- Joined
- Jun 2, 2013
- Location
- Columbus, OH
Col. William E. Peters commanded the 21st Virginia Cavalry in the summer of 1864. Prior to the war, Peters served as a professor of classics at Emory and Henry College, and after the war, he taught Latin at the University of Virginia 1866-1902, when he died.
When Brig. Gen. John McCausland ordered Peters to burn Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on July 30, 1864 in retaliation for Maj. Gen. David "Black Dave" Hunter's burning of Lexington, Virginia that spring, Peters refused to obey the order. McCausland arrested him and told Peters to get his regiment out of the way, and the town was burned. Later that day, McCausland released Peters from arrest.
Peters was wounded and captured at the Battle of Moorefield, WV on August 1, 1864, when Brig. Gen. W. W. Averell's troopers caught up to and then thrashed McCausland and his cavalry.
The photo below is of Peters, taken late in life. There are no known wartime images of him.
John S. Mosby was a classmate of Peters's at the University of Virginia as youths, and then served with Peters in the 1st Virginia Cavalry in 1861. The following passage comes from Mosby's 1917 posthumously published memoir. I find this passage quite interesting indeed:
In the Marion company was William E. Peters, Professor at Emory and Henry College, who had graduated-in the same class in Greek with me at the University. When he and I were students reading Thucydides, we did not expect ever to take part in a greater war than the Peloponnesian. Peters had left his literary work to be a lieutenant of cavalry. He was made a staff officer by General Floyd in his campaign that year in West Virginia. For some reason Peters was not with Floyd when the latter escaped from Fort Donelson in February, 1862. Peters was a strict churchman, but considered it his duty to fight a duel with a Confederate officer. He became a colonel of cavalry. Peters's regiment was with McCausland when he was sent by General Early in August, 1864, to Chambersburg, and his regiment was selected as the one to set fire to the town. Peters refused to obey the order, for which he is entitled to a monument to his memory. Reprisals in war can only be justified as a deterrent. As the Confederates were holding the place for only a few hours, while the Northern armies were occupying a large part of the South, no doubt, aside from any question of humanity, Peters thought it was bad policy to provoke retaliation. General Early ordered a reprisal in kind on account of the houses burned in the Shenandoah Valley a few months before by General Hunter. As General Early made no mention of Peters in his book, I imagine it was because of his refusal to apply the torch to Chambersburg. On his return from this expedition, McCausland was surprised by Averill at Moorefield, and Peters was wounded and captured. He told me that he had expected to be put under arrest for disobedience as soon as he got back to Virginia.
To answer the inevitable question: yes, I am gathering material to eventually tackle the burning of Chambersburg, a topic that has long interested me. I have two projects to complete first, though.
When Brig. Gen. John McCausland ordered Peters to burn Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on July 30, 1864 in retaliation for Maj. Gen. David "Black Dave" Hunter's burning of Lexington, Virginia that spring, Peters refused to obey the order. McCausland arrested him and told Peters to get his regiment out of the way, and the town was burned. Later that day, McCausland released Peters from arrest.
Peters was wounded and captured at the Battle of Moorefield, WV on August 1, 1864, when Brig. Gen. W. W. Averell's troopers caught up to and then thrashed McCausland and his cavalry.
The photo below is of Peters, taken late in life. There are no known wartime images of him.
John S. Mosby was a classmate of Peters's at the University of Virginia as youths, and then served with Peters in the 1st Virginia Cavalry in 1861. The following passage comes from Mosby's 1917 posthumously published memoir. I find this passage quite interesting indeed:
In the Marion company was William E. Peters, Professor at Emory and Henry College, who had graduated-in the same class in Greek with me at the University. When he and I were students reading Thucydides, we did not expect ever to take part in a greater war than the Peloponnesian. Peters had left his literary work to be a lieutenant of cavalry. He was made a staff officer by General Floyd in his campaign that year in West Virginia. For some reason Peters was not with Floyd when the latter escaped from Fort Donelson in February, 1862. Peters was a strict churchman, but considered it his duty to fight a duel with a Confederate officer. He became a colonel of cavalry. Peters's regiment was with McCausland when he was sent by General Early in August, 1864, to Chambersburg, and his regiment was selected as the one to set fire to the town. Peters refused to obey the order, for which he is entitled to a monument to his memory. Reprisals in war can only be justified as a deterrent. As the Confederates were holding the place for only a few hours, while the Northern armies were occupying a large part of the South, no doubt, aside from any question of humanity, Peters thought it was bad policy to provoke retaliation. General Early ordered a reprisal in kind on account of the houses burned in the Shenandoah Valley a few months before by General Hunter. As General Early made no mention of Peters in his book, I imagine it was because of his refusal to apply the torch to Chambersburg. On his return from this expedition, McCausland was surprised by Averill at Moorefield, and Peters was wounded and captured. He told me that he had expected to be put under arrest for disobedience as soon as he got back to Virginia.
To answer the inevitable question: yes, I am gathering material to eventually tackle the burning of Chambersburg, a topic that has long interested me. I have two projects to complete first, though.