylanders an "atrocity" and declared "The reason assigned for shooting them was that some of their men (the Federals) were shot while burning barns."
According to W.W. Goldsborough, "The facts were all carefully traced out, and verified by the statement of the citizen at whose house the two young men were first attacked, and near which they fought and were captured; by the statement of the citizen, some two miles to the rear, near whose house they were buried, not by the men who killed them, but by the pitying farmer, and by the evidence rendered by the opened graves of the poor men."
Apparently, the men had been temporarily buried "by the last farmer who had given them supplies" in Page County and later relocated. It was also said that upon opening the graves, comrades made "vows" to "avenge their deaths – and were avenged, though Powell escaped."
John James Hartigan lies today in the Lutheran Reformed Church cemetery in New Market. As for Crittenden, according to the family newsletter, "Col. Lawrence Kip, son of the bishop of California, and then serving in the Northern army, hearing of the tragic death of his boyhood friend, visited the spot and caused notice to be telegraphed Churchill's father. Relatives secured the body and sent it to Richmond, where it now lies in Shockoe Hill Cemetery."
Interestingly, only Hartigan appears to have been a true Marylander – though again, nothing has been found to yet confirm this. Having enlisted in Co. G, 13th Virginia Infantry early on and having been wounded in action at Munson's Hill on August 27, 1861, Hartigan was later discharged as a "non-resident."
On September 7, 1862, he enlisted with Co. C, 1st Md. Cav. at New Market. Hartigan had served with good service throughout the war. In February 1864 he was allowed to go to Augusta County to secure a new horse for his former mount had been rendered unserviceable.
Churchill Crittenden offers a much more detailed life. The son of Alexander Parker Crittenden, grandson of Judge Thomas Turpin Crittenden of Kentucky, and the great grandson of Major John Crittenden of the Revolutionary Army (from New Kent County, Va.), Churchill was born in Texas on May 17, 1840. Interestingly, Churchill's mother came from a line of Rhode Islanders. In 1851, his father moved his family to California. A. P. Crittenden had pioneered to California across the plains from Texas, in the winter of 1848 and 1849.
Churchill was attending Hobart College in Indiana when the Civil War began. Seeking permission to enlist from his father in San Francisco, Churchill served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to General James J. Archer from June 1862 until he joined the 1st Maryland Cavalry on August 4, 1862 while in Richmond.
Not unlike Hartigan, Crittenden's service record was commendable. On June 12, 1863, Crittenden's horse was killed in action near Winchester, Va. for which he was reimbursed $450. Obviously recognized for his keen military ability, in April 1864, he was detailed to the Mississippi for four months to "organize a band for special service." Returning to the Valley, he was furloughed for 60 days from July 24, 1864, meaning that when the execution took place, he had not been back very long from the respite.
As is known from a previous article (July 13, 2000), the brothers Kauffman survived prisoner-of-war camp after evading execution and lived long after the war.
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