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[Pages 196-197]
      Mccabe, John Collins, born in Richmond, Virginia, November 12, 1810; his first position after leaving the school-room was in one of the banks of Richmond, and subsequently he prepared for the priesthood under the instruction of Bishop Meade, was ordained in 1845, and served as rector of Christ Church, Smithfield, Virginia, from 1845 to 1850, and of St. John's, in Elizabeth City parish, Hampton, Virginia, from 1850 to 1855; he made abstracts from the parish registers for an "Early History of the Church in Virginia" and published in the "Church Register" sketches of many of the parishes. He transferred his manuscript to Bishop Meade for use in compiling his "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia" (1857); he served as chairman of the Virginia state yellow fever committee in 1855; in the following year he removed to Maryland, and from 1856 to 1859 was rector of a church in Baltimore, and from 1859 to 1861 was rector of a church in Anne Arundel county; from 1861 to 1863 he served as chaplain of a Virginia regiment in the Confederate army, and from 1862 to 1865 filled the same office in Libby Prison, Richmond; at the close of the war he returned to Maryland, and officiated as pastor of St. Matthew's Church, Bladensburg, from 1865 to 1867; of St. Anne's Church, Middletown, Delaware, from 1867 to 1872, and of Trinity Church, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, from 1872 to 1875; the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on him by William and Mary College in 1855; he was the author of several poems, collected under the title of "Scraps" (1835), and he also contributed papers on colonial history to different periodicals; his death occurred in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1875.

[Page 197]
      Ewell, Benjamin S., born in Washington City, June 10, 1810, son of Dr. Thomas Ewell and Elizabeth (Stoddert) Ewell, the latter a daughter of Benjamin Stoddert, first secretary of the United States navy. From the preparatory department of Georgetown College, he went to the United States Military Academy, from wihch he was graduated in 1832, as lieutenant of artillery. He was instructor in the academy until 1836, when he left the army, and became assistant engineer on the Central railroad, from Baltimore, completing his work in 1839, when he was made professor of natural philosophy at Hampden-Sidney College. In 1847 he became the first professor of mathematics and military science at Washington College. In 1848 he was elected president and professor of mathematics at William and Mary College, Williamsburg; he declined the presidency, but acted as such pro tem until Bishop John Johns arrived. After Bishop Johns resigned, in 1854, Professor Ewell was made permanent president, and served until 1857, when the faculty was reorganized, he being retained in his professorship but was soon recalled to the presidency. During his administration (in 1859) the college building, library and scientific instruments were destroyed by an accidental fire. In May, 1861, the college suspended, President Ewell and nearly all the professors and students entering the Confederate army, Ewell was made colonel of the Thirty-second Virginia Regiment, and later became assistant adjutant-general to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who, in May, 1862, asked that Col. Ewell be made his chief-of-staff, with the rank of brigadier-general — a request not granted, because there was no law permitting a staff officer to hold such rank. Ewell, however, continued to act as chief-of-staff to Gen. Johnston to the end of the war, being finally commissioned brigadier-general. After the war he went to the assistance of William and Mary College, which had been burned by Federal troops, and opposed the removal of the institution to Richmond, and, in 1869 the faculty was again organized with him as president. The cost of repairs and operating expenses made a heavy drain on the endowment fund and in 1881 the college suspended. In 1888, Col. Ewell favored the scheme of applying to the legislature for an appropriation in connection with a normal department, but when the application was granted declined, on account of advanced age, any active connection with the college, and was elected president emeritus. His loyalty to the college in its darkest hours, won for him the admiration and love of everybody. He received the degree of LL. D. from Hobart College, and was a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He died June 19, 1894, aged eighty-four years, having retained almost to the last, his brilliant powers of conversation, and inexhaustible fund of cheerfulness and wit. His remains were deposited in the college burying ground back of the main building.

[Page 198]
      Alexander, Archer, was born near Richmond, Virginia, about 1810. He was a slave, and in 1831 he was temporarily taken to Missouri by his master. Years later he ran away and went back to St. Louis, in the same state, and where he remained. During the reign of terror in that state at the outbreak of the war he learned that the Confederates had cut the timbers of a certain bridge so that it should break down under a train carrying a detachment of national troops about to pass over it. At the risk of his life he conveyed the information to a well-known Union man, and the detachment was saved. Alexander was suspected as the informant and arrested by a Confederate committee. He made his escape to and secured employment in St. Louis under a provost marshal's certificate. Until the Emancipation Proclamation assured his permanent freedom he was in constant danger from kidnappers. Although almost wholly illiterate, he had a shrewd intelligence and was a skilled and efficient workman. A stone commemorating his capture as a fugitive slave has been raised on the spot where he was taken when making his escape from slavery. He served as the model for "the freedman" in the bronze group by Thomas Ball, standing in the capitol grounds in Washington, and known as "Freedom's Memorial." See "The Story of Archer Alexander" (Boston, 1886). He died in St. Louis, Missouri, December 8, 1879.

