Page 87 - 1951 VES Meteor

Volume XXXVI
No. 2
Mr. Gannaway
There has been at V. E. S. for 31
years, and will no doubt remain for some time to come for the benefit of posterity, a man who has become somewhat of an institution, and with- out whose guiding hand we would doubtless be at an utter loss. This man, John Wallace Gannaway, has filled for many years the indispens- able posts of athletic director and instructor in algebra and higher mathematics. It would seem that such
a job would suit three men, rather than one. However, this strong per- sonality has b o r n e t h e b u r d e n bestowed him well , and has performed his duties in all affairs with such judiciousness and tact that he has fallen rapidly into the "indispensable"
class.
Considered by many the best math
master in p r e p school circles, Mr. Gannaway conducts his classes with a polished ability born of long ex- perience and natural aptitude, and in a way in which the student learns math, rather than squeezes through with a passing grade on insufficient knowledge. If a student fails the course, he can justly claim to have learned a good bit of math, even though the portion may not measure up to the high standards set up by
Mr. Gannaway.
In his role as athletic director, Mr.
Gannaway performs the threefold task of keeping our athletic relations alive, scheduling our contests, and be- ing the squad's most ardent sup- porter. His spirit of fair play has gained him many admirers through- out a large area.
Mr. Gannaway also keeps in touch with the alumni and helps to keep fheir interest in the school alive. This magnanimous task involves much cor- respondence and a tremendous amount of time. However, it's all in the day's work for this energetic master.
In addition to these burdensome tasks, Mr. Gannaway is master 1n
(Continued on p11ge 14, col. 3)
THE SCHOOL
THE BURIAL OF LATANE
THE METEOR
3
The
In the "V" Club Room in the Wil- liam King Field House, there now hangs a steel engraving which for many years hung in the home of the late Colonel William King. When Colonel King's last surviving sister died a few years ago and his house- hold effects were sold, this engrav ing was purchased by one of the school's friends and has now been presented to the School by him. His
generosity in this instance,-and there have been many other instances,- gives the School not only a memento of one of its earliest benefactors but also a tangible reminder of a heritage of which we of the South are justly proud.
Early in June, 1862, General Rob- ert E. Lee, facing Federal forces near the Chickahominy River, planned an offensive and needed to know the strength of the forces opposing him. Sending for Major General J. E. B. Stuart, Lee directed him to detach such of his cavalry as he might need for the purpose and embark upon a reconnoitering expedition. The daring Stuart sa w the possibility of accomp- lishing much more, if conditions should be favorable, and the expedi- tion subsequently became Stuart's famous ride in a complete circle around all the Federal forces gather- ing along the Chickahominy, presum- ably for an attack on Richmond.
Numerically, Stuart's losses were neglig ible. The swamps of the Chicka- hominy lost more material for him than did the enemy, but if one of his limbers had not become hopelessly mired in the swamp, he could have re- ported that, except for the de.:Jth of Captain Latane and the running away
of a few horses which he had replaced by capture, he had sustained no casualties an had returned with every- thing that had been entrusted to him.
Captain WiIIiam Latane fell pierced by five bullets in an attack on Federal cavalry at a spot about
ten miles southeast of Hanover Court House. His brother, aided by Uncle Aaron, a negro cart driver, conveyed his body to Westwood, whose mistress, Mrs. Catherine Brocken- borough, the only white person on the place, received it tenderly and rromised to give it proper burial. in this she was aided by Mrs. William !3. Newton, of nearby Summer Hill.
They prepared the body for burial and a pine coffin was made for it at Westwood's carpenter shop. Uncle Aaron dug the grave in Summer Hill qrave-yard and was sent to ask the Reverend Mr. Carraway to read the burial service. However, the Federal pickets would not permit the aged minister to pass.
The next day the ladies of the two households, with the aid of some of the family servants, buried Captain Latane. Mrs. Willoughby Newton read the service from the Book of Common Prayer. John R. Thompson subsequently wrote a poem, published
in the Southern Literary Messenger, describing the incident. William D. Washington read the poem and made the scene the subject of a much admired painting which has long since been lost but has become widely known through reproductions. The picture now hanging in our "V'' Club Room is a copy of a steel engraving made from this painting . Various ladies of Richmond posed for the figures in the painting and there have been several keys purporting to identify the figures but, since these keys are not in agreement, there is little point in giving them here. The picture is for us a reminder of the sacrifices which were made on the field of battle between 1861and 1865 and of the equally great sacrifices made by the women of the South, who in so many cases, continued to perform their own duties and like- wise the duties of the men of their families while those men were in the field.