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Emmitsburg Area In the Civil War
Wayde
Chrismer Part
3 of 4
Fighting in the Area
Comparatively little
actual fighting occurred around the area at any time and
none apparently in the town itself. Emmitsburg was
always on the extreme perimeter of the battlefields of
first Antietam, then Gettysburg and finally Monocacy
(during the invasion of 1864). However, the town often
saw cavalrymen from both armies out scouting their
opponents or in pursuit of foes they knew had passed
through here or were encamped nearby. Stuart's
Confederates passed through Emmitsburg on their way back
to Virginia from the first Chambersburg raid, following
the battle of Antietam. This was on Oct. 11, 1862, when
Stuart says in the ORs: "We then crossed to
Maryland, by Emmitsburg [coming in by way of Zora]
where, as we passed, we were hailed by the inhabitants
with the most enthusiastic demonstration of joy. We
barely missed 150 of Rush’s Pennsylvania Lancers
headed [from Frederick] towards Gettysburg but could not
spare the time to turn around and pursue them." One
of his officers writes: "About sunset we reached
Emmitsburg and such enthusiasm as we witnessed here a
half mile from the Pennsylvania line you can form no
idea of.’
The Rebels at that time
were still placating Marylanders, hoping the state would
join the Confederacy. Another of Stuart’s officers
writes of the same episode: "As we approached
Maryland, Capt. B. S. White became the guide; his
residence in that part of Maryland made him thoroughly
acquainted with every road in it. It was very pleasant
to get amongst friends once more upon crossing the line
into Maryland, though we could not take their
horses." He probably meant Capt. Elijah V. White, a
native of nearby Poolesville, later a Major and
commanding the 35th Battaloin. Va. Cavalry. White’s
original Co. B (" White’s Rebels") was made
up of men from this area and could well have had
Emmitsburgians in it. That company "later claimed
that, as Marylanders, they owed no allegiance to the
Confederacy." They said "they had come over
voluntarily, because their sympathies were with the
South, but being foreigners they had the right to select
for themselves the manner in which they would serve
her." Such an attitude was not unusual for
Marylanders serving in out-of-state Confederate
organizations. They adopted it when they believed that
their independence was challenged or when they were
ordered to do something contrary to their political
principles. Commanders who gave in to such demands were
following a take it easy with Maryland line ordered by
the Confederate Congress, which had gone so far as to
order its privateer captains to release all Maryland
ships they captured rather than antagonize their
Maryland owners. This was early in the war, however.
When the Confederacy finally had to admit, as it did
shortly after Antietam, that all hope for getting
Maryland into its ranks was vain, it adopted a sterner
attitude.
Emmitsburg’s next
major encounter with troops in large numbers occurred
before the Battle of Gettysburg and then they saw as
many as 25,000 at one time. Originally it had been Lee’s
intention that the invasion of Pennsylvania should be
partly through Emmitsburg. He wrote both Stuart and
General Ewell on June 22, 1863, telling the latter
"I think your best course will be toward the
Susquehanna, taking the routes by Emmitsburg,
Chambersburg and McConnellsburg." Ewell’s
official report says not one word about going through
Emmitsburg, either to or from Gettysburg.
All Lee’s men crossed
the Potomac west of Harper’s Ferry where General
French’s Yankees, including Cole’s men and other
Emmitsburgians, were stationed. But, "On June 28,
1868, there was scattered fighting at Fountain
Dale," about seven miles west of Emmitsburg. Col.
John T. Mosby, the famous "Gray Ghost", writes
that this encounter was between scouting forces of the
Yankee Cavalry General Buford and Mosby’s own men.
Mosby writes that Buford had no knowledge of the
nearness of the Confederates until "he unexpectedly
ran into our picket. He felt the picket, but withdrew,
and took the route by Emmitsburg" toward
Gettysburg. Buford "decided not to use artillery
upon the small force just ahead of him for fear of
letting troops nearby think a major engagement had been
started and accordingly he rode on to Emmitsburg to
report to Gen. Reynolds at that point the results of his
scouting expedition.