[Page 198]
      Taylor, Alfred, naval officer, was born in Fairfax county, Virginia, May 23, 1810. He was warranted midshipman in January, 1825, made his first cruise, 1826-29, visiting the Mediterranean, and on June 4, 1831, was advanced to passed midshipman. He was commissioned lieutenant, February 3, 1837, and served on the Cumberland during the Mexican war. He was attached to the Mississippi when that vessel sailed in Perry's expedition to Japan, 1853-55, and was promoted commander, August 14, 1855. In 1861, while in command of the Saratoga, engaged in suppressing the slave-trade on the east coast of Africa, he was ordered home, promoted captain in the Federal service, July 16, 1862, stationed at the Charlestown naval yard, 1862-1865, and in 1866 given command of the flagship of the Brazilian squadron. He was promoted commodore, September 27, 1866, in 1869 was made lighthouse inspector, and was promoted rear-admiral, January 29, 1872. He was retired, May 23, 1872, and died in Washington, D. C., April 19, 1891.

[Pages 198-199]
      Syme, John William, was born in Petersburg, Virginia, January 9, 1811; son of the Rev. Andrew and Jean Mathewson (Cameron) Syme. He was graduated at Norwich University, Vermont, in 1828, and at the William and Mary College in 1832, studied law with his kinsman, Frederick Nash, of Hillsboro, North Carolina; was married, April 10, 1833, to Mary Cowan Madden, and practiced law in Petersburg, Virginia, for a few years. He purchased the "Petersburg Intelligencer," which under his direction became the most influential Whig newspaper in Virginia. He was a representative in the state legislature for several years. In 1856 he purchased the Raleigh, North Carolina, "Register," and conducted it with eminent success, making it the principal Whig organ of the state. He opposed the secession of North Carolina, but when it became evident that the tide could not be stopped, he gave the support of his newspaper to the cause of the Confederacy, and continued its publication without profit up to 1864, when he returned to Petersburg, hoping to re-establish the "Register" with better financial success, but his hopes were destroyed by the presence of the Federal army before that city, and he did not long survive the downfall of the Confederacy, dying suddenly at Petersburg, Virginia, November 26, 1865.

[Page 199]
      Preston, John Thomas Lewis, was born in Lexington, Virginia, April 25, 1811, son of Thomas Lewis and Edmonia (Randolph) Preston; grandson of Col. William (1729-1783) and Susanna (Smith) Preston, of Smithfield, and great-grandson of John Preston, the immigrant. His father was a major in the war of 1812, lawyer, and member of the Virginia legislature. In 1836 Mr. Preston conceived the idea of substituting for the company of soldiers who guarded the arsenal, a company of cadets, who, in addition to the duties of an armed guard, should pursue a course of scientific and military studies. The idea materialized, March, 1839, in the Military Institute of Rev. of Virginia, of which Preston and Gen. Francis H. Smith (q. v.) constituted the entire faculty from 1839 to 1842. He was married (first) August 2, 1832, to Sarah Lyle, daughter of William and Phebe (Alexander) Caruthers, of Lexington, Virginia, and had five sons and three daughters; and (second) August 4, 1857, to Margaret Junkin Preston, the poetess (q. v.), by whom he had two sons. In April, 1861, at the call of the state, the corps of cadets marched for Richmond under the command of Maj. T. J. Jackson, of whose staff Preston became a member, with the rank of colonel. In 1862 the institute was re-opened as a training school to supply skilled and educated officers of the army, the cadets being called repeatedly into active service during the war. On May 15, 1864, at New Market, the corps lost eight killed and forty-four wounded out of two hundred and fifty, and on June 11, 1864, all the institution buildings, save the quarters of the superintendent, were burned by order of Gen. David Hunter (q. v.). When the institute was re-opened in October, 1865, Col. Preston resumed his professorial duties, subsequently traveled abroad, accompanied by his wife, and after his return continued a member of the university faculty until within a few months of his death. He was the author of a biographical sketch of John Howe Peyton in "Augusta county,, Virginia." He died in Lexington, Virginia, July 15, 1890.

