In 1861, Mordecai B. Cartmell of Round Hill, Virginia, could trace the lineage of his family back to the mid-1600’s, when his ancestors sold their belongings in England and “took sail” to seek homes in the North American colonies. Since that time, eleven Cartmell families have taken up residence in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Mordecai “belonged to the old school class; [and] was a gentleman by native instinct and practice.” Living on a 600-acre estate called Retirement, Mordecai and his wife Sally had eight children, of whom six lived to adulthood. When civil war swept the country, three of his sons, Robert (27), Thomas (23), and Mordecai Jr. (21), quickly joined the Confederate Army.
Robert spent the bulk of the war serving as a sergeant (later elected to Third Lieutenant) in Company A of the 39th Virginia Cavalry, also known as ‘Lee’s Bodyguards.’ This unit acted as scouts, guides, and couriers for the Army of Northern Virginia. The battalion participated in every engagement at which Robert E. Lee was present from Fredericksburg to Appomattox. Robert served throughout the war and was paroled in Winchester on April 24, 1865. Although reticent about his time during the war, Robert did relate one story about his experience on the third day of Gettysburg when Lee was trying to get James Longstreet to attack early in the day. “Lt. Cartmell carried the celebrated dispatch from Lee to Longstreet. The latter took the dispatch and wrote these words on the back: "Too late to execute," and handed it back. This was shown Gen. Lee, who, crumpling it in his hand for a moment, returned the paper to Lt. Cartmell, who carefully preserved it.”
Thomas was an Assistant Deputy Marshall in Texas when war broke out. He quickly returned to Winchester and enlisted in the 122nd Virginia Militia, before being detached as Assistant-Quartermaster for Stonewall Jackson. During this time, Thomas developed a friendship with Jackson that “continued throughout the General's life.” Thomas was appointed by Jackson as Assistant Provost-Marshall in the fall of 1861, and helped conduct the first “military execution.” Thomas resigned in March when Winchester was evacuated and enlisted in a cavalry company that was just being organized. He served in the 7th Virginia Cavalry, the 17th Virginia Cavalry Battalion, and the 11th Virginia Cavalry before being “badly disabled” in a skirmish at Linville Creek. He “lay helpless for weeks” before being detailed for “special scout service” by Turner Ashby. With a commission as a captain, Thomas directed the Bureau of Information in the Valley District, and served as a local scout for the remainder of the war. On this ‘special’ service, Thomas always remained silent.
Mordecai Jr., the youngest brother, enlisted in the 11th Virginia Cavalry in early 1862 where his “gallant conduct…won the admiration of officers and men.” He was promoted to the captaincy of “his Co. B” for his bravery at Brandy Station, where he had three horses shot out from under him. On December 17, 1863, Mordecai Jr. was shot and killed “instantly” while leading a charge at Sanger’s Station. Just days before he died, Mordecai had written this in a letter to his cousin: “Peace with its hallowed influences has to be obtained and there is but one plain principle to adhere to & that is a full determination by every inhabitant of this sunny land of ours to...establish a free and independent nation.” Mordecai’s body was strapped to a horse and returned to Round Hill, where he was buried in the family cemetery.
Surviving the war, Robert became a prosperous hotelier until his death in 1902. Thomas, the “last of the name [Cartmell] living in the Lower Valley,” died in 1920, after having served as Clerk and Deputy of the County Court of Frederick County for many years. He also wrote Shenandoah Valley pioneers and their descendants; a history of Frederick County, Virginia , in 1909. (From which all the quotes in the article are derived.) He wrote the following for his brother Mordecai’s funeral: “Gallant comrade and brother; your survivors are answering the Roll Call every day, as they wearily wend their way to the river where they must soon cross over, hoping "to rest under the shade of the trees.”
Clearly there were Cartmells on both sides. There were Elders on both sides too. The point to agree on is that the side that won was in the right. It is hard to expect forebears who lived nearly 200 years ago to see the wrongitude of slavery ... they grew up with it and it was life as they knew it. Yet we can appreciate the courage of those who fought on both sides. They all thought their cause was just. But the time has come to remove Confederate monuments, except at National Battlefields. Let's just do it.
Clearly there were Cartmells on both sides. There were Elders on both sides too. The point to agree on is that the side that won was in the right. It is hard to expect forebears who lived nearly 200 years ago to see the wrongitude of slavery ... they grew up with it and it was life as they knew it. Yet we can appreciate the courage of those who fought on both sides. They all thought their cause was just. But the time has come to remove Confederate monuments, except at National Battlefields. Let's just do it.
There were Cartmells on both sides?
Not sure if my comment posted..