Deadly Encounter

Deadly Encounter. A Firestorm of Retaliation. , As the sun set and rain drops drizzled onto the grassy hill ahead of you on the evening of October 3, 1864, Union Lt. John Rodgers Meigs was killed in a fight with three Confederate scouts. His death unleashed a firestorm of retaliation., Meigs and two assistants had been out mapping the area of Harrisonburg for Gen. Philip Sheridan when they encountered the Confederate scouts. It's unclear who fired the first shots, but Meigs soon lay dead on the ground before you, shot in the head and chest. Meigs was the eldest son of U.S. Army Quartermaster Gen. Montgomery Meigs. When an orderly mistakenly reported that civilian "bushwhackers" had murdered Meigs, an enraged Sheridan ordered the town of Dayton and surrounding areas burned to the ground. "Since I came into the Valley, from Harpers Ferry up to Harrisonburg, every train, every small party, and every straggler has been bushwhacked by people," he said., Gen. George Custer's 5th New York Cavalry began displacing local families and burning their homes. On October 5, 400 wagons loaded with refugees left Harrisonburg for the North. The Northern press noted that "the general devastation of the country has obliged the people to remove.", Sheridan soon rescinded the order concerning Dayton, but much of the surrounding area had already been destroyed in what came to be known as the "Burnt District.", (Sidebar):, Life cut short, John Rodgers Meigs graduated first in the West Point class of 1863. After his death, he received posthumous promotion to the rank of major, and his body was transported to Robert E. Lee's Arlington House, then under his father Gen. Meigs' jurisdiction for use as a military cemetery. The general buried his son in Plot 1, Grave 1, in the Lee's rose garden., (Captions):, "Death of Meigs" sketch by James E. Taylor , Courtesy Western Reserve Historical Society, West Point cadet John Rodgers Meigs , Courtesy Library of Congress, A dramatic bas-relief tops the grave marker of John Rodgers Meigs at Arlington National Cemetery. , Courtesy Melissa A. Winn