[Pages 199-200]
      Lee, Samuel Phillips, born at Sully, Fairfax county, Virginia, February 13, 1812, son of Francis Lightfoot and Jane (Fitzgerald) Lee, and grandson of Richard Henry and Anne (Gaskins) Pinckard Lee, and of Col. John and Jane (Digges) Fitzgerald; attended the schools of his native place, and on November 22, 1825, was appointed midshipman, June 4, 1831, and lieutenant, February 9, 1837; was given command of the coast schooner, Vanderbilt, August 4, 1844, was in command of the coast survey schooner, Nautilus, of the coast survey brig, Washington, and was present at the capture of Tabasco, Mexico; was promoted commander, September 14, 1855, and during the years 1858 to 1860 was a member of the board of examiners; on November 1, 1860, he was given command of the sloop-of-war, Vandalia, with orders to sail to the East Indies, but upon learning of the outbreak of the war between the states he brought his ship back and was assigned to blockade duty of Charleston, South Carolina; on January 20, 1862, he was ordered to command the sloop-of-war, Oneida, and in the expedition against New Orleans he commanded the advance division in the attach on Forts Jackson and St. Philip and by driving off two rams succeeded in relieving the Varuna, and capturing Lieut. Kennon, commander of the Confederate steamer, Governor Moore; commanded the advance division below Vicksburg and participated in both passages of the Vicksburg batteries, the Oneida being second in line on both occasions; was promoted captain, July 16, 1862; appointed acting rear-admiral, September 2, 1862, and ordered to command the North Atlantic blockading squadron; he originated a system of blockading cruisers by which the Confederacy was completely isolated and fifty-four blockade running steamers were captured; he was detached, October 21, 1864, and ordered to command the Mississippi squadron, co-operating with the army of Thomas in its operations against Hood on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers; was detached from the Mississippi squadron ,August 14, 1865, and promoted commodore, July 25, 1866; was president of the board to examine the volunteer officers for admission into the regular navy, 1868-69; president of the court martial held in New York City, May 29, 1868; member of the board of examiners of the Atlantic navy yards, and was put in charge of the signal service at Washington, D. C., October 13, 1869; was promoted rear-admiral, April 22, 1870; was ordered on special duty at the navy department at Washington, D. C., June 27, 1870, and commander of the North Atlantic squadron from August 9, 1870 to August 15, 1872, when he was detached; he was retired, February 13, 1873; he was the author of "The Cruise of the Dolphin," published in the "Reports" of the United States navy department (1854) and a report on the `condition of the Atlantic navy yards (1869); he died at Silver Springs, near Washington, D. C., June 5, 1897.

[Pages 200-201]
      Preston, Thomas Lewis, born in Abingdon, Virginia, November 20, 1812, was of the distinguished Preston family from which came so many statesmen and orators, among them his brilliant brothers, Hon. William C. Preston, United States senator from South Carolina, and John S. Preston. Thomas L. Preston attended the University of Virginia, 1830-33, and in the latter year graduated from the law school. He made a protracted tour of Europe and the Holy Land, and after his return settled down to the life of a gentleman planter and man of affairs, a large part of his occupation being the management of large salt works in the co unties of Washington and Smythe, which were the property of his family. He made a heroic effort to conduct the salt works successfully, and sacrificed his large estate in the endeavor, but with out avail. He then removed to Albemarle county, and purchased property just north of the University of Virginia, which was his abode during the remainder of his life, and he was residing upon it when the civil war began. Although beyond the age of military service, he entered the Confederate army, in which he served with gallantry, and during a portion of the time was a member of the staff of his near kinsman, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. During the war, he was appointed to membership on the university board of visitors, and served as rector. In that capacity, in company with Professors Minor and Maupin, he met the Federal troops on the occasion of their entrance into Charlottesville, in March, 1865, and made a formal surrender of the venerable university buildings to Gen. Phil Sheridan, who received Col. Preston and his colleagues with urbanity and respect, and afforded to the property protection and safety. Col. Preston was twice a member of the Virginia legislature, and could have attained to more distinguished position had he so desired. He preferred, however, to devote himself to his large family interests. Yet he preserved a deep interest in all public affairs, and wielded a potent influence throughout his county and its vicinage. He was of high cultivation, of extensive reading in English and the classics, a graceful and eloquent speaker. He wielded a facile pen, and devoted some years of his later life to the preparation and publication of one or more volumes relating to the history of southwest Virginia. He served many years as vestryman in Christ Church, Charlottesville. He lived many years beyond the time allotted to mortal man. Col. Preston's first wife was a daughter of Gen. Edward Watts, of Roanoke, Virginia; she died very soon after her marriage. Some years later, Col. Preston married Anne M. Saunders, a daughter of Gen. Fleming Saunders, of Franklin county, Virginia.

