Beeler
Beeler, a Union man who lived near Luray, Virginia, was held in the Luray jail in June 1862 along with another Union man, Haynes. According to a letter from Lieut. Col. Sawyer of the 8th Ohio Regiment, dated Front Royal, 17 June and reprinted in the Fremont Journal, citizens held a trial, took both men out of the jail at midnight under the pretense of transfer to Richmond, and marched them into the woods, where Beeler was shot after Haynes. The letter describes Beeler as having advised Union officers about their safety, and says his family was in a most wretched condition. The paper gives no independent confirmation of the account, and the letter does not say whether the jailer or sheriff resisted or handed the men over.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Lieut. Col. Sawyer of the 8th Ohio Regiment, in a letter from Front Royal, says citizens took Beeler from the Luray jail at midnight and shot him in the woods; the article gives no independent confirmation.
Reported by: Lieut. Col. Sawyer, 8th Ohio Regiment.