Col. John E. Boyd ~ Mary V. Stuart

Colonel John E. Boyd, soldier in the Civil War, C. S. A., with the rank of Colonel in the scout service of General Early's command at Winchester. Captured by the Union forces, operating in the Shenandoah Valley at Bunker Hill 1864, and sentenced to be shot as a spy. It is not often that a person is allowed the opportunity of witnessing the digging of his own grave and the placing of the coffin therein, but such was his privilege. When he was confined at Winchester as a prisoner he watched a squad of soldiers digging a grave and placing a coffin in it through the bars of the back window grating of his prison cell. The custom was to dig the grave, fix the coffin, and stand the culprit to be shot so that the body would fall directly into the grave. Colonel Boyd asked the guard what grave they were digging. The guard replied: Some d__d rebel spy," he supposed neither of them knowing it was being made for Colonel Boyd. Valuable information of the Union forces was found upon his person when he was captured, purporting that he was a dangerous spy. He was captured about ten o'clock in the morning and taken to Winchester and confined there, and was sentenced to be shot two days later at sunrise. Through the intercession of Colonel Ward Hill Lamon, who was in command of the Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley, and a friend of Colonel Boyd's with President Lincoln, his death sentence was commuted and changed to solitary confinement in prison. He lived to be an old man and died at Martinsburg, esteemed by all. He was a farmer after the war, later entered the mercantile business and later was connected with the Merchants and Farmers Bank of Martinsburg. He was so active and cunning in getting information of General Philip Sheridan's movements that that General threatened to "hang him as high as Haaman". (See More Below)

Source: History of Berkeley County, West Virginia; by Willis Fryatt Evans; Publication: Wheeling?: W.F. Evans, c1928 - FHL Film 1000649 Item 1

Col. John E. Boyd ~ Mary V. Stuart

Berkeley County, West Virginia

John E. Boyd Jr. was born at Bunker Hill, Berkeley County on February 14, 1840, the son of John E. Boyd Sr. and Jane (Mayburry) Boyd. John E. Boyd Jr. enlisted April 16, 1861, in Company B, 1st Virginia Regiment, Confederate service, and was in the army four years and one day. He was captured by Sheridan’s Union troops, near Bunker Hill, in 1864, and sentenced to be hung (a second source disagreed and said he was to have been shot). He was so active and cunning in getting information of General Philip Sheridan's movements the General threatened to "hang him as high as Haaman," thus perhaps leading to the conclusion he was to be hung rather than shot.

It isn't often someone is allowed the opportunity of witnessing the digging of his own grave and the placing of the coffin therein, but this was the case with Col. Boyd. While he was confined at Winchester as a prisoner he watched, through the bars of the back window of his prison cell, a squad of soldiers digging a grave and placing a coffin within. The custom was to dig the grave, fix the coffin, and stand the culprit to be shot so that the body would fall directly into the grave. Colonel Boyd asked the guard what grave they were digging and the guard replied, "Some d---ed rebel spy," neither knowing it was intended for the Colonel. When Colonel Boyd was captured, he had valuable information about the Union forces on him, leading them to believe he was a dangerous spy. He was captured and taken to Winchester where he was confined and sentenced to be shot two days later at sunrise. Through the intercession of Colonel Ward Hill Lamon, who was in command of the Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley and a friend of Colonel Boyd's, with President Lincoln, his death sentence was commuted and changed to solitary confinement in prison. The reprieve was granted about 5 minutes before the time set for his execution. He was sent to Fort McHenry to be kept in solitary confinement, where he was held six weeks and then exchanged.

On March 24, 1868, at Martinsburg, John E. Boyd Jr. and Mary V. Stuart, daughter of John W. and Mary (Maslin) Stuart, were married. Mary V. Stuart was born at Gerrardstown, Berkeley County, on February 14, 1843; her father was born and died in Berkeley County (1811-1876), and her mother was born in 1815. Children of John E. and Mary V. Boyd were: Clarence S. Boyd, April 4, 1869-August 23, 1879; John W. S. Boyd, February 7, 1871-?; Jane Mayburry Boyd, November 26, 1874-?; Thomas M. Boyd, August 26, 1875-August 15, 1879; and twins, Robert H. and Frank S. Boyd, November 19, 1880. Frank S. Boyd died December 12, 1880. The Boyds lived in Martinsburg, Arden District, Berkeley County, West Virginia, where Mr. Boyd was in agriculture.

Source: Hardesty's West Virginia counties; Vol.2 Berkeley County; Richwood, W. Va. : J. Comstock. FHL Film 908974

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