[Page 201]
      McClelland, Thomas Stanhope, born in Lynchburg, Virginia, March 13, 1810, son of Thomas Stanhope McClelland, Esq., and Margaret Washington Cabell, his wife. His father, who was a well-known lawyer, was born near Gettysburg, February 4, 1777, and was educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His mother was a daughter of William Cabell, Esq., of Union Hill, Nelson county, he being thus connected with the distinguished Cabell family of Virginia. His early education was obtained at a crossroad school taught by an Englishman named Young, from which school he went to Washington College, Lexington, Virginia, when very young, where he remained three years and a half, and graduated at the age of sixteen. He entered the University of Virginia in 1827, where he studied for three sessions. He subsequently attended the law school of Judge Baldwin in Staunton, Virginia, where he studied law, but never engaged in the practice of that profession. For a time he was engaged in the tobacco business, but subsequently removed to Buckingham county, where he lived as a farmer. While at Washington College, he was a member of the Golden Debating Society. On November 5, 1849, he married Maria Louisa Graaf, of Baltimore, Maryland, by whom he had two daughters, Anna LaMotte, the wife of W. H. Whelan, Esq., and Mary Greenway McClelland, the well-known author of "Oblivion," and other brilliant stories, whose early death in 1895 removed one of the most promising of the modern American writers.

[Pages 201-202]
      Minor, John Barbee, who for fifty years was a teacher of law in the University of Virginia, among his students being many who became eminent in professional public life, was born in Louisa county, Virginia, July 2,. 1813, son of Launcelot and Elizabeth Minor; in early life, in order to recuperate his health, he took a long horseback journey through the state of Virginia, acting in the capacity of a newspaper agent and collector, and then went afoot to Ohio, where he entered Kenyon College; subsequently he walked through Ohio and New York, for health and recreation, and after reaching home, entered the University of Virginia, in January, 1831, where he was a student for three sessions, graduating in several schools, and receiving the bachelor of Laws degree in 1834; he began law practice at Buchanan, Botetourt county,, Virginia, and six years later removed to Charlottesville, where he formed a partnership with his brother Lucian, who was afterward professor of law in William and Mary College; he was called to the chair of law in the University of Virginia, in 1845, and was the sole teacher in that department until 1851; upon the appointment of James p. Holcombe as adjunct professor of constitutional and international law, mercantile law and equity, Professor Minor's subjects became common and statute law, and in these branches he became distinguished as an author as well as a teacher; out of his class work grew his monumental "Institutes of Common and Statute Law;" the first and second volumes of the work were published in 1875, and the fourth volume in 1878, while the third volume, which had long been used in pamphlet form by Professor Minor's pupils, was first published in its completeness, in two parts, in 1895; Professor Minor began a summer course of law lectures, in 1870, and his is believed to have been the first summer law school in the country; this became widely popular, drawing to the university in a single session upwards, of a hundred students; as a teacher he was regarded with peculiar affection, his personal interest in his pupils being fervent and sincere, and he made it his constant endeavor to develop their character as well as to impart instruction; his lectures were characterized by extraordinary clearness of statement and felicity of language and illustration, and he was peculiarly skillful in his questions to test accuracy of knowledge on the part of his auditors; he continued his work to the time of his death, July 29, 1895, a period of fifty years; in recognition of his eminent attainments, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Washington and Lee University, and from Columbia University; he published in 1850, "The Virginia Reports," 1799-1800; and in 1894, an elaborate work, "Exposition of the Law of Crimes and Punishments," which is in general use in the United States; on the fiftieth anniversary of his entrance upon his career as a teacher of the law, and shortly before his death, was presented to the university by the law alumni, a fine life-size marble bust of the distinguished man, mounted upon a polished pedestal bearing these impressive words: "He taught the law and the reason thereof;" he was a communicate of the Protestant Episcopal church for more than four decades, lived an ideal Christian life, served as superintendent of a Sunday school of slaves, and for a long period also taught a Sunday morning Bible class composed of students, whose last meetings were in their revered teacher's study, after he was unable to walk to the lecture room.

