Spirit Of The Age

The Last Yankee Raid on the Central
RAILROAD.—Last Friday morning a well
known gentleman of this city, being at the
time on a visit to his farm in Hanover, was
taken prisoner by the Yankee raiders, then
on their way to the South Anna bridge. He,
with some dozen or more citizens of Hanover,
were left under guard at the house of Mrs.
Nelson, nine miles below the Court House,
whilst the Yankees proceeded on their work
of destruction. When they returned that
evening, bringing the thirty-odd men
taken at the bridge, their commander, Col.
Speers, conversed very freely with the citi-
zens. Such of his conversation as has been
repeated to us will, we think, be found inter-
esting.

The first subject discussed was the con-
duct of our men who defended the South
Anna bridge. Colonel Speers said, "If all
the Confederate men fight as these fifty men
have done, this war will last much longer
than I have ever expected. Why, sir, some
of them used their bayonets, and stabbed
several of my men severely, after their breast-
works was filled with my men, and they
were completely in our power."

In the course of further conversation, the
Colonel frequently repeated that that was
only a preliminary raid, and that he would
certainly return again.

The gentleman through whom we obtained
our information, and the other citizens, were
carried along with the raiders a considerable
distance into King William and then set at
liberty.

From our informant's account and infor-
mation derived from other sources, we are
forced to the painful conclusion that our loss
of property inflicted on us during this raid
more than counterbalances the value of the
spoils taken at Winchester. The raiders
destroyed three hundred wagons loaded with
muskets, all of which were captured at
Winchester; carried off the teams of the
wagons and all the valuable horses and
mules in the country through which they
passed, and stole over three hundred valua-
ble negroes. The negroes alone at the
present prices were worth more than a half
million of dollars.—Examiner June 30.

The Examiner of next day, however,
makes the following important correction:
There was an error in our statement pub-
lished yesterday. The fact of the case, as
we learn them officially, are that the raiders
destroyed at Hanover Court House a train of
forty-five wagons, and captured the teams,
two hundred mules, belonging to the quar-
termaster's department at Richmond, which
at the time were engaged in hauling wheat.
They also burnt a warehouse at Hanover
Court House, containing two thousand bush-
els of wheat.