Augusta County: "HEROISM LIKE THAT OF JOHN PELHAM," by S. T. Shank, 1901
Summary: Description of artillery defense of Berryville focusing on the effective leadership of Sgt. Shank.
S. T. Shank, of North River, Va., has consented to give an interesting event of the great war of which very little is known:
I was a sergeant in Capt. McClanahan's Battery, Gen. J. D. Imboden's Command, and we had just returned to Virginia, after Gen. Early's near approach to the Federal capital in August, 1864, in which campaign two of our guns had taken part. The section was in command of Lieut. Carter Berkeley, of Staunton, Va. In an engagement with the enemy a few days before, near Leesburg, Va., we had burst the barrel of one of our guns. This was ordered to be taken to Staunton, and, as that was the home of our lieutenant, he accompanied the disabled gun, leaving me in command of the other gun. We were now in the lower valley, in Clark County, Va., near the Shenandoah river and the town of Berryville.
On the morning that Lieut. Berkeley was to start to Staunton an order was received for a commissioned officer and one gun to report to Col. Long, of the Sixty-Second Virginia Infantry, at Berry's Ferry for guard duty. Lieut. Berkeley told the officers in command that I could fill the place, as there would be nothing to do but lie around the ferry during the day. So he started to Staunton and I to the place designated, reaching there about 8 A.M. We were on the west side of the river, which is flanked by a low ridge of hills. The road to the ferry passes through a deep ravine of this ridge. Arriving here, I found that the enemy had thrown a skirmish line across the river, which had advanced as far as the entrance to this ravine, and had just been driven back by our pickets, which consisted of only a few detachments of infantry, possibly in all one hundred men. I reported at once to Col. Long, and he told me to select a position, and do the best I could. This was the only order I received during the day. I took my gun to the top of the hill on the south side of the ravine, adn there had an opportunity for using it most effectively. On the opposite side of the river, about a mile distant, there was a stretch of bottom land literally covered with troops just in the act of crossing the river by wading. In a moment we brought our gun into position, and threw shells into their very midst as rapidly as we could, until they sought shelter. During this time we had all in our own hands, as we were too far off to be reached with their smaller arms, and their artillery, it seems, had not arrived. In a short time, however, they had a battery of six rifle guns in position, and opened fire on us at such a distance that we could not reach at all with our howitzer. As we could do no effective work for a while, we left the gun in position and retired behind the brow of the hill for protection. Their firing continued for some time, and whenever their infantry or cavalry would become visible I alone would load and fire our gun, not wishing to expose more than one man at a time. One or two others did this after me. After some time I inferred from their movements that they were preparing to charge across the river with their cavalry and capture our gun, thus opening the way for their army to cross over.
We then drew our gun by hand, not wishing to expose our horses, below the crest of the hill, limbered up and moved several hundred yards to the right, placed in position without being seen by the enemy, and awaited developments. We had not long to wait, for soon the anticipated charge was made through the placid waters of the Shenandoah, and on through our feeble line of infantry, out through the ravine, then wheeled to the left up the ridge and over the very ground our gun had occupied all morning. Then at a short distance on their right we began firing, using first the shell with which the gun was loaded and then canister. We fired so rapidly into their midst that very few of them were able to recross the river to their friends. As soon as all this was over I went to where they had passed, and where our gun had been. Two men, whose horses had been shot, were crouching under some bushes like frightened birds. I walked up to them wholly unarmed and demanded their arms. They deliberately unbuckled their belts, and gave me two new Colt's army revolvers, which had never been fired, and forty round of cartridges. I gave one of those pistols to the first one of our boys who asked for it. The other I gave to the person who afterwards became my wife, and we have it yet as a momento of the war.
This was the last effort made to cross the river, and it may be said practically that one howitzer prevented an entire brigade of infantry, a battalion of cavalry, and a battery of six guns from making that crossing. We remained upon the hill until night, then were relieved by others sent to our assistance.
Gen. Imboden, who had been captain of a battery in the Mexican war, and had commanded the same battery the first year of our war, came on the field that evening and rode a portion of the way to camp with me. He was highly complimentary, and said that he had never seen anything to equal the valor and sagacity displayed by us that day. He also complimented me very highly, as did Col. Long and other officers. Lieut. Berkeley wrote to the department asking for a commission for me, but it never came. Of course I felt very much gratified over all this, for I was only a boy. I was doing only my plain duty. I have never seen this episode in history, and have no idea what troops were opposing us. As our battery was made up of boys from many different States and, in many instances, remote sections, I rarely see any of my old comrades. The other day I met six of them at Staunton, whom I had not seen since April 9, 1865. I was much impressed with the change time had wrought in their appearance. We had parted as boys, and then met as gray-haired veterans.
Bibliographic Information: Source copy consulted: Confederate Veteran, Vol. 9, 1901, p. 157
