Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 24.djvu/231

 Tin /;///,-/. //<-/>, Tr,,,, r. 223

yon of the gallant Bl.u k Hoix arc at present members of the House nf Delegates. namely, Messrs. T. C. Pilcher, of Fauquier; Richard

is, of Culpeper, and Charles C. Talliaferro, of Orange. Mr. Pilcher, one of the five members who have been sent to the House by their constituents three times in succession, is known to every one who has ever come in contact with the General Aesembly, while he has been a member of it. His unswerving Democracy, the honesty of his sterling character, and the courage of his convictions are doubted by no one. While not blesssed with as much literary education as some of his colleagues. In- is gifted with a high degree of common sense. His arguments are often drastic, but always to the point, and the brightness of his power of conception naturally makes him one of the most prominent leaders of his party, and his influence is felt as soon as he rises in his seat to give the House his counsel and advice on any measure in which he takes an interest.

RICHARD LEWIS.

Mr. Richard Lewis, the present member of the House of Dele- gates from Culpeper county, was born in 1838, in the adjoining county of Fauquier, and was actively engaged in farming until the outbreak of the war, when he enlisted in the Black Horse Battalion, going at once to the scene of the John Brown raid. Immediately after the battle of Chancellorsville he was detailed as a scout, acting under the direct orders of Generals J. E. B. Stuart and R. E. Lee. He was repeatedly commended by both commanders for his courage and faithfulness. During the fight in the Wilderness he was se- verely wounded, but recovered, and was enabled to be at the side of General Stuart at his death.

On one occasion, while scouting along the railroad in the lines of the enemy with another scout, he was suddenly confronted by four Yankee officers, who commanded him to surrender In the fight that followed, two of the officers were killed and one escaped thanks to the speed of his horse. The remaining officer was severely wounded. On account of this fight, after the war a squad of cavalry was sent to capture Mr. Lewis, but the officer in charge investigated the matter, and after ascertaining that it had been a fair fight, let the matter drop.

On another occasion Mr. Lewis distinguished himself by despe- rately fighting his way through a detachment of cavalry by which he had been surrounded. In his capacity as a scout he was continually