Thursday, April 22, 2010

The secret past of Berryville

"Close by was the hamlet of Battletown. The name did not refer to any clash of arms, but to the fact that this town's one street was lined with saloons where the Scotch-Irish settlers got drunk every Saturday night and, roaring with alcoholic rage, revived their ancient feuds with shelalaghs and broken bottles till their blood spattered the wooden sidewalks and muddy roadway. In more peaceful and decadent times, Battletown was innocuously rechristened Berryville just in time to become a real battleground, as Yankees and Confederates took and retook it, over and over, during the Civil War."

The Byrds of Virginia, Alden Hatch, pp 226-227.

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