ossible way. He informed the officer that he had been
in the service, and that if General Battles was present, they would not
dare to insult him. When asked why, he answered, "I captured him at
Shiloh, and treated him like a soldier." A rebel Major present, who had
been under Battles, upon inquiry, was satisfied that Colonel Stumbaugh's
statement was correct, ordered his prompt release, and withdrew the entire
rebel force from that part of Second Street, and no buildings were burned.
Mr. John Treher, of Loudon, was robbed by the rebels of $200 in gold and
silver, and $100 in currency. Mr. D. R. Knight, an artist, started out to
the residence of Mr. McClure when he saw Norland on fire, and on his way
he was robbed of all his money by a squad of rebels. He reached the house
in time to aid in getting the women away. Rebel officers had begged of
him, before he started, to get the women out of town as fast as possible,
as many rebel soldiers were intoxicated and they feared the worst
consequences.

Colonel McClure's beautiful residence, one mile from the centre of the
town, was evidently marked out for destruction, for no other house between
it and the burnt portion of the town was fired. The Colonel was known as a
prominent man in National and State affairs, and, after the raid of
General Jenkins and the succeeding invasion by General Lee's army, he had
spoken of Jenkins and his men in no complimentary terms in the paper of
which Colonel McClure is chief editor. And although no house in the
community was more coveted by rebel officers to be quartered in than his,
and for the reason, doubtless, that every comfort and luxury could be had
in it, and although Mrs. McClure had, with her well known generosity and
kindness of heart, ministered to the necessities and comforts of the sick
and wounded insurgents, which were left during General Lee's invasion, for
which she has since received the most touching acknowledgments from some
of them--yet, his property was doomed, irrevocably doomed to be burnt.
Captain Smith, son of Governor Smith of Virginia, with a squad of men,
passing by all the intervening houses, entered the devoted mansion with
the information to Mrs. McClure, then and for some time before an invalid,
that the house must be burned by way of retaliation. Ten minutes were
given her in which to leave the house, and in less than ten minutes the
flames were doing their work of destruction, and Mrs. McClure and the
other me