Did you know that a Confederate soldier who lived in Monroe County shot and captured the future president of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes, during the Battle of the Wilderness in the Civil War?

If you didn’t, don’t worry, for neither do Hayes scholars. The story does, however, surface from time to time. W. G. Gardner, the soldier, claimed that he both shot and captured Hayes, but there is no strong independent evidence to substantiate the claim of this Monroe County veteran.

One of the best renditions of the tale comes from the Monroe Advertiser in 1912: “Mr. Gardner was one day seeking an advantageous firing position when he heard a commotion in a tree over his head. Looking up, he spied Hayes, then an officer, and commanded him to surrender. Hayes replied that he would only surrender to another officer and when Mr. Gardner’s further commands were unavailing, he fired, taking off one of the fingers with which Hayes held his drawn sword.”