(6). John Pilson McClure was born Apr, 9, 1831, and died at his home in Augusta County Jan. 3, 1865, from the effects of an accidental wound. Like his father and brothers he was a farmer, and was settled in his home at the beginning of the war. The following obituary notice, published at the time of his death and written by Rev. Horatio Thompson, D. D., gives in brief the story of his life:
"At a time when the harvest of death is so abundant and the young men of the South are falling by thousands, it may be thought unnecessary to chronicle their names, but every true soldier is a star, and his position in the social and national firmament is important, though 'one star may differ from another star in glory.' As such, posterity claims the right of fellowship with the gallant dead, when the drama ends, and naught but the soldier's name remains upon the scroll of his country. Hence we record for the future reader the name of John P. McClure.
Nothing brilliant accompanied his chilhood and youth except a strict tenacity for truth and honesty. It was reserved for the last years of his life to develop the true patriot in his full proportions. He was Southern to the death, and truer steel was never hilted, nor more resolutely wielded, for it was tempered in the fire of patriotism.
When the war broke out he was pronounced unfit for service from an oganic affection of the heart, but in the second year of the war he believed his services were demanded and volunteered in the 14th Va. Cavalry operating in Western Virginia. All hailed him as a valuable accession, especially the members of his own company, the 2nd Rockbridge Dragoons. In this command his moral worth was most salutary and was only equalled by his bravery. Finding the service too severe for his constitution, he procured a substitute and returned to his welcome home. (Here his influence was also salutary, as who will not discover upon entering that little circle where a lovely wife and four children meet the visitor with that subdued demeanor and gentle smile, which tells the story of a deceased husband and father).
