★★★ Ashby, Turner

Turner “The Black Knight” Ashby
General Ashby.jpg


:CSA1stNat:

Born:
October 23, 1828

Birthplace: Rose Bank Plantation, Fauquier County, Virginia

Father: Colonel Turner Ashby Sr. 1789 – 1837
(Buried: Ashby Cemetery, Delaplane, Virginia)​

Mother: Dorethea Farrar Green 1789 – 1865
(Buried: Aquia Episcopal Church, Aquia, Virginia)​

Wife: Never Married

Signature:
1571714031151.png


Occupation before War:

Farmer & Businessman in Virginia​
Accomplished Horseman from a young age​
Served in the The Mountain Rangers Virginia Militia​
General Ashby 1.jpg

Avid Politician who ran for the Virginia State House of Delegates​
Whig and Follower of Henry Clay​
Disapproved of Secession in Virginia​
Competed in English Style Horse riding tournaments​

Civil War Career:

Assigned to Command of the Virginia State Militia​
Responsible for guarding the fords across the Potomac River​
Assisted Maryland Confederates to pass into Virginia​
Interfered with the passage of boats on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal​
1861 – 1862: Lt. Colonel of 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment​
Turner_Ashby.jpg
Organized the first Confederate Horse Artillery, "Chew's Battery"​
Helped to screen the Confederate Movement in Manassas, Virginia​
1862: Colonel of 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment​
1862: Appointed to be a Brigadier General of Confederate Army, Cavalry​
1862: Helped with Screening during Jackson's Shenandoah Campaign​
1862: Shot thru the heart during the Battle of Harrisonburg, Virginia​

Died: June 6, 1862

Place of Death: Harrisonburg, Virginia

Reported Last Words: "Forward my brave men!" or “Charge, men! For God’s sake. Charge!”

Age at time of Death: 33 years old

Cause of Death: Gun Shot wound to the heart

Burial Place: Ashby's remains were interred at the University of Virginia Cemetery after his death in 1862, but he was reinterred at the Stonewall Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia in 1866 where his grave can be seen today.


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QM Agent/Captain Thomas R. Sharp removed about 16 mostly Baltimore & Ohio RR locomotives and about 100 cars from the Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry areas in the late summer of 1861. Ashby was assigned to provide cover for the months' long movement of rolling stock, supplies and machinery. Sharp recorded interactions with Ashby abut a dozen times in his diary, including several times when his wife, Gerty, was present. When the Sharp's had their first child in January 1862, the little girl was named Lucy Ashby Sharp, specifically in honor of their friend.

Sharp grew up in Richmond and was about 4 years younger than Ashby, so it is likely that they knew each other before their war experience.

 
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Turner Ashby by Porte Crayon.jpg


Another notable representation of Ashby is this one by his opponent artist Porte Crayon ("pencil-carrier"), pen name for Shenandoah Valley resident and Union Colonel David Hunter Strother who was also a staff member (topographical engineer or map-maker) for the likes of McClellan, Phil Sheridan, and his relative David Hunter.
 
View attachment 419304

Another notable representation of Ashby is this one by his opponent artist Porte Crayon ("pencil-carrier"), pen name for Shenandoah Valley resident and Union Colonel David Hunter Strother who was also a staff member (topographical engineer or map-maker) for the likes of McClellan, Phil Sheridan, and his relative David Hunter.
Interesting sketch I had never seen before. Probably more accurate if drawn by a participant, even if an opponent. I was under the impression that of the above three photos of him, only the one where he was dead is verified. Do you know if the other two photos have been officially "verified" as being Ashby?
 
Turner “The Black Knight” Ashby
View attachment 330643

:CSA1stNat:

Born:
October 23, 1828

Birthplace: Rose Bank Plantation, Fauquier County, Virginia

Father: Colonel Turner Ashby Sr. 1789 – 1837
(Buried: Ashby Cemetery, Delaplane, Virginia)​

Mother: Dorethea Farrar Green 1789 – 1865
(Buried: Aquia Episcopal Church, Aquia, Virginia)​

Wife: Never Married

Signature: View attachment 330706

Occupation before War:

Farmer & Businessman in Virginia​
Accomplished Horseman from a young age​
Served in the The Mountain Rangers Virginia Militia​
View attachment 330644
Avid Politician who ran for the Virginia State House of Delegates​
Whig and Follower of Henry Clay​
Disapproved of Secession in Virginia​
Competed in English Style Horse riding tournaments​

Civil War Career:

Assigned to Command of the Virginia State Militia​
Responsible for guarding the fords across the Potomac River​
Assisted Maryland Confederates to pass into Virginia​
Interfered with the passage of boats on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal​
1861 – 1862: Lt. Colonel of 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment​
Organized the first Confederate Horse Artillery, "Chew's Battery"​
Helped to screen the Confederate Movement in Manassas, Virginia​
1862: Colonel of 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment​
1862: Appointed to be a Brigadier General of Confederate Army, Cavalry​
1862: Helped with Screening during Jackson's Shenandoah Campaign​
1862: Shot thru the heart during the Battle of Harrisonburg, Virginia​

Died: June 6, 1862

Place of Death: Harrisonburg, Virginia

Reported Last Words: "Forward my brave men!" or “Charge, men! For God’s sake. Charge!”

Age at time of Death: 33 years old

Cause of Death: Gun Shot wound to the heart

Burial Place: Ashby's remains were interred at the University of Virginia Cemetery after his death in 1862, but he was reinterred at the Stonewall Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia in 1866 where his grave can be seen today.


Thanks for this thread. I was recently in the Winchester cemetery. The brothers are well remembered.
 
Interesting sketch I had never seen before. Probably more accurate if drawn by a participant, even if an opponent. I was under the impression that of the above three photos of him, only the one where he was dead is verified. Do you know if the other two photos have been officially "verified" as being Ashby?
No; the only one I've ever seen "in person" is the mortuary photo which was taken at Port Republic and is now in Jackson's Headquarters Museum in Winchester.
 
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