Heritage in Frederick County and Beyond

We read the newspapers and watch CNN-waiting anxiously for news of everything from insurgency in Iraq to the fate of missing college students. At the same time we look at advertisements, schedules for government meetings and when new businesses are coming into the area. A little over 142 years ago, our newspapers were filled with news of another kind: Union soldiers drilling as they prepared to fight a war, much of which was fought in our own backyard; Confederate soldiers rolling in and out of our cities and towns like waves off the beach; thousands of wounded of both sides in agony along our streets and in hospitals that became all too frequent in Frederick and the surrounding towns.

One paper, the Valley News Echo, out of Hagerstown, Maryland, told of the Civil War in Frederick in nearly every issue. In July 1861, the paper reported a state still deciding how to deal with the threat of war. “The Maryland state legislature reassembled here [in Frederick] today in special session. The legislature met last month and adjourned on June 25.”

Frederick proved to be part of the action at the front lines during 1862 and 1863, but even in 1861, the citizens felt the brush of the military on their heels. Take for example, this excerpt from the December 1861 Valley News Echo, “Maj. Gen. Nathanial P. Banks arrived at 4pm yesterday and established his headquarters in the house formerly occupied by Bradley T. Johnson in this city.”

As the fall of 1862 came in crisp and clear, so did hundreds of thousands of unwanted visitors. Two armies converged as the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam were fought with terrible devastation. A reporter in the area and whose stories appeared in all the local newspapers interviewed a citizen from Frederick and gained valuable insight into what those under Confederate occupation went through.

Question: What is the number of the Rebels?
Answer: It would be impossible to say. They are however, a large force.
I should suppose not less than 70,000 men, though they claim to be over
100,000.
Question: Have any of the houses of the Union citizens who absented
themselves been invaded?
Answer: The only house occupied by the Rebels is that of General Cooper,
and it is not abused. A party of soldiers, incited by some of the secessionists,
broke into the Frederick Examiner office, and commenced to destroy the
office furniture�

Before long, just when things in Frederick were returning to normal, the Confederates once again invaded the North, about 30 miles away in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Land was fertile here, and desperately hungry troops ate whatever they could find in orchards, gardens and in houses along the way. By the time those three days in July were over, wounded lined many of Frederick’s streets. A Confederate spy was captured and hanged in Frederick. The Valley News Echo covered the July 6 event, “William Richardson, a Rebel spy, was hanged here today by order of Gen. Buford [John Buford, 1st Division, U.S. Cavalry]. On examination [after Richardson’s capture] plans were found on his person showing the relative positions of the Federal army.”

The following year, the armies were back in Frederick again as Jubal Early and Lew Wallace fought over the Monocacy River. Says the Valley News Echo, “âÂ?¦at dawn on July 9, Early was in Frederick where he levied a ransom of $200,000 which was paid and supplied himself with garments, shoes and other supplies. He then went out to meet Wallace at the MonocacyâÂ?¦Wallace’s loss at the Battle of Monocacy was listed as 98 killed, 579 wounded and 1,282 mission. Early’s losses were ‘about 700’ according to the Rebel’s account. Many of the wounded Confederates and Federals were moved to the Frederick hospital and private homes in Frederick CountyâÂ?¦”

The newspapers were still bringing Frederick residents the story even as the war was winding down. The County watched anxiously to see what would happen next. The Frederick Examiner read, “The loud booming reverberated through the streets [at the Confederate surrender] and was in pleasant concord with the shouts of joy that enlivened an excited populace.”

This war was the biggest thing to happen to that generation and the 10,000 souls living in Frederick County were no different. Papers like the Frederick Examiner, Valley News Echo and others brought the myriad of news happening right in our area to people who needed to know. As we are now two years into another war, albeit overseas, the media still remains a link to the memorable events taking place around the world.