When Lee’s main force
reached Chambersburg, he retained one corps there but
sent two others eastward through Gettysburg to York and
towards Harrisburg. Later, when he learned of the
approach of the Yankees from the south, Lee concentrated
upon them from the north, making Gettysburg a
geographically topsy-turvy conflict. In this account of
the Battle of Gettysburg, the Emmitsburg area is roughly
defined as bounded on the north by Greenmount, or Marsh
Creek; on the east by Bridgeport; on the west by Zora or
Fountaindale, and on the south by Thurmont, or
Mechanicstown as it was then called.
General Meade had only
been put in command of the Union’s Army of the Potomac
as recently as June 28. Lincoln’s Chief of Staff,
General Halleck, reports that: "On the 28th of June
[the army] was mainly concentrated at Frederick on the
30th, the 1st, 3rd and 11th Corps were at Emmitsburg
under Gen. Reynolds."
Emmitsburg might well
have been the site of the impending battle. Remember
that the Yanks believed Lee’s Pennsylvania invasion
was a feint and that his goals were Washington and
Baltimore, upon which he must descend from Pennsylvania,
passing of course through Emmitsburg.
Reynolds had good
reason for his caution. Jesse Bowman Young in The Battle
of Gettysburg quotes from The War Between The Union and
The Confederacy by Geo W. C. Oates that: "Maj. Gen.
Trimble [a Maryland Confederate] told the writer [Oates]
after the war that Lee told him on June 28th that his
plan of operations was to fall upon the advance of the
Union Army, when and wherever he found it, crush and
hurl it hack on the main body, press forward and beat
that before its commander could have time to concentrate
his whole force.’ It was Reynolds, in Emmitsburg, who
formed that advance with the rest of Meade’s army
scattered far behind him.
Reynolds wrote to Meade
on the 30th: "I think if the enemy advances in
force from Gettysburg. and we are to fight a defensive
battle in this vicinity, that the position to be
occupied is just north of the town of Emmitsburg,
covering the Plank road to Taneytown. He (Lee) will
undoubtedly endeavor to turn our left by wax of
Fairfield and the mountain roads leading down into the
Frederick and Emmitsburg pike, near Mount Saint Mary’s
College . . . . The corps are placed as follows: Two
divisions of the First Corps are behind Marsh Run. one
on the road leading to Gettysburg, and one on the road
leading from Fairfield to . . . Moritz Tavern; the Third
Division with the reserve batteries, is on the road to
Chambersburg, behind Middle Creek it might be necessary
to dispute the advance of the enemy across this creek,
in order to take up the position behind Middle Creek.
which is the one I alluded to near Emmitsburg, Howard
[with his 11th Corps] occupies. in part, the position I
did last night, which is to the left of the position in
front of Middle Creek, and commands the roads leading
from Fairfield down to Emmitsburg and the pike
below."
From Taneytown, Meade
replied to Reynolds at 11:30 AM. the same day, saying
that it "remained to be seen" whether Lee,
then at Chambersburg, intended to "advance against
us" or to hold the approach to Cashtown against the
Yanks. He wrote that, "With Buford at Gettysburg
and Mechanicstown and a regiment in front of Emmitsburg,
you ought to be advised in time of their approach."
He added that, "In case of an advance in force
against you or Howard, you must fall back to that place
(Emmitsburg) and I will reenforce you from the Corps
nearest you, which are Sickles’s [The 3d] at
Taneytown, and Slocum’s [The 12th] at Littlestown . .
. , If it is your judgement that you would be in better
position at Emmitsburg . . . you can fall back [there]
without waiting for the enemy or further orders.’
Sickles himself issued
orders to "leave one brigade and a battery on the
heights beyond Emmitsburg, toward Fairfield, and another
to the left and rear of Emmitsburg, commanding the
approaches by way of Mechanicstown." Meade’s
Chief of Staff, Genl. Butterfield, in Meade’s name,
wrote Sickles that "The general does not wish the
approaches through Emmitsburg left unguarded ... bold on
at Emmitsburg, as it is a point not to be abandoned,
excepting in an extremity." Meade also ordered
those in command at Gettysburg, when the battle was
underway on July 1, ‘to leave a division of the 3d
Corps at Emmitsburg, to hold in ch(’ck any force
attempting to come through there." Not till 7:30
that night. when it was obvious that too many Yanks (yet
not enough) were in Gettysburg, that the major battle
would have to be fought there, and that efforts to
retreat to the Emmitsburg area would be too risky, did
Butterfield direct that Sickles’ remaining men leave
Emmitsburg "to join their corps at Gettysburg with
the greatest dispatch.’