[Pages 202-203]
      Cabell, James Lawrence, born in Nelson county, Virginia, August 26, 1813, son of Dr. George Cabell, Jr., and great-grandson of Dr. William Cabell, a surgeon in the English navy, who emigrated to Virginia from Warminster, England, abut 1720, and from whom has descended the now very extensive Cabell family residing in Virginia, Kentucky and other southern and western states; educated at private schools in Richmond, and at the University of Virginia, graduating from the latter named in 1833, with the degree of Master of Arts, then remained for a year to study for his profession; then entered the medical department of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, from which he graduated in 1834; pursued special professional studies in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Paris, France, until the winter session of 1837, when he was called home to take the chair of anatomy and surgery in the University of Virginia, and for more than fifty years he continued in distinguished service to the university, and from 1849 held the position of professor of comparative physiology and surgery; in 1846 was at the head of the university as chairman of the faculty; he was in the service of the Confederate government during the civil war, having charge of the military hospitals; was chairman of the National sanitary Conference in Washington City, during the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee, and again as president of the National Board of Health, an office which he held for several years in his later life; was an original member of the American Medical Association, and in 1876 was president of the Medical Society of Virginia; he contributed frequently articles to professional and scientific journals, and in 1858 published a volume, "The Testimony of Modern Science to the Unity of Mankind;" in 1873, Hampden-Sidney College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws; Dr. Cabell resigned his professorship in the University of Virginia in 1889; he died August 13, 1889.

[Pages 203-204]
      Smith, Francis Henney, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, October 18, 1812; son of Francis Henney and Anne (Marsden) Smith; grandson of James and Mary (Calvert) Marsden, and great-grandson of Cornelius and Mary (Saunders) Calvert, who were married in Princess Anne county, Virginia, July 29, 1719. His father, Francis Henney Smith, was born in England and was commission merchant in Norfolk, Virginia. Francis H. Smith, Jr., was graduated from the United States Military Academy and assigned to the First Artillery, July 1, 1833; was commissioned second lieutenant, November 30, 1833; was assistant professor of geography, history and ethics at the Military Academy, 1834-35, and served on ordnance duty until May 1, 1836, when he resigned his commission. He was married June 9, 1835, at West Point, New York, to Sara, daughter of Dr. Thomas(U. S. A.) and Anna (Truxton) Henderson, of Dumfries, Virginia. He was professor of mathematics at Hampden-Sidney College, 1837-39, and superintendent (with rank of colonel and professor of mathematics at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, 1839-89). He was president of the board of visitors at the United States Military Academy in 1856. In 1861 he was made colonel of a regiment of Virginia volunteers stationed at Norfolk, and in 1864 with his corps of cadets he aided in the defense of Richmond and later opposed Gen. Hunter before Lynchburg. In 1865 he rebuilt the military institute and continued as its superintendent until January 1, 1890. He received the degree of A. M. from Hampden-Sidney in 1838 and that of LL. D. from William and Mary College in 1878 and was the author of: "Best Methods of Conducting Common Schools" (1849); "College Reform" (1850, and several mathematical books. He died in Lexington, Virginia, March 21, 1890.

[Page 204]
      Graham, Lawrence Pike, was born in Amelia county, Virginia, January 8, 1815; a son of Dr. William Graham; was appointed second lieutenant of the Second Dragoons in 1837, and subsequently promoted first lieutenant and captain. In 1842 he served in the campaign against the Seminoles, and was present at the battle of Lochahatchee. In the Mexican war he was brevetted major for gallantry in the engagements at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma and promoted major June 14, 1858. In October, 1861, he was made lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Cavalry, May 9, 1864, and brevet brigadier-general for meritorious services during the civil war, March 13, 1865. Previously, in August, 1861, he was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers, and in 1862 raised and commanded a brigade of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac. He afterwards acted as president of a general court-martial at St. Louis, and of a board for the examination of invalid officers at Annapolis. He was mustered out of the volunteer services, August 24, 1865, and placed on the retired list December 15, 1870.

[Page 204]
      Dyer, Alexander B., was born in Richmond, Virginia, January 10, 1815, died in Washington, D. C., May 20, 1874. He was graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1837, serving in garrison at fortress Monroe, Virginia, in the Florida war of 1837-38, and on ordnance duty at various arsenals in 1838-46, was chief of ordnance of the army invading New Mexico in 1846-48, during a part of which time he was on the staff of Gen. Sterling Price, and was engaged at Canada, Taos, where he was wounded February 4, 1847, and Santa Cruz de Rosales, Mexico, receiving for his service brevets of first lieutenant and captain. He was afterwards in command of the North Carolina arsenal. At the beginning of the civil war Capt. Dyer was active in promoting the efficiency of the ordnance department. He invented the Dyer projectile for cannon. He was in command of the Springfield armory in 1861-64, and greatly extended the manufacture of small arms for the army. In 1864, as chief of ordnance, United States army, he was placed in charge of the ordnance bureau in Washington, D. C., with the rank of brigadier-general, and he retained this rank until his death. In March, 1865, he was brevetted major-general, United States army, for faithful, meritorious and distinguished services.

