"I am not a chaplain," the young Confederate replied, "I am a soldier, fighting in the ranks."
General Powell then told the Confederates that one of them would be hanged within an hour. They would be given straws to draw lots. In this way would one be spared.
Willis replied that he was a Christian and was not afraid to die. He insisted that the other Confederate who was a married man, be set free. The doomed man was led out to a spot on the road near Flint Hill. A rope was placed around his neck while the other end was tied to a young sapling which had been bent down by the weight of several Federal soldiers.
While the preparations were being made, young Willis knelt down and prayed. A witness said he never heard such a beautiful prayer, lacking all bitterness. When he was through, the men released the tree and it sprang into its natural position, swinging Willis high into the air, where the body was left.
When the Federals had gone, Mr. John Ricketts came by with a companion and they cut down the rope, took the body of the brave Confederate and buried it in the cemetery at Flint Hill. Today there is a stone which marks his resting place and every Spring women go and place flowers on his grave. Nearby is a small chapel named in honor of him—"Willis Chapel."
General Powell knew that young Willis was not accused as a spy, but he was carrying out an order, issued in August 1864 by General U. S. Grant, which read: "When any of Mosby's men are caught hang them without trial."
The Skyline Drive
This world famous drive is not very old in point of years, but its lure has and is attracting thousands of visitors every week to see the beauties along its borders. Beginning at the northern entrance at Front Royal, one winds around curving grades of finely built roads which pass through great forests of oak, walnut, maple and wonderful specimens of evergreens.
West of the Drive one sees the eastern section of the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain which divides the Shenandoah River into two forks for fifty miles or more. The river winds in and out and at one place the guide will point out eleven bits of blue river spots as it makes as many turns through the Valley. One thinks of old patchwork quilts as he looks into the Valley below, for there are patches of green fields, oblong bits of blue water, red roofs of barns and homes, besides the various shades of greenwood lots.