Shepherdstown, WV - Civil War stories

Shepardstown WV, the site of the final conflict of the confederate Maryland Campaign.  After South Mountain and Antietam, the confederate army was retreating back across the Potomac river on September 19th 1862.  The abbreviated version is that after crossing the Potomac the confederate army of northern Virginia observed the union army crossing the Potomac in pursuit.  A brigade of confederates took up defensive positions among the bluffs, hills, to contest the crossing.  Once more union soldiers showed up and it became clear that the defending confederates would not hold their position, they fell back a couple hundred yards while union men crossed and took up lines of battle.  The union captured two confederate artillery pieces while the confederate general in charge reported back to command that he has lost the pieces.  This angered Stonewall Jackson who then moved two of his brigades on his own to counter the union advance and to recapture the artillery pieces.  AP Hill moved in support of Jackson while the confederates positioned themselves along the pike, which was the main thoroughfare used by the advancing union troops.  After blunting the union advance, the confederates under Hill forced the advancing union column to break and seek cover.  One very unfortunate union company, the 118th Pennsylvania due to poor orders and general chaos found themselves flanked on two sides.  Receiving enfilading fire (direct fire from the flank in two directions) they broke and fled over ravines and back across the Potomac, resulting in over 200 killed or wounded.  Overall, it was a bad day for the union men as they all retreated back across the Potomac to the Maryland side and gave up their pursuit of the confederate army.

Below are placards located at the site, on the shore of the Potomac where the union made their crossing. A more detailed version of the story including specific units and timelines.




Paper mill that confederates used to harass the union crossing, firing out the windows at solders in the river.








The bluffs from where confederate soldiers harassed union men as they crossed the Potomac and took up lines of battle for a northward movement.

James


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shenandoah Mountains - Sky Line Drive

Image
Tanners Ridge Today, my girl Joni and I and our old lab jazzy took a 3 hr drive on Sky Line Drive that runs along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.  It sports an elevation of about 3500'. Immediately to the east is the legendary Shenandoah Valley to the west is beautiful rural Virginia.  To the west of the valley is the Appalachian Mountains. Scenic does not do the drive justice.    Wild Freedom! To see such a lush landscape nestled between mountain ranges is a real treat.  From Sky Line drive, about 3500 ' above sea level, the views are something else.     The slopping tree covered hills leading to the valley floor with its natural canopy of grasses and farm houses with another mountain range rising up beyond is spectacular. You get views from both sides of the road, west and east.  The road weaves in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering pull offs - scenic views from both sides of the road.  BTW, $30 for a day pa...
Read more

Junius Ponds Campground, Phelps NY (May - June 2022)

Image
Junius Ponds Campground located in Phelps, NY in the heart of the beautiful finger lakes area of central/western NY State.     The campground is located about 1 mile from the NYS thruway,  making it very accessible in terms of avoiding smaller lesser known roads in search of your campground.    Head east on rte 318 for about 1 mile and look for the camping sign on the right, the road on the left.  It will say dead end, but don't be worried, the campground entrance is at the end of the road. There is a welcome gate outside with someone who is occasionally checking traffic as there is a $5 fee for visitors.  Campers get a piece of paper to put in their windshield describing their truck.  Come straight through and find the registration office directly to your front. Wherever your spot, with all the campground roads, it should be easy to find. The campground is sprawling with lots of sites and mature trees.  The shade is very nice and t...
Read more

Madison to Harrisonburg to Winchester VA

Image
We are staying in Madison, Va. at the Madison Vines RV resort.  A nice enough place.  Lots of recent upgrades.  Talked a bit with the staff who informed us that the park was purchased a couple years ago from an older couple who had kind of let it go.  A common enough story too.  Youngish people purchase the campground, poor their capital and energy into it for a few years, but inevitably, they get older, their capitol runs dry as does their energy and probably to some degree their interest.  Anyway, park was purchased and is in the midst of a renovation.   Good for the park.  It fits her well.  The new bath and laundry houses, cabin homes, paved roadways, fresh gravel and mulch, new electrical infrastructure, game room, event room, camp store.  The staff told us that the guy who bought the place does this with campgrounds.  Finds some older parks, buys them, fixes them up and sells them.  As long as the market allows, its ...
Read more