February 21, 1865 - McNeill's Raid
February 21, 1865
McNeill's Raid
Cumberland, MD
* Was it Bold? Daring? OK, make me admit it. Reckless? Desperate? That too. And this being 1865, it smacks of petty revenge
* Good stuff for me personally: I love Cumberland and hate Harry Gilmor. Gilmor was recruiting in West Virginia adjacent to these guys, right before Sheridan captures him (he is held in Boston until July 1865) - which is maybe part of what leads to this retaliatory raid.
* See Also Battle of Folck's Mill, earlier in Cumberland (Aug. 1, 1864)
* the Rangers surrender and were paroled May 8, 1865 - a month (ahem) after Appomattox
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=490 |
Capture of Generals
Capture of Generals B.F. Kelly & George Crook
— Nights, February 21–22, 1865 —
A company of Confederates, young men from Cumberland, Maryland, Hampshire and Hardy Counties, West Virginia, captured several picket posts, obtained the countersign “Bulls Gap,” rode into the city, captured two commanding Union Generals, Kelly and Crook, and Adj. General Thayer Melvin, and sent them to Richmond, Virginia, as prisoners of war, without firing a shot.
General Crook was captured in this building, then known as “Revere House.” Generals Kelly and Melvin were taken from the “Barnum House,” (now Windsor Hotel).
The generals were asleep when taken from their respective beds.
General Lew Wallace was stationed here, in command of a large body of Indiana Zouaves; also Brig. General Hayes, later President of the United States.
This most daring episode of the Civil War created a great sensation all over the country, as at the time several thousand Union troops were stationed in Cumberland.
(The Kenneweg Building—formerly old Revere House—was located on this site. Razed in 1964.)
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=155354 |
McNeill’s Raid
Capture of Crook and Kelly
In the predawn darkness of February 21, 1865, Confederate Lt. Jesse McNeill and his partisan (guerrilla) rangers rode into Cumberland from the west on this road. Unlike most raiders who targeted the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for attack, McNeill had other targets in mind: Union Gens. Benjamin F. Kelley, who commanded the troops guarding the railroad, and George Crook.
McNeill's men overpowered two guard units and deceived others who challenged them by claiming to be scouts from New Creek, west of town. One group rode to the Barnum Hotel and rushed upstairs to Kelley's door, where they "persuaded" his adjutant to admit them. Once inside, they rudely awakened Kelley, ordered him to dress, and marched him and the adjutant downstairs. Other rangers occupied the Revere House and knocked on Crook's locked door. When Crook invited them inside, ranger Joseph Vandiver entered with a light in one hand and a pistol in the other. He identified himself to Crook as Confederate Gen. Thomas L. Rosser, perhaps to make surrender more palatable, and told Crook, "You are in my power, and you have two minutes in which to dress. There are your clothes; either put them on or go without."
Leaving town, McNeill's rangers and their prisoners rode west on Baltimore Street, then turned left on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath. At Wiley's Ford, they crossed the Potomac River into West Virginia. McNeill's daring raid stunned Federal officials, who quickly arranged a prisoner exchange for the two generals.
Before that, here's the story of them riding into town.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=139089 | Picket Post No. 1 | -McNeill's Raid to Steal Generals |
In the predawn darkness of February 21, 1865, Confederate Lt. Jesse McNeill and his Partisan Rangers approached Cumberland from the west on this road. Unlike most guerrilla raiders, who targeted the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, McNeill had other targets in mind: Union Gens. Benjamin F. Kelley, who commanded the troops guarding the railroad, and George Crook. Jesse McNeill had taken command of the Rangers after his father John H. McNeill, was mortally wounded. The younger McNeill held a grudge against Kelley because of his relentless campaign against the Rangers and intended to settle the score with this raid.
At about 2:30 A.M., McNeill and his men encountered a Union picket here who demanded to know their identity. "Friends from New Creek," replied McNeill, who was then ordered to come forward and give the countersign. Instead, McNeill charged the guard and fired a shot at him that missed. The picket surrendered, and two of his comrades were captured a hundred yards down the road. The soldiers were German recruits in Co. B, 3rd Ohio Cavalry, who spoke heavily accented English and refused to give the countersign until the Rangers threatened to hang one of them. Finally, they uttered what sounded like "Bools Kap"—actually Bulls Gap. Armed with the countersign, the Rangers and McNeill rode on and surprised and overwhelmed the other picket posts. In Cumberland, they kidnapped Kelley and Crook from their beds in the Barnum Hotel and the Revere House. The daring raid stunned Federal officials, who quickly arranged a prisoner exchange for the two generals.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=139091 |
During the Civil War, enormous numbers of sick and wounded soldiers overwhelmed both medical science and available hospitals. Approximately fifteen buildings in Cumberland were pressed into service to care for the maimed and ill. Besides warehouses, barns, and hotels, the courthouse across the street and the building in front of you—then the Allegany County Academy—were used as hospitals. The school and the courthouse together provided 1,200 cubic feet of fresh air and spaciousness, believed helpful for convalescence, because or their numerous windows and large floor areas. Sixty-five patients occupied the school building.
In March 1862, Dr. William A. Hammond, who was appointed Surgeon General of the United States the next month, conducted a review of the hospitals in Cumberland and Clarysville. His report was generally scornful of the overall hospital complex, condemning the "ignorance of sanitary science," finding some facilities "dark and stinking," and complaining about the "utmost confusion" that dominated hospital administration. On his recommendation, the Academy and courthouse were retained as hospitals. he other thirteen buildings in Cumberland were closed, and the Clarysville complex was expanded. These structures together comprised the U.S. General Hospital at Cumberland and Clarysville and remained in use until the end of the war.
[Caption:]
On January 15, 1799, the Maryland General Assembly passed an act "to incorporate a school in Allegany County," which became the Allegany County Academy. The Greek Revival-style building was constructed in 1849-1850 to house the academy and served as a school until it was closed in 1929. It became a public library in June 1934.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1051 |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1049 |
Civil War in Allegany County
Strategic Location
During the Civil War, thousands of United States soldiers were stationed here in Cumberland and Allegany County to guard against raids and incursions by Confederate forces. Located only about 130 miles from the capital at Washington. D.C., and a short march from Winchester, Virginia, and Romney, West Virginia, at the lower end of the Shenandoah Valley, this area was strategically important to both sides in the conflict. Here in Cumberland was the western terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The National Road, a principal east-west thoroughfare, also ran through the area. Most significantly, Cumberland was a major stop on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, an artery used for the rapid transportation of Federal troops, supplies, and equipment. The protection of this vital lifeline between Wheeling, West Virginia, and Washington was concentrated in Cumberland. Because of its importance to the Union war effort, the railroad in Allegany County became a prime target for Confederate raiders. Allegany County also became home to a large United States military hospital complex, where thousands of sick, injured, and wounded soldiers received medical care. After the war ended, Cumberland became a major demobilization base.
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| Check, check, and check! |
Here's a great recent recollection from a fellow CW traveler:
https://civilwartraveler.blog/2023/11/10/mcneills-raid-to-capture-generals-kelley-and-crook/
And the Cumberland newspaper's take on the whole thing:
https://www.times-news.com/news/looking-back-1865-how-cumberlanders-saw-mcneill-s-rangers-raid/article_ae0cc73c-55b3-11eb-843d-9fedfe809325.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNeill%27s_Rangers
And when I get done with Shelby Foote (and everything else), Phantoms of the South Fork: Captain McNeill and his Rangers apparently does a good job of telling these stories.
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