Near Sharpsburg in Washington County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Ferry Hill Place

(Built in 1812)

Photographed by Craig Swain, June 9, 2007

1. Ferry Hill Place Marker

Inscription.
The boyhood home of Colonel Henry Kyd Douglas, a member of Stonewall Jackson’s staff. Sept. 18, 1862, Federal troops occupied these premises and confined the Douglas family. June 18, 1863, Headquarters of Confederate Maj. Gen. Edward