Notes for: Ashby Earl Gatrell
The conscientious objector Ashby Gatrell of Clyde Ware's Civil War movie "No Drums, No Bugles" was a fictional character inspired by someone of the same name who was born in Doddridge County in 1886, long after the Civil War. According to a newspaper interview of his niece, the real Ashby Gatrell joined the Marines in 1902 by lying about his age, although U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls show that he enlisted in 1906. His stay in the Marines was reportedly a brief one, and he returned to his home in West Union. Soon thereafter, Ashby and his father had a falling out, and Ashby hid in a cave for about three months. During that time, Ashby carved his name and the date Aug 10, 1908 in a heart which was chiseled into a large rock near the cave. (Note: This date is confirmed by direct inspection of the rock and conforms to the timeline of life events, most significantly his discharge from military service. The date Aug 10, 1903 was incorrectly reported in a newspaper interview of his niece. Dates 1917-1918 reported elsewhere are clearly incorrect.) He also carved a rectangular recess where he placed a picture cover page from a "Police Gazette" magazine. It was from the chiseled name on the rock, and a distorted local legend about Gatrell, that playwright and director Clyde Ware (1930-2010) obtained his inspiration for his 1971 historical fiction film "No Drums, No Bugles."
According to his niece, Ashby Gatrell moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, when he was 17 (he was probably older than that), never to return to West Virginia. We have found no records showing his presence in Arkansas, but it is known that he married in Texas in 1909, resided in Oklahoma in 1916 and 1920, and by 1930 was living in Missouri, where he is buried. He died in 1932. The name inscribed on his headstone is Earl Gatrell, the name by which he was predominantly known after leaving West Virginia.