Guarding Springfield

Guarding Springfield. The Federal Occupation. Early in the war, townswomen met at the Henry H. Kirk house, just north of here, to sew uniforms and blankets for Confederate soldiers after Kirk bought sewing machines and patterns in St. Louis, Missouri. When the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry hoisted the Stars and Stripes in Springfield on March 25, 1862, however, the Federal occupation began and shaped everyday life here for the rest of the war., Pvt. William Thomas of the 9th Pennsylvania wrote in his diary that he “camped on a Hill looking over the town, name of hill-pulltight.” The Federals constructed a fortified camp here to observe the city and protect the Edgefield and Kentucky Railroad. A line of earth-works was built from the fort’s north side to Sulphur Fork Creek, and another line extended a mile from the south end of the camp. Union soldiers also manned railroad blockhouses at Baker’s Station, the Ridgetop Trestle, the Dry Creek Trestle (Greenbrier), Sulphur Fork Trestle and the Red River Blockhouse No. 1 near Adams. The Federal troops guarded the town spring and confiscated firearms from local citizens, including the tools of local gunsmith Philip Anglin., The occupying forces confiscated what they needed. At an abandoned Confederate base, Camp Cheatham near Cedar Hill, soldiers recalled: “(We) tore down Houses that was used by the Secesh for Commissary and Hospital (and) used the boards to floor our tents.” By August 1864, Col. Thomas J. Downey and the 15th U.S. Colored Infantry were stationed here and guarded the town and its valuable railroad line until the end of the war., (captions) , Kirk House - Courtesy Robertson County Archives , 15th PA Cavalry Camp - Courtesy Robertson County Archives