[Pages 204-205]
      Thomas, George Henry, born in Southampton county, Virginia, July 31, 1816. He was a law student when in 1835 he was appointed to the United States Military Academy, from which he was graduated and appointed second lieutenant of artillery, July 1, 1846. He served in the Seminole war in Florida and was brevetted first lieutenant for gallantry and good conduct; on garrison and recruiting duty, 1842-45; in the Mexican war was brevetted captain for gallant conduct at Monterey, and major for Buena Vista. In 1849-50 he was engaged in the second Seminole war. He was instructor in artillery and cavalry at West Point, 1851-54. He was made captain December 24, 1853, and was on frontier duty, 1854-60; wounded in skirmish at Brazos river, August 21, 1860. he was made lieutenant-colonel, April, 1861, and colonel, May 3. At the outbreak of the war between the states he was transferred to the Fifth Cavalry, and operated in the Shenandoah Valley. On August 17, 1861, he was made brigadier-general of volunteers, and given command of rendezvous camp at Robinson, Kentucky. He commanded the Federal forces at the battle of Logan's Crossroads, Kentucky, January 19-20, 1862; commanded a brigade in the advance on Nashville, Tennessee, and afterwards a brigade in the Army of the Ohio, under Buell. He was promoted to major-general of volunteers, April 25, 1862, and commanded the right wing of the Army of the Tennessee during the siege of Corinth, Mississippi. He served under Buell in North Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, and second in command. He had command of the centre of the Army of the Cumberland at the battle Stone's river, Tennessee; and commanded the Fourteenth Corps at the battle of Chickamauga. He checked the Confederate advance on Chattanooga, was promoted to brigadier-general, U. S. A., and given command of the department and Army of the Cumberland, October 19, 1863. he commanded that army in the battles of Missionary Ridge, Dallas, Pine Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta. When Sherman was preparing for his march to the sea, Thomas was massing scattered troops, with which he fell back toward the Ohio river, and for the success at Franklin, Tennessee, was promoted to major-general, U. S. A. His great success was at Nashville, December 14-15, 1864, when he defeated the Confederates under Hood, for which he received the thanks of congress, and from the general assembly of Tennessee a gold medal. After the restoration of peace he commanded various military districts. He died in San Francisco, California, March 18, 1870, and was buried with full military honors at Troy, New York. There is a fine equestrian statue of Gen. Thomas in Washington City. At the beginning of the war (1861-65), Thomas wrote to Gov. Letcher assuring him of his intention to follow the fortunes of his native state, but afterwards changed ground, under the influence, it is believed, of his northern wife.

[Pages 205-206]
      Strother, David Hunter, author, artist and soldier, was born in Martinsburg, Virginia, September 16, 1816; son of Col. John and Elizabeth Pendleton (Hunter) Strother. He studied drawing with Pietro Angora in 1829, was graduated at Jefferson College in 1835; studied art with S. F. B. Morse in 1836, in Rome 1842-44, and in New York, 1845-49. In 1850, over the pseudonym "Porte Crayon," his first article appeared in "Harper's Magazine." At the outbreak of the war, he was commissioned captain in the United States army, and appointed assistant adjutant-general on McClellan's staff. He served on Pope's staff in the Virginia campaign, and on Banks' staff in the Red River campaign. He was colonel of the Third Virginia Cavalry; was chief of staff to his cousin, David Hunter, in the Shenandoah campaign, and was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers. After the war he resumed his literary work; and his "Personal Recollections of the War," written from a note-book actually kept while at the front, was very popular. He was United States consul-general at Mexico, 1879-85. He was twice married, first to Ann Doyne Wolfe, and secondly to Mary Elliott Hunter. By his first marriage he had one daughter, Emily, who became the wife of John Brisben Walker (q. v.). and by his second marriage, he had two sons. He was the author of "The Blackwater Chronicle" (1853), and " Virginia Illustrated" (1857). Gen. Strother died in Charlestown, Jefferson county, West Virginia, March 8, 1888.