Washington County's involvement in the Civil War conjures images of the terrible aftermath of the Battle of Antietam. But many other events occurred there during the war. Wedged into a narrow neck between Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the area was the setting for many important events in the conflict. From John Brown launching his raid on nearby Harpers Ferry at the Kennedy Farm in 1859 to the dragnet that ensnared local citizens following President Lincoln's assassination in 1865, the military was a constant presence. ...
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Washington County's involvement in the Civil War conjures images of the terrible aftermath of the Battle of Antietam. But many other events occurred there during the war. Wedged into a narrow neck between Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the area was the setting for many important events in the conflict. From John Brown launching his raid on nearby Harpers Ferry at the Kennedy Farm in 1859 to the dragnet that ensnared local citizens following President Lincoln's assassination in 1865, the military was a constant presence. Antietam changed the course of the war and provided President Lincoln the military events needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Harper's Ferry, the C&O Canal, and several rail lines were of vital importance for projecting Union strength into the Shenandoah Valley. They were regularly attacked and defended, and Hagerstown was nearly burned in 1864. Many from across the nation returned home indelibly affected by their experiences in Washington County; some never made it back at all.
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This little book, "Washington County in the Civil War" (2016) doubles as a Civil War and as a local history. Bounded by the Potomac River and Virginia on the South and by Pennsylvania to the North, Washington County, Maryland, saw a great deal of action in the Civil War, including the war's bloodiest day at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. Residents of Washington County were divided in their sympathies. Long-time Washington County resident Stephen Bockmiller focuses on the local history of the county and its people in its response to the Civil War in this book in the Images of America Series of local histories. Bockmiller also wrote an earlier Images of America book on the Civil War history of the town of Hagerstown, Maryland, located in Washington County.
Although a great deal has been written about Civil War battles in Washington County, Bockmiller's book manages to be fresh and original by focusing on local history and on rarely-seen images gathered in part from local libraries and local individuals. Thus, for the most part, the book avoids often-reproduced images, such as the Gardner photographs of the Sunken Lane or of the Dunker Church at the Battle of Antietam and concentrates instead on lesser-known local images and stories. Bockmiller is knowledgeable on the War and on local history as shown by his informative annotations on the images.
The book is in five chapters. The first chapter focuses on pre-War Washington County (John Brown had used a farm in Washington County for a staging area for his raid on Harper's Ferry) and on the early days of the War with Thomas (later "Stonewall") Jackson's early movements in Harper's Ferry. The images focus on residents of the County or on individuals with a strong connection to the county during part of their lives, such as the famous author and naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan.
The second chapter focuses on the Antietam campaign. It includes many rarely seen images of places and people, such as locations used for field hospitals after the battle, rather than the more often-seen photos of Antietam. It also includes several images of the important Battle of South Mountain which proceeded and set the stage for Antietam.
Following the defeat at Gettysburg, the Army of Northern Virginia retreated through Washington County. In the third chapter of the book, Bockmiller presents unusual images and maps showing some of the many battles and skirmishes between the Confederate and Union Armies during Lee's difficult retreat back to Virginia. I was familiar with the history of the retreat, but many of the images in the book were new to me.
The fourth chapter of the book includes images relating to Jubal Early's march from Virginia to raid Washington D.C. in July, 1864. In the process, Early demanded a ransom from Hagerstown, and also burned Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The hard hand of war is reflected in the local images of this book.
The last chapter of the book deals with commemoration and reconciliation on the local level. as the Washington County community, which included supporters of both North and South, gradually came back together after the War into a cohesive community. The book outlines in images the many commemorative events held at Antietam and elsewhere in Washington County over the years. It properly emphasizes as well African American soldiers who were once unfairly neglected but who received recognition for their contributions to the war effort in 2013 in a monument erected by the City of Hagerstown (the final image in the book). In its discussion of the reconciliation of North and South and of slavery and the recognition of the role played in the War by African Americans from Washington County, the book touches on a small scale the two large themes of the American Civil War.
I have visited and read about the Antietam Battlefield and other Civil War sites in Washington County many times over the years. I found this book both moving and informative in helping me understand a local part of America and the Civil War. Bockmiller makes many interesting references to books and other writings on the Civil War by Washington County participants and to films, such as "The Heart of Maryland". A map of Washington County setting out the various towns and geographical features and their relations would have been a useful addition.
