On Sunday, April 19, 2009 Jim Barnes and I visited the graves of two brave soldiers that fought for the Union during the Civil War, Jesse Taylor and John Shanes. When I took the Civil War bus trip last fall (see related story CW Bus Trip in past posts) I had heard the story of Pvt. Jesse Taylor of Co. F, 7th West Virginia Infantry, who was the only Union soldier killed at the Oct. 1861 battle of Romney, (West) Virginia. His fellow soldiers thought very highly of Pvt. Taylor and had his remains escorted back to his home town, Jollytown, Pa. ( Co. F of the 7th W. Va. Inf. had been recruited from Greene co. Pa., just across the Mason-Dixon line from western Monongalia co. W. Va. Jolly town is less than 1 mile north of Mason- Dixon Line and about 6-7 miles west of Blacksville, W. Va. Thankfully, Jim had gotten directions on Google maps and by using them were able to navigate the Pa. back country roads from Brave, Pa. to Jollytown.Jollytown is a very small community consisting of maybe 10 houses and a church. Just past the community alongside a country road is the rather impressive monument to Pvt. Taylor. This monument consists of a “generic” Union soldier ( a Union soldier with a great coat holding rifle at parade rest, the 7th W. Va. Inf. monument at Gettysburg and the statue on the Kingwood, W. Va Court House lawn are identical) atop a 10 foot high oblesik. The insciption on the obelisk reads:
JESSEÂ TAYLOR
PVT. CO. F, 7TH W. VA. INF.
AGED 21 YEARS, 1Â MONTH
FIRSTÂ SOLDIERÂ KILLEDÂ FROM
GREENE CO. PA. IN THE
WAR OF THE REBELLION
ATÂ ROMNEY, W.VA.
OCT. 26, 1861
ERECTED BY HIS COMRADES
ERECTEDÂ 1892
On the left side of the monument is an 1861 10lb. Parrott artillery field piece. It has cast iron spoked wheels, but trail and axle appear to be made of wood. On the right side of the monument are two 8 – inch bore diameter mortars sitting on two cement frames. All this sits two feet above the ground on a rectangular stone pulpit. It appeared to Jim and I that the cannon and mortars need repainting. Does anyone out there know who owns or takes care of the monument?
Jim & I thought it would be a good community service project for an Eagle scout or reenactment unit or a Sons of Union Veterans group to repaint the artillery pieces.
The other soldiers grave we visited was Pvt. John Shanes. I had read about John Shanes in the book “Shenandoah Summer” by Scott Patchan. Intrigued that a soldier who had earned the Medal of Honor might be buried in northern W. Va., I googled his name and at www.homeofheroes.com & found his gravesite near Brave, Pa, just across the Mason-Dixon line near Blacksville, W.Va. John Shanes was born July, 23, 1844 in Monongalia Co. W. Va. He joined Co. K of the 14th W. Va. Inf. on Sept. 16, 1862 at the age of 18, ( in the W. Va. Adj. Gen. Report for 1864 it lists his age as 20 when mustered in). and at the battle of Rutherford’s Farm in the lower (northern) Shenandoah Valley on July 20, 1864 was awarded the Medal of Honor for personally charging the enemy’s gun in advance of his comrades where upon reaching the posistion he personally silenced the artillery piece.
The Battle of Rutherford’s Farm ( also called Carter’s Farm and Stephenson’s depot) pitted Union General Wm. Averell with one brigade of Infantry under the command of Col. Isaac Duval, ( the 34th & 91st Ohio Inf. and the 9th & 14th West Virginia Inf. regiments and one brigade of Cavalry under the command of Col. Wm. Powell, (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd W. Va. Cav. regiments and 2 six gun batteries the 1st W. Va, Lt. Art., Batt. F and the Ohio Battery totalling about 2400 men, against Confederate Maj. Gen. Stephen Ramseur with one division or three brigades of Infantry from the Army of Northern Va.-Hoke’s & Johnsons North Carolina brigades and Pegram’s   Virginia brigade. He also had two Cavalry brigades Vaughn’s Tenneesse and “Mudwall” Jackson’s Virginia brigades. He also had two 4- gun artillery batteries- Milledge’s Georgia and Kirkpatrick’s Amherst Va. batteries totalling over 3500 men.
Although outnumbered the Union forces attacked with a fury and rolled up the Confederates left flank causing confusion and panic among th rebels who started running for winchester, Va. The 91st Ohio had just captured a section ( 2 artillery pieces) of Kirkpatrick;s Va. Battery on the east side of the Valley Pike and were celebrating when the Virginian’s of Kirkpatrick’s other section on the west side of the Pike aimed one of their cannon’s loaded with canister at the celebrating Buckeyes. The cannoneer was preparing to pull the lanyard when Pvt. John Shanes sprinted towards the cannoneer and “brained” him with the butt of his musket, saving the lives of the Ohioans. Another Rebel cannoneer swung his rammer at Shanes but the West Virginian dodged him then bayonetted him.Pvt. shanes then clubbed another Confederate carrying powder & canister to the gun. For this heroic action, Pvt. Shanes received the Medal of Honor in 1896.
The Battle of Rutherford’s Farm was aUnion victory with over 200 Confederates killed or wounded and 17 officers and 250 men captured along with the loss of Kirkpatrick’s 4 gun Battery.  The Union lost 27 killled and 190 wounded.
John Shanes is buried in Lantz Cemetery only about 200 yards north of the Mason-Dixon line and about 1 mile south of Brave, Pa. This is mostly an old cemetery, most burials appeared to be before 1940. Pvt. Shanes has two tombstones over his grave… one with his dates of birth & death ( he died Jan. 26. 1904) the other with his CW regiment & co. However there is no mention of him receiving the Medal of Honor. Jim wrote down some phone numbers on a sign at the entrance to the cemetery and maybe we can get some kind of sign telling anyone visiting his grave that this brave soldier was a Medal of Honor receipient.  ( on the website it showed a Veterans bronze maker saying he was a Medal Of Honoe winner, but we could find no trace of this marker on his grave??)
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