Nobody expected that
Yankee first day resistance would be as great as it was
in the face of overwhelming numbers of the Rebels who
came down upon them from all directions. Though
compelled to retreat, they found a closer defensive
position on Cemetery Ridge, not again entering
Emmitsburg until in pursuit of the retreating Lee.
Emmitsburg could look
back on its part of the conflict and find in it
tremendous excitement, a measure of horror, some humor
and even some beauty. The town had seen something of
what war might be like two weeks earlier when a
nighttime fire destroyed most of its center. Details are
well known, but what probably isn’t is that "Some
leaders and journalists encouraged the firing of
property at the invaders’ advance" and that
"a Gettysburg woman reported that 36 families lost
their homes in Emmitsburg because a man set the torch to
his." Whether this was truth or fantasy isn’t
known.
Union headquarters had
been set up in the Lutheran Parsonage, St. Joseph s
Rectory and the present funeral home. How the youngsters
must have whooped and hollered as couriers dashed from
place to place in between cannons and wagons clogging
the dusty streets, while their mothers and sisters
passed out refreshments to "the tired and hungry
soldiers who ate and drank whatever was given them by
people standing on the sidewalks.’ The soldiers had
been paid on the 30th, and taverns did a thriving
business. Helman says "passing soldiers purchased
all the tobacco in the town and all the whiskey they
could get. One dealer sold hundreds of canteens at one
dollar each, until the provost stopped it and put a
guard there.
A contributor to The
Story of the Mountain says "The Army of the Potomac
was truly a beautiful sight" and describes as grand
but horrible the passing of "the wagons,
ambulances, cannons, etc., which were coming in from
early dawn till nightfall. He adds: "They camped
around Emmitsburg. Their campfires as viewed from the
College windows, almost led one to imagine that this
section for miles around had received in one shower all
the stars of the heavens. We were visited by single
soldiers, officers, groups, etc., to the amount of some
thousands, some for the purpose of seeing old friends
and companions ... But most of the privates and many of
the officers came to try the qualities of Miss Leo’s
bread, butter, milk, etc., which, I am pleased to sax,
were dealt out with a liberal hand.
It is not mentioned in
The Story of the Mountain but is known to this writer
from several sources that the famous photographer,
Alexander Gardner, who was following the army, was one
who "stopped off" to see a son a student at
the school. This extremely fortuitous visit enabled
Gardner to be the first photographer to visit Gettysburg
when visitors were permitted there, thereby getting the
first and finest pictures of the battlefield that were
taken
It is unlikely but not
impossible that soldiers from Emmitsburg fought at
Gettysburg. The three Union Maryland regiments who were
engaged were: the 3d Md. lnf., three companies of which
were recruited in the County; and the 1st Md. Eastern
Shore lnf., entirely organized at Cambridge. The latter
two, who formed part of Lockwood’s Brigade of
Marylanders, "found themselves on the second and
third days of the fight on Culp’s Hill, confronting
the 1st \Id. Conf. Btn. in Johnson’s Division of Ewell’s
Corps, made up in part of old friends, former neighbors,
and, in some cases, blood kinsmen." These names
with definite Emmitsburg "flavor", are found
in the Rosters of the 1st P. H. B: In Co. A,’ Howard
E. Wachter, John L. Wachtet (most likely also Wachter),
Columbus A. Zimmerman and John N. Zimmerman; in Co. B,
Augustus Rowe; and Co. I, Elijah H. Wachter. Others
listed did not sign up until 1865 and could not have
been participants. Still others that "sound
Emmitsburg" are reported as deserters" and,
out of respect for any Emmitsburg descendants, will not
be named here. (by then the 2d) Maryland Inf., the 1st
Md. (or Dement’s) Artillery; the 4th Md. (or
Chesapeake) Artillery; and the 1st Md. Conf. Cavalry. A
reader who thinks he had an ancestor with those units is
referred to The Maryland Line, pages 152ff, 229ff, 270ff
and 326ff, where their rosters are printed.
