The American Civil War - Chronologically

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  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 comm...

Feb. 5, 1865 Union Cavalry gets "Stump's Battery" Romney, WV Lt. Col. Edward W. Whitaker vs. Capt. George W. Stump https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=174941 Captain George W. Stump "Stump's Battery" This is Hickory Grove, the home of Adam and Mary Stump and their son Capt. George W. Stump, who led a company of the 18th Virginia Cavalry during the war. Capt. Stump was always heavily armed with a carbine and numerous revolvers; his men called him “Stump’s Battery.” Besides cooperating with McNeill’s Partisan Rangers, Stump also served under Gen. John D. Imboden. The general had such confidence in Stump that he employed him in October 1863 as a confidential messenger to Gen. Robert E. Lee. In December 1863, Imboden recommended Stump to Gen. Jubal A. Early: “If in pursuit of supplies you have to go to Hampshire County,…permit me to recommend to you, … Capt. George W. Stump, {who}…can give you more valuable information than any man in my command in regard to supplies i...

January 11, 1865 Rosser's Raid Beverly, [West] Virginia Col. Robert Youart vs. Gen. Thomas Rosser  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=238861 " On the morning of January 11, 1865, Confederate Gen. Thomas Rosser led 300 soldiers against Col. Robert Youart's Union troops at Beverly. Despite being severely outnumbered, Rosser's men captured the town in under an hour. Though neither side suffered high casualties, Youart lost 580 Federals as prisoners who were sent to Richmond. It was the last major action in the county." [meanwhile on the back of the same sign] Mt. Iser Cemetery Marked by the remnants of Union entrenchments from the occupation of Beverly after the Battle of Rich Mountain , the Confederate cemetery atop Mt. Iser contains the graves of at least 70 persons killed near here during the Civil War. Calvin Collett donated the land after an 1870 request from Joseph Hart that Confederates buried on his farm be moved to a more suitable location.

Nov. 28, 1864 Capture of New Creek New Creek aka Keyser, WV Col. George R. Latham @ Fort Fuller  vs Confederates under Gen. Thomas Rosser "On November 28, 1864, Confederates under Gen. Thomas Rosser rode to New Creek, where a sizeable Union force commanded by Col. George R. Latham occupied Fort Fuller . With several of the Confederates wearing enemy uniforms, the attack was a complete surprise. More than 700 Union soldiers were captured, along with horses and artillery. A vast amount of supplies was destroyed." https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=152788 " Keyser.  Between 1861–1865, Keyser, then New Creek, was sought by the North and South. It changed hands fourteen times. Fort Fuller, where Potomac State Collect stands, was supported by a series of forts girding the town. Averell’s Raid. Here in 1863 General W. W. Averell started the Federal cavalry raid to Salem, Virginia, and then back into this State. This is among the great exploits of the War. Many of his troopers were fr...

Oct. 2-5, 1864 Custer in Bridgewater Bridgewater, VA (Rockingham County) Bridgewater "A Beautiful Village" Confederate soldiers appeared to walk on water on May 19, 1862, as they crossed the North River in front of you on a makeshift bridge. The existing span had been burned, and spring rains made the water too deep to ford, so the Confederates pushed large cargo wagons into the waterway to create a footbridge. The soldiers were part of Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's army, which had defeated Federals at McDowell on May 8. They were hurrying north to strike a Union detachment in Front Royal. One of the units was the hometown Bridgewater Grays, now Company D of the 10th Virginia Infantry Regiment. Situated along the Warm Springs Turnpike, Bridgewater as a hub of Civil War activity. Mills lined the river, a Confederate remount center allowed cavalrymen to obtain well-rested mounts, and a two-story log cabin was used as a government storehouse for "tax-in-ki...

Sept. 29, 1864 New Market Heights * Sgt. Hilton holds this place until I visit the Battlefield. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=219760 "Sergeant Alfred B. Hilton Memorial Alfred B. Hilton was born between 1837 and 1842, in the area then known as Hopewell Crossroads (now Level, Maryland). He was the son of Isaac and Harriet Hilton, free citizens who were formerly enslaved in Harford County. Alfred grew up in a large family a few miles outside of Havre de Grace on Gravel Hill Road. In May of 1862, the United States Army established the Bureau of Colored Troops to oversee the active recruitment of Black soldiers, both enslaved and free. Alfred and two of his brothers, Henry and Aaron, along with other free Blacks from the area, enlisted in the 4th Regiment, USCT at a recruiting office in Havre de Grace. The Hiltons were mustered into service on August 11, 1863 in Baltimore, Maryland. Due to his aptitude and 5'10" stature, regimental officers immediately designated Alfred as Ser...

Sept. 23, 1864 Execution of [and by] Mosby's Men Front Royal, VA https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2447 On 23 Sept. 1864 in a fight south of town, some of Lt. Col. John S. Mosby’s Rangers mortally wounded Lt. Charles McMaster, 2nd U. S. Cavalry, after he allegedly surrendered. Union Gen. Alfred T. A. Torbert’s cavalrymen retaliated by executing six captured Rangers nearby. They shot David L. Jones and Lucien Love behind the Methodist Church, Thomas E. Anderson beneath an Elm Tree, and Front Royal Resident Henry Rhodes in a field in front of Rose Hill. They hanged William Thomas Overby and a Ranger named Carter at the W. E. Carson house. Mosby, believing Gen. George A. Custer responsible, on 6 Nov. ordered an equal number of his men executed near Berryville.