That discovery launched me on a mission to discover more about this connection to my hometown university. The results could provide fodder for a novel, as Settle not only was involved in the execution of John Brown, but he saved the life of a Virginia governor, too.
Thomas L. Settle graduated with the Class of 1857 from what was then known as the Kentucky School of Medicine. From brief biographies, I learned that he practiced as a resident graduate at the Louisville Hospital until May 1858, when he was sent by the hospital as a delegate to the American Medical Association in Washington, D.C. Not long after, Settle returned to his home in Virginia.
Settle was born at Mt. Bleak, in Fauquier (pronounced Fau-keer’) County, Va., on Feb. 18, 1836. His father, Abner Humphrey Settle, was a merchant and farmer in the county who at one time served as postmaster at Paris, a mile or so from his home. Today, Settle’s boyhood home serves as the main office and museum of Sky Meadow State Park, which houses some of Settle’s artifacts.
John Brown’s Pulse
At an early age, Settle became an assistant to a Paris doctor, his cousin A. S. Payne, who prepared him for formal medical training at Castleton Medical School in Vermont. He graduated from a preparatory program in Castleton in 1856 and from there proceeded to Louisville.
In 1859, talk of an inevitable war swirled ever faster. Settle was now back in Paris and joined Capt. Turner Ashby’s cavalry company. When John Brown and his band of revolutionaries attacked the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Va., this unit joined other state militia in helping put down the rebellion.
After Brown’s trial and conviction, Settle was ordered to attend his hanging and confirm his death by taking his pulse. According to a Virginia Civil War Trails sign near Settle’s boyhood home, Brown predicted from the gallows, “The sins of this guilty land can only be purged with blood.”
A Confederate Surgeon
On Jan. 3, 1861, Settle married Louisa Hampton O’Rear, and they lived in Paris in a house Settle had built. Over the course of their marriage, Louisa bore 10 children: eight daughters and two sons.
When Virginia joined the Confederacy in June 1861, Settle enlisted in what was to become the 7th Virginia Cavalry as an assistant surgeon. He was paid a wage of $110 per month.
When the 7th Cavalry grew to an unwieldy size the following year and was reorganized, Settle was assigned to the 17th Battalion, which then became the 11th Virginia Cavalry in February 1863. Settle was soon promoted to surgeon, attaining the equivalent rank of major.
It was during his time with the 11th Cavalry that Settle saved the life of a future governor of Virginia--a little-known event in the annals of the War Between the States.
On June 21, 1863, Capt. Charles O’Ferrall, a Confederate officer commanding the 12th Virginia’s first squadron, was severely wounded in a battle in Upperville, Va. In Robert F. O’Neill’s book “The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville: June 10-27, 1863,” O’Ferrall recalled:
“... I was struck by a carbine ball which pierced my left chest ... I fell limp and unconscious from my saddle ... I was aroused to partial consciousness by violent pain, and found myself astride a horse, with strong arms around me, going at a rapid trot over a rough road, and a man riding on either side, aiding in keeping my limp body on the horse.”
The physician who initially attended O’Ferrall determined that he had been hit in the heart and would surely die, so left him.
Settle was sent for, and rushed to O’Ferrall’s side to do what he could. Settle quickly removed the bullet, which had indeed lodged precariously near the captain’s heart.
O’Ferrall survived the wound and the war, becoming governor of Virginia from 1894-1898. Years after the war, O’Ferrall gave a “friendship ring” to Settle as a symbol of his endless and enduring gratitude to the doctor who saved his life. The ring today resides in the Warren Rifles Museum in Front Royal, Va.
He also presented Settle with a special pistol made in England as a further sign of his gratitude. A brass plate engraving inlaid into the top of the presentation pistol box reads,
“T. L. Settle from C. T. O’Ferrall, Upperville 1863.”
After the War
Dr. Settle was eventually captured on Feb. 18, 1865--his 29th birthday--in Warren County, Va., and sent to Fort McHenry near Baltimore. His arrest papers bore the notation: “Guerrilla--not to be exchanged during the war--by order of Major General Sheridan.” The notation reflects the hatred that developed among Federal officers for partisan rangers such as John Singleton Mosby, the “Gray Ghost” of the Confederacy.
The war ended less than two months later, and Settle was released from prison May 4 after taking the Oath of Allegiance.
Settle returned to Paris and his family and resumed a medical practice that made him a beloved figure in the community. Author Carlton Staples writes of Settle in his book “The Years of Anguish”:
“During 62 years of practice his visits were made by buggy or horseback. Roads and weather were never too bad for him to go relieve illness and very often cheer a despondent spirit ... Memories of his life are cherished by those who knew him, and his record is a surviving challenge for those who follow.”
In 1884, diphtheria struck Settle’s family and, between March 3 and the middle of April, he lost his wife, Louisa, and sons Lee and Abner to the dreaded disease. Settle went on to live 36 more years. He died on Aug. 26, 1920, at age 84. He is buried in the Ivy Cemetery in Upperville, Va., alongside his wife and children Addie, Joe Gales and Louisa P. n
Editor’s Note: A resident of Virginia’s Piedmont, Dave Goetz, ‘85G, earned a master of science in community development from U of L. He owns Mosby’s Confederacy Tours and is its principal tour guide. He may be reached through his Web site, www.mosbystours.com.
