Under Fire: A Tale of the Shenandoah Valley — page 62: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

BURN AND DESTROY. 55 ‘What will they do, uncle?”? | Bertha asked the question with bated breath. “Burn and destroy!’’- groaned the old man. “Sheridan is laying waste the country on every hand.”? ‘But this is worse than barbarianism !”’ cried Bertha, _ her Southern blood in a flame at once. ‘‘Uncle Orvin, have you no arms?”? | “Oh, yes; but what can one man do against twenty ?’’ groaned Orvin Clymore. The Union cavalry troop halted in front of the large barn not many rods from the house. ; It required but a brief examination to show that a large store of wheat, corn, and hay lay at their mercy. It seemed a pity to destroy so much that was valu- able, but it could not be carried away to serve the cause of the Union, and if left, would feed the en- emy, and give them nerve and life to fight for the Southern flag. The rich granaries must not be left to feed that cause; so Sheridan had resolved to lay them waste. If, by destroying that which would otherwise feed Confederate armies and horses, the war was brought to a termination a month sooner, then would thou- sands of valuable lives be saved, and what was seem- ing cruelty, would, in reality, prove an act of real benevolence. The party led by the Federal lieutenant was but one of many out destroying property. Sheridan was indeed to prove a besom of destruc- tion to the smiling valley of the Shenandoah. Those men who had lived in peace and’ plenty, cursed the flag, and filled their coffers, while raising erain for Southern armies, were now to suffer in their property at least for their disloyalty. | | Other men, true to the Union and the flag of their fathers, had not only lost their fortunes, but their ‘comicbooks (e(@)