Pssst . . . Have you heard the rumors about what happened in Pearisburg?

Pssst. . . Have you heard the rumors about what happened in Pearisburg?

On May 6, 1862, Union forces entered Pearisburg where Major James M. Comly of the 23rd Ohio regiment reserved rooms for two of his officers, Col. Rutherford B. Hayes and Major William McKinley, at the Woodrum Hotel. Surveying the town, Hayes and McKinley decided to set up headquarters in Dr. Harvey Green Johnston’s medical office.

Shots were heard the morning of the 10th as Confederate forces under Brigadier Gen. Heth engaged the Union forces at Giles Court House. Poor Annie Johnston was home alone with her
young children. She must have been terrified by battle taking place just outside her home!

The Confederate forces prevailed and within a short time the 23rd Ohio retreated to the west with Heth and his men in hot pursuit. As the town quieted down, Annie saw a large sack on the stoop of her husband’s office. Thinking the Union troops had left food or perhaps coffee behind in return for her hospitality during their encampment, she hurried over, only to find a sack of horse feed.

Mrs. Johnston was not the only Pearisburg resident hoodwinked by the dastardly boys in blue. Col. Hayes, in his haste to vacate, had neglected to pay his room and board at the Woodrum Hotel. Fourteen years later, Mrs. Woodrum, upon learning of Hayes intent to run for president, lightheartedly wrote newspapers in New York about the unpaid bill still owed to the Woodrums. No doubt the scandal was kept quite by Hayes powerful political supporter, attorney James M. Comley, as Hayes was elected the 19th president of the United States in 1877.

These two yarns (undocumented stories which describe incredible or fantastic events) are part of the local legend about Giles County during the Civil War. While it is known that the 23rd Ohio regiment occupied Pearisburg from May 6-10, 1862 and that a skirmish ensued, there is no actual documentation that Hayes and McKinley (actually a newly-promoted sergeant) used the Doctor’s Office as headquarters during that period, or that Annie Johnston found a sack on the stoop left by the retreating Union forces. As for the yarn about the unpaid bill at the Woodrum Hotel, all that remains is a faded article from The Virginian (predecessor to the Virginian Leader) some sixty years after the original events describing Mrs. Woodrum’s efforts to inform voters about
Hayes’ unpaid bill.

While the mission of the Giles County Historical Society is to document historical facts about the county, we are also interested in yarns and family stories about Giles County during the Civil War. These tales not only provide color and insight into life during that period, but will pique interest in the reenactment of the Battle of Giles Court House planned for June 9th and 10th. The Historical Society invites you to call 921-1050 to share your Civil War-era yarns and family stories which we hope to compile into a book. Who knows . . .maybe documentation will be unearthed, turning your tale into a new, previously unknown fact about Giles County!

The Giles County Historical Society works to preserve, interpret and exhibit Giles County’s rich historical and cultural heritage. It provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents and artifacts, assists genealogical researchers, and supports the preservation of endangered Giles County artifacts, sites and records.