Appearance of Confederate Veteran in Charlottesville causes a stir in 1916 – The Daily Progress

An unusual Letter to the Editor that ran Feb. 25, 1916, pointed our attention to a strange story that had played out in the previous days. On Feb. 21, a Daily Progress reporter shared the story of John Ashby, a 74-year-old Confederate Veteran who had stumbled into police headquarters last evening and asked for a nights lodging.

Given a jail cell to sleep in, as it was late on Sunday night, the destitute man was reported to have said: I entered the army when the war broke out, and served four years. I was with Jackson until Chancellorsville, his lip quivered, then with Lee. I was at Petersburg at the time of the surrender.

The account went on to explain: Left destitute, a week ago, by the death of his brother, Ashby, rather than submit to the ignominy of a poor house, set out to walk from Northern Virginia to Richmond where he hopes to find shelter in the Soldiers Home. He has come over 170 miles.

Ashby left Charlottesville the following morning on foot.

The following day, the Daughters of the Confederacy wrote to the editor of The Daily Progress, incensed that they had not been notified as to the veterans plight and by Feb. 24, the story had become the topic of discussion throughout town, and numerous letters to the editor were written; some questioned his claims of being a veteran, prompting the Progress to update its readers on efforts to locate the aged veteran. Long distance phone calls had been placed to the chiefs of police in various towns along the route to Richmond, but all efforts were fruitless. Readers were further assured that their voluntary contributions of clothing, many of which had been donated by students of the University of Virginia and left at the Progress office had been shipped to John Ashby, C/O Supt. of Soldiers Home, Richmond.

Editor J.H. Lindsey felt compelled to address the issue in his editorial of this date, acknowledging the faithfulness and generosity of the Albemarle Daughters of Confederacy. Lindsey went on to explain that the man was only in town for just a few hours and there was no time to notify anybody of his needs or to investigate the accuracy of his statements. Lindsey explained that the reporter for the Progress printed the story for the very purpose of informing those who might be interested in a case of real need and noted that the Progress had made arrangements for clothing and transportation to Richmond. Chief of Police Damron also shared his many efforts to provide comfort to the man that night, all of which were refused.

It is not known if John Ashby ever made it to Richmond.

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Appearance of Confederate Veteran in Charlottesville causes a stir in 1916 - The Daily Progress