Nov. 14, 1861 - Staging Ground and Expedition on Maryland's Eastern Shore

Nov. 14, 1861


Staging Ground and Expedition on Maryland's Eastern Shore 


Snow Hill, MD in Worcester County


* This one is personal: when I snapped this pic I half-expected balloons and streamers to burst forth. This was the very last thing that happened in 1861 in the whole Eastern Theatre that I have visited. In other words, nothing happened in the Eastern Theatre in 1861 that I haven't been to the site of. 1861 Completion Achieved!

* It's not the last thing that happened in 1861. That would be in West Virginia, or Dranesville. It is just the last marker from 1861 that I got to. I tried to do them in order, but come on!  

* I don't normally do this (it's not that kind of blog), but wow the chicken salad at that Golden Clover Café was amazing! Get it. 



https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=206338

Worcester County Courthouse
Staging Ground


"I met one boy with a flint-lock rifle and a Confederate uniform. He acknowledged to have been in Confederate service, but that last night they all dispersed. I could see them running in every direction, hiding their arms."
—Capt. John H. Knight to Gen. Henry H. Lockwood, Nov. 16, 1861

In November 1861, Union Gen. Henry H. Lockwood led a strong force of about 4,500 army officers, infantrymen, cavalrymen, and artillerists to Snow Hill. His command included the 1st Eastern Shore Maryland Home Guard from nearby Dorchester County. Some of his men camped here in Worcester County Courthouse yard. Lockwood's command then marched south on November 14 through Eastern Shore to Accomack and Northampton Counties in Virginia in a show of Union strength. Lockwood distributed a proclamation that his troops would support the local civilian population, restore lighthouses to working order, and disarm and disperse any Confederates that his force encountered, to prevent them from invading Maryland from Virginia.

The expedition followed the Pocomoke River to Newtown (present-day Pocomoke City) and then marched overland into Virginia. Lockwood encountered a few Confederate pickets, small cannons, and rudimentary earthworks at Newtown, Temperanceville, and Drummondtown (present-day Accomac) in Virginia. Many of the Confederates fled before they could be captured, often throwing their weapons aside as they escaped. The expedition was considered successful and ended in Drummondtown on November 22. Lockwood's men constructed a telegraph line from Cape Charles near the southern end of the peninsula to Fort Monroe and he left a detail to guard it. Federal forces occupied the Delmarva peninsula for the duration of the war.



https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=48603

 Established in 1686 as part of Calvert's family objective to create towns and advance trade. Laid out on a sandy ridge at the head of the Pocomoke River. The town was developed as a trading center on the seaside of Somerset County, and later as a county seat when Worcester was established in 1742.

Sources:

https://www.allhallowssnowhill.org/snow-hill-history-1

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