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HISTORIC GARDENS OF VIRGINIA
oe ——— a
cealing himself and his prisoner in some cedar thickets and remained
there all night, having tied the officer to his arm, lest he should drop
off to sleep and his prisoner escape. The next day when the
Federal army had passed on, he took him across to Waynesboro
and delivered him to the Confederate Army.
In the meantime the capture had been witnessed by the passing
troops and in a few minutes the lawn swarmed with soldiers. A
number of them went in hot pursuit of their officer, but in vain.
The soldiers said that if it were Colonel Cochran who had taken
the prisoner they would burn the house and destroy everything on
the place. The frightened women were called out and testified most
earnestly that Colonel Cochran was away with the Gray Army, and
knew nothing of the capture. No! ‘The men would not believe
them until the family Bible was brought out and all, including the
servants, were made to place their hands on it and swear that it was
not Colonel Cochran. One‘stalwart young slave, Grandison Ware,
by name—he was a mulatto but looked more like an Indian war¬
rior—stepped behind his young mistress and whispered low, ‘Don’t
you be skeered, Miss Lizzie, I done brung my axe and I’m gwine
use it, too, if these Yankees do any harm.’ And he stood with
his axe in his hand until the last blue-coat had disappeared.
The next morning as John Opie was taking his prisoner to the
Confederate camp, he passed by Woodland, an adjoining estate,
and seeing the young daughter of the house seated on the porch,
he called, ‘“‘Here, Bettie, take this offcer’s sword and keep it for
me. If I am killed it is yours, but surviving I will return for it ~
when the war is over.’ Bettie Eskridge took the sword and car¬
ried it up into the garret; she prized a plank from the floor and
put the sword underneath, then carefully nailed the board back in
place. There it lay undisturbed until the war was over. Captain
Opie returned, got the sword and sent it North, to Captain John¬
son, the captured officer, who had been on General Crook’s staft.
The handsome sword was engraved with his name, and “Presented
by the Ladies of Philadelphia.”’
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