I found the following online: "THE KILLING OF ANDREW GUNNOE" as told to me by my father, Dewey Pettry, and great-aunt Lula Faye (Pettry) Acord, who heard it from Ballard Preston Petry -James R. Pettry- Andrew Gunnoe, a southern sympathizer, did not join in the fight as a soldier during the Civil War. He may have been too old (42 years old at the beginning of the Civil War) to serve. Andrew, the leader of the ruthless Confederate Home Guard, and his sons, terrorized the families of men that had joined the Union Army in Summers, Mercer, Wyoming, Raleigh and Boone Counties. Roaming this area, they stole pigs, cows, and horses at their leisure. Andrew and his men would also shanghai men and turn them over to the Confederate Army for compulsory service. Union soldiers home on leave were subjected to being shot from ambush (bushwhacking), captured and turned over to the Confederate Army as prisoners of war, or captured and shot while trying to "escape". He and his men would also enter the homes of Union sympathizers and steal clothes and household articles. A certain “Granny Webb”, who lived on Pond Fork, had her feather ticks (mattresses) dragged out of the house and after cutting them open, Andrew shook them in the wind looking for money. Upon hearing of Andrew Gunnoe's terrorist acts from their families, the Union men asked for leave to return and kill him. Their Commanding Officer was told that they were going home to kill Gunnoe with or without his permission, but they would return to his command if they were granted leave. This was in August 1864. The men were from the 7th West Virginia Cavalry led by Lt. Jacob Webb. With Lt. Webb were Pvt. Ballard Preston Petry, Pvt. Milan, and Pvt. Pennington. Lt. Webb, and Pvts. Petry and Pennington had brothers serving in the Confederate Army. While home, they were very visible, attending church and visiting friends for about four days. During this time, Andrew Gunnoe went into hiding. On an appointed day, they met as a group and marched away as if returning to their command in the Shenandoah Valley near Waynesboro, Virginia. They went as far as Clover Bottom on the Bluestone River before stopping to wait for dark. After dark, they returned and stationed themselves in the woods around Andrew's cabin. Andrew lived on Craney Creek in Wyoming County. Joining them here were Pemberton Cook and his son Perry, who had been enlisted to help. As the sun came up, Gunnoe's son, John, came out of the back door of the cabin and gathered an arm full of stove wood before returning inside. Smoke from the chimney gave evidence that breakfast was cooking. Sometime later, Gunnoe's dogs began to bark sounding the alarm alerting him of the presence of men stationed in the woods behind the cabin. Gunnoe and John bolted out the front door and ran down a path to the forest. Gunnoe had on a coat with a single large white button, fashioned from a clamshell, holding the coat together in the center of his chest. He was carrying a rifle in one hand and a piece of cake in the other. Lt. Webb, Pemberton and Perry Cook had stationed themselves at the back of the cabin. They thought Gunnoe would try to escape into the woods from the back entrance of the cabin. Petry and Pennington had stationed themselves in the woods at the path gate at the front of the cabin. They agreed to take aim at the button and fire as Gunnoe drew near. When he was within a few yards of them, they fired, the button disappeared, and Gunnoe fell dead. John's life was spared only because Lt. Webb rushed to the scene and called out, "Spare the Boy!” The Reverend James Peters (Andrew Gunnoe had shot Rev. Peters' nephew) later reported that the bullets had made a single hole large enough to drop a pebble through. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------- Does anyone know the identity of Rev. James Peters' nephew? If I have my James Peters information correct, he was my ggg uncle, brother of gg grandpa Jonathan, & a native of Boone County. I look forwards to hearing from you. Respectfully, Mike Peters [email protected] **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489