Nancy Hart –
Girl Guerrilla
With
Moccasin Rangers
Skirmish at Spencer, West Virginia
|
Nancy
Hart rode at the head of the column with Perry Connolly for about two
years, 1861 and 1862, kept the Union soldiers and sympathizers, and lot
of ordinary
citizens in a state of fear and concern for her safety. A
number of murders had been attributed to them as well as damages to
property by burning and otherwise, theft of livestock , specifically
horses, and
much other devilment.
On one occasion Perry entered the town of Spencer, West Virginia in Roane County. Here a local physician named Poole, armed himself and took a station in the coupola of the courthouse form which point he kept the guerrillas at bay. Perry Connolly kept out of the ranger of the doctor’s gun, but eventually succeeded in killing Poole by shooting through the side of the enclosure.Later he sought out Poole’s father, Col Poole and killed him also.Other citizens by the name of Rodgers, Carpenter and Cohn were killed also.Samuel Martin had an arm shot off and the Reverend Samuel W. Gibson lost a lower jaw. Mary Jane Green, Kate Brown and Nancy Hart and others worked with the guerrilla captains in Braxton, Webster, Lewis, Wirt, Calhoun and Wood counties. Among the guerrillas were Jack, Al and Fred Tuning, Campbell, Goff, Sprigg, Connolly , George Downs and others, some of whom later enlisted in the regular Confederate Army. (d)“Wood
County in the Civil War” Matheny (e)“Recollections
of a Life Time”. By Colonel W. S. Deweese Source:Gene
F. Elmore, Sr., Spencer, West Virginia |
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Revised 7 February
2005