More than 100 years after his brutal death, Middleburg Police Officer Henry Milton Seaton was among several hundred fallen officers memorialized in Washington, D.C. on Friday the 13th of May.

On November 25, 1899, Officer Seaton intervened in a dispute that took place on the step of the Adams' Store (now the offices of Thomas and Talbot Real Estate on the corner of South Madison and West Washington Streets). Seaton was stabbed and the two suspects fled. One suspect was later caught by the Sheriff of Loudoun County in Washington, D.C., the other hauled back to Virginia from Ohio.

According to Middleburg Chief of Police, Steven Webber, Seaton died about a week after the stabbing and, following the incident, the Town of Middleburg passed a new ordinance closing down businesses by 9 p.m. and quickly swore in 22 special officers to bring order to the small town.

As fascinating as the story is, it was not known, locally, until Chief of Police Webber was contacted by Chris Cosgriff, Chairman of The Officer Down Memorial Page. "Chris Cosgriff locates fallen officers," said Webber, "Officer Down's mission is to find officers who have fallen in the line of duty but who have not yet been recognized."

Webber said that Cosgriff came to him with an application package which included 23 newspaper articles and passages from two books that all made mention of Seaton's untimely death. Webber completed the application for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Seaton was chosen to be among those honored.

On May 13, Webber, his wife and Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson attended a reception and candlelight vigil held for fallen officers in Washington, D.C.

Seaton's name was added to the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Wall and his name was read during the vigil.

"It was really very emotional," said Webber, "it was a moving service."

Unfortunately, said Webber, the wall was too congested for him to locate Seaton's name on the wall and to make a rubbing, but he said he did stay long enough to hear his name read. He also mentioned that a second local name was read at the vigil, J. D. Lambert, Jr., a Loudoun prohibition inspector who was killed in the 1920s while investigating a still.

Although he served the Middleburg community, was memorialized in D.C. and was laid to rest outside the Middleburg Baptist Church, no descendants of Seaton's have been located, something that Webber said he would like to remedy.

"It was humbling and surreal in a sense," said Webber, "I felt proud to be able to pay my respects not only for a fallen comrade but for someone who patrolled and protected our town."