Emmitsburg saw both
armies again during Lee’s retreat. Some say Kilpatrick’s
Yank cavalry pursued Stuart through Emmitsburg; his
official report contradicts that. Jeb Stuart wrote some
weeks later that he "sent two brigades on the
Cashtown Road, keeping the remainder under Colonels
Jenkins and Chamblin under my immediate command . . .
and directed them to proceed by way of Emmitsburg, Md.,
so as to guard the other flank. Just at dawn [apparently
on July 5] we entered Emmitsburg. We there learned that
a large body of the enemy’s cavalry (the citizens said
15,000 which I knew of course was exaggerated) had
passed through that point the afternoon previous, going
toward Monterey. I halted for a short time to procure
some rations , . . In and around Emmitsburg we captured
60 or 70 prisoners of war and some valuable hospital
stores. The march was resumed on the road to Frederick,
through Harbaugh’s Valley."
Of Stuart’s men who
had been sent off on the Cashtown Road the Colonel of
the 7th Virginia Cavalry writes that he "moved up
July 4 and encamped in the vicinity of Fairfield, our
sharpshooters skirmishing with the enemy on the road
leading to Emmitsburg [at Zora.]" He adds:
"Our regiment was sent on scout and picket in the
direction of Emmitsburg, to join Gen. Stuart if
practicable. We sent a scout nearly to Emmitsburg, which
was fired upon by the enemy’s pickets; one man
wounded." The 11th Va. Cay. commander reported that
near Fairfield on the night of July 4, he "found a
regiment of enemy cavalry advancing, which I drove back
nearly to the intersection of the road with the
Emmitsburg Pike. [Also at Zora.] The following day his
"regiment was ordered to take post on the road
leading to the Emmitsburg pike" with one company
"ordered to move on the pike to the top of Jack’s
Mountain, to ascertain the movements of a cavalry column
of the enemy. Another company was ordered to Emmitsburg
to open communications with Maj. Gen. Stuart, supposed
to be at that point . . . Capt. Ball found the enemy
picketing about three miles from Emmitsburg and drove
the pickets in. On reaching Emmitsburg, he found the
enemy in possession of the town in some force, and was
forced to retire, with the loss of one man severely
wounded.’
Helman writes:
"Jenkins’ Confederate cavalry entered the town by
daybreak on their retreat; when asked how the battle
terminated, they claimed the victory; soon after they
were off towards Mechanicstown About ten o’clock
Kilpatrick’s cavalry came dashing into town full
charge, expecting to find the Johnnie’s here [but]
they had fled. They reported the full retreat of Lee’s
army. Kilpatrick was in pursuit of the Rebs that passed
through here. Oh, the commotion of that day; the church
bells rang but who heeded them, it was war times."
Helman has confused Kilpatrick’s men with a unit of
Gregg’s which, "On July 5 started in the
direction of Emmitsburg in pursuit of the enemy, and
that evening went into bivouac near the town. It was
learned that Stuart and his men had passed through the
place the same morning.
For the next week or
more, Yanks by tens of thousands were in and out of
Emmitsburg pursuing Lee. General Meade himself went
through July 1. receive(l with much enthusiasm by the
people." Lee should long before have been across
the Potomac but had been delayed by high waters an(I the
destruction of his unprotected pontoon bridges. He did
not get into Virginia until July 13. Cole’s Cavalry,
with Emmitsburg’s Company C undoubtedly participating,
had "burnt Lee’s pontoon bridge.
Emmitsburg saw no more
soldiers in combat until after the burning of
Chambersburg in l864—a side-effect of Early’s
invasion. There had previously been considerable
fighting at Monocacy as the Confederates sought to get
into Washington, but Emmitsburg felt no fall-out from
that. Early had detached cavalry and infantry under
Generals McCausland and the former Frederick lawyer
Bradley T. Johnson, "to burn the town unless
$500,000 in currency or $100,000 in gold be paid."
It was not paid and the town was burnt. During that
raid, Capt. R. M. Evans, commanding Pennsylvania
cavalry, wrote: ‘‘My pickets were driven in at
Emmitsburg this afternoon July 30] about one mile from
the town by about 200 rebels. I was in danger of being
cut off with my command, as there are a great many
by-roads running down from the mountains.
By then, few
Confederates had any sympathy for Marylanders other than
those in Confederate uniforms. Gen. Johnson himself is
quoted as saying of that raid that ‘‘Every crime in
the catalogue of infamy has been committed except murder
and rape," admitting that "pillage and sack of
private dwellings took place hourly" and that even
a Catholic priest was robbed of his watch. Whether or
not anything like this occurred in the Emmitsburg area
is not known.
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