Confederate Colonel Harry Gilmor, the raider, telling how he did not "come back" as a conquering hero; of the sword he never received; of his capture, etc.—The arrest and conviction of the fair donor.

Colonel Harry Gilmor, who commanded a regiment of cavalry in the Confederate service, was a Baltimorean. He was the beau ideal of its "blue blood" ladies, or many of them; he was their hero who was to ultimately capture the Monumental City, who was to march down Charles Street Avenue as conquerors only return. He had earnestly tried to produce the closing scene of his drama in July, but failed; when, to cheer him to renew his efforts, they proposed to present him with a magnificent sabre. They purchased the best to be found from Messrs. Schuyler, Hartley & Graham, arms dealers, then in Maiden Lane, New York (now on Broadway), paying for it one hundred and twenty-five dollars in gold.

I was told the dainty creatures were so anxious for the safe custody of their token of war, that they placed it under the British flag, pending the opportunity to get it to the Colonel; that is, they left it with Mrs. Frederick Bernal, wife of the British Consul at Baltimore. The sympathies of many of the Britishers were decidedly with the South.

Gilmor was a born raider. He used to raid the hearts of these Blue Belles "befo de wah," on Charles Street Avenue. His command was made up largely of Marylanders, and Maryland was frequently the victim of his incursions. Our desire to "possess" him was perhaps as great as that of any of his lady admirers.

On November 1st, 1864, I intercepted the sword on its way to Harry. From the person of the messenger I got a letter which was to make him "solid" when he should arrive in the Confederate territory. Gilmor was understood to have been wounded, and as being then laid up at the Inglenby Mansion, three or four miles from Duffield Station, Virginia, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (the Inglenby family were descendants of one of the original colonists).

The letter was somewhat blindly framed, it did not mention the bearer, except to say that "he is perfectly reliable" or something to that effect.

I proposed to General Wallace that I would be the messenger, using this letter, and would thus locate Gilmor, so that he might be captured.

With one man, Mr. Kraft, I started for Harper's Ferry, reported to General Stevenson, engaged one of his scouts, Corporal George R. Redman (who at one time was of my corps) to go with me and equipped with the below described pass, I started out on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for Duffield Station.

It was my custom never to have about me anything to indicate my name or identity. And to conceal my passes, I frequently hammered them down into a small wad in the finger of a glove. This pass shows such an appearance. The pass did not indicate Duffield, because that destination was a secret.

Duffield was a small way station, and any stranger alighting there, especially in those days, would be noted. Many of the employees of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad were Confederate sympathizers (some were quite active). To give no chance for warning, we waited until just after the train started up, and then we dropped off, on the far side, covering view of us until the train was again under headway.

We separated and I went ahead, across fields, until I was so far away as to apparently have no connection with my men, who were following; we had about three or four miles to go thus. Finally, when I reached the Inglenby house, my boys were near enough to be in sight, yet concealed.

At the house I introduced myself and presented my letter. For the purpose, I represented myself as a Baltimorean, of course—a "hack driver at Barnum's Hotel," I learned that Gilmor had been there, but only recently had gone down the valley. I told them of the sword, that the donors wanted to learn how to reach Colonel Gilmor, accurately; hence my trip. They treated me very nicely, prepared a good meal for me with true Virginia hospitality; finally I departed.

When I arrived where the boys were concealed, I found them extremely anxious to get away from that section. While they were laying there a man had approached them, saying that he knew they were "deserters from the Yanks"; the boys admitted it. He asked them if they wanted to go South. They told him "yes." He told them he knew it, and after it got dark he would take them. He told them that some of Mosby's men were just over on the road. My boys were not really hungry to go South, but wanted to start across the country for Harper's Ferry without delay, which we did, arriving there late in the evening, in the custody of our own pickets, who had captured us at Halltown.

Had I reached Gilmor I believe I might have tried to capture him, had I found the odds favorable. He was a giant in stature. How game he was I do not know. I will give you a reproduction of his photograph, which I have.

Upon my return to Baltimore I arrested the representative fair donor of the sabre, as General Wallace has told. She resided in the ultra fashionable neighborhood, not far from Monument Square. After I had searched her house, she accompanied me to the sidewalk, but absolutely refused to enter my carriage. I informed her that it would be much more agreeable to ride than to walk, but still she refused. I then told her that I would be gentlemanly if allowed, but I insisted that she must get into the carriage. She finally complied.

The lady was tried before a military commission of which Lieut. Colonel J.H. Barrett was president. She was sentenced to five years imprisonment at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and to pay a fine of five thousand dollars.

A Mr. William J. Ives, who purchased the sword in New York, was also tried. He escaped punishment on the plea that he was ignorant of the purpose for which the sword was purchased.

One of Gilmor's officers I subsequently captured. He had come into our lines, having one of those "remount" leaves from his command. It was not proposed to treat him as severely as a spy, but to hold him as a prisoner of war. I did not make him aware of this, however, but left him under the stress of the impression that he might fear the worst, and I proposed to him that we would permit him to return to his command provided he would agree to make it easy for General Sheridan's scouts to capture Harry. I knew my man and had confidence he would carry out his part of the bargain, especially since the stake played for was, as he supposed, his life. I let him go, and advised General Sheridan of the arrangement. The following is the acknowledgment of my communication:

The expedition connected with the following pass through the pickets at Harper's Ferry was pertaining to Gilmor's capture:

On February 6th, 1865, Gilmor was captured by General Sheridan. Major Young, Chief of his Scouts, brought him to Colonel Woolley's office, on his way to prison in Fort Warren. Mr. W.G. Woodside, paymaster of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a mutual (?) friend of Gilmor and myself, came to my office and invited me to be introduced, saying that Harry said he knew me. General Woolley's office was crowded. Gilmor was asked by Mr. Woodside to point me out, but he could not. I had never advertised my face very much; it better suited my purposes to be unknown.

Gilmor said to me, if he had had the sword, he would have killed many a Yank with it. A safe enough proposition under the circumstances. Gilmor in appearance was attractive, as a soldier, tall, fairly stout, but he had one defective eye and was rather coarse in manners.

After the war I saw the officer of Gilmor's regiment who had been our prisoner and who agreed to surrender Gilmor, or rather make his capture possible. I was sorry to see that he had become dissipated. He told me the cause was his social ostracism by the "Blue Bloods." I have never mentioned his name, and never will. I have, I think a fair amount of moral tone, and I cannot see that this man's act was low. He supposed that he was obtaining the privilege to live, in exchange for the mere incarceration of Gilmor. It was not the trading of a life for a life. I sincerely trust the young man has not suffered a lifetime for the act.

On June 15th, 1873, I received from Gilmor the following letter:

At that time everything was being done to "heal the wound" and I was disposed to do my little part. I was disposed to present the sword to him, first getting General Wallace's approval. But on conferring with Union people of Baltimore, I concluded not to; they thought any ostentatious display of the sword would help keep the wound open.