Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
Page's soldier-farmers and the militia dilemma in the Civil War
Article of April 6, 2000
By the end of the summer of 1861, militia organizations from the Shenandoah Valley were in camp in the vicinity of Winchester. As such, several of the militiamen were facing a serious problem - time for seeding the wheat crop was at hand. These men had in fact signed on for service following the secession of Virginia, however, they had enlisted with the militia for a reason. They realized, that to sustain the regular army in the field, their role as farmers was equally important. However, General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding the Confederate Army of Virginia, continued to refuse the release these men to their farms. By the latter part of August, a letter enumerating the concerns of the officers and men of the 7th Brigade, Virginia Militia had been drafted and conveyed to both Governor John Letcher and President Jefferson Davis - a part of which follows:
We desire, first, to say that no portion of Virginia has been more loyal
to the South and her interest than the militia of this valley; that we are among
the first to send volunteers to the field of battle; that we have as great a number
of volunteers in the field now in proportion to the strength of our militia as
any portion of the State . . . We fully appreciate the condition of our country, and are
willing to make any sacrifice necessary to advance the interest of the South
and to secure our independence . . .
The valley of Virginia is a wheat-growing country, in which slave labor
is scarce; consequently the larger portion of the labor must be performed
by white men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. The time
for seeding the wheat crop has arrived, and unless at least a considerable
portion of the men now here can be returned to their homes to attend to
putting that crop in the ground we will be unable to raise supplies sufficient
for our own subsistence.
At first the letter appeared to receive little attention, leaving the militia officers to repeat their plea in yet another letter on August 31. By that time matters had worsened. The companies that were not actually from the Winchester area had become greatly annoyed with those companies that were from the area in that the latter had ".... failed to any great extent to respond to your call, and that instead of being ready to obey the call of the Governor promptly and coming forward to defend their own town, the very town that we are now defending, they are quietly pursuing their usual avocations." Finally, on September 9, large numbers of men (including those from Page) were temporarily released from service. With just enough time for sowing seed, the men were again called from their farms with the reactivation of the militia on November 4, 1861.
Heading the list of officer's names that had been affixed to the August 23 letter/petition to Governor Letcher and President Davis was Page County's own Mann Spitler. The colonel and commanding officer of the 97th Virginia Militia, Spitler had other objectives than farming. Born on May 21, 1825 at the family home of "White Hall" near Mill Creek in Page, Spitler had by 1861 been serving as a member of Virginia's House of Delegates for two years. Upon his return from service in the militia, Spitler succeeded Wright Gatewood of Shenandoah County and served on the Virginia State Senate representing Page and Shenandoah counties for the duration of the war.
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