Sykesville

Capturing Joe Hooker

— Gettysburg Campaign —

Sykesville Marker image. Click for full size.

November 24, 2008

1. Sykesville Marker

Inscription. In June 1863, as Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia marched north, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederate cavalry rode east of the main army. Soon, Federal cavalry hunted Stuart. Before dawn on June 29, several former area residents guided Stuart’s column north from Cooksville. At Old Frederick Road (present-day State Rte. 99) the force divided, and elements ranged east to Sykesville and Marriottsville.

Gen. Fitzhugh Lee’s brigade continued north on Washington Road to Hood’s Mill and occupied the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad there, cutting telegraph lines to disrupt communications between Frederick and Washington. Stuart soon learned that Gen. Joseph Hooker had been relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac the day before at Frederick and might return to Washington on a special train about 10:30 a.m. that day. The Confederates burned a small wooden bridge over Piney Branch about half a mile east of Hood’s Mill and tore up several sections of track to stop the train and capture Hooker. An alert engineer on an earlier train spotted them, however, and backed up to Frederick to warn Hooker, thereby thwarting the scheme.

(captions)
This 1860s tintype shows the Sykes Hotel that stood on the bank of the Patapsco River. The railroad tracks and telegraph lines in the foreground continued

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across the river into Howard County. The Sykes Hotel was destroyed when the Patapsco River flooded in 1868. - Courtesy of the collection of the Sykesville Gate House Museum of History
Sykesville - Courtesy Historical Society of Carroll County
Cutting telegraph wire
Gen. Fitzhugh Lee
Gen. Joseph Hooker

Erected by Maryland Civil War Trails.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is June 29, 1863.

Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 39° 21.869′ N, 76° 58.141′ W. Marker was in Sykesville, Maryland, in Carroll County. It was at the intersection of West Main Street (Maryland Route 851) and Baldwin Drive, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 7615 W Main St, Sykesville MD 21784, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Central Maryland.

It was also in the American Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: A different marker also named Sykesville (here, next to this marker); Baldwin's Station (a few steps from this marker); Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station (a few steps from this marker); St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (within shouting distance

Civil War Trails Marker in Sykesville image. Click for full size.

November 24, 2008

2. Civil War Trails Marker in Sykesville

of this marker); The Town House (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Strawbridge Home for Boys (about 700 feet away); The Sykesville Bypass Bridge (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Historic Sykesville Colored Schoolhouse (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sykesville.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. New CWT Marker A This Location also titled "Sykesville".

Also see . . . Sykesville, Maryland. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on December 22, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)