Flemon Anderson, like many of the young men from Taylorstown, enlisted in the Loudoun Rangers, an irregular unit of scouts and guides composed of Virginia Unionists. The home he grew up in still stands south of town on Loyalty road. Flemon got more than he bargained for when he attended a dance with his sister on February 20th, 1863…as recorded by another Taylorstown solider, Briscoe Goodhart:
“About February 20 , Sergt . F. B. Anderson got a leave of absence to go to Taylortown , Va . , to attend a ball, in which he and his sister , Miss Mollie , were to take a prominent part . The ball was held at the residence of James Filler . While on the floor dancing , about II o’clock p .m. , Lieut . Marlow and a squad of White’s Confederate cavalry entered the ball room , and with about a dozen revolvers pointing in Sergt . Ander- son’s face , demanded a surrender , which was very reluctantly complied with , but the next step , a trip to Richmond , was still harder , as it would last much longer . His sister , Miss Mollie , came to the rescue . She threw her arms around Marlow’s neck , weeping bitterly , plead- ing only as a woman can plead , to spare her brother a trip to Libby , which was almost sure death . Marlow wilted . He told her if she would dance ” the next set ” with him he would parole her brother . She gladly consented . What came so near being a tragedy was now suddenly turned into a comedy . The Johnnies took partners , Sergt . Anderson took the violin and played ” The girl I left behind me . ” Lieut . Marlow and Miss Mollie led off , ” Balance to your partners , ” – ” Ladies to the Promenade all . ” It was hard to tell who was the hero of the evening . When the set ended Marlow and his men departed , taking Mr. Stout Williams with them to Richmond as a witness in the Web- ster case , which we shall speak of later . Sergt . Ander- son went to Point of Rocks next day , and was sent from there to Camp Parole , at Annapolis , Md . , remaining until exchanged.”
Source: History of the Independent Loudoun Virginia Rangers, U.S. Vol. Cav. (scouts), by Briscoe Goodhart
Featured Image: Members of Loudoun Rangers at a Reunion in 1910, courtesy of https://www.loudounhistory.org/history/loudoun-cw-rangers/
Taylorstown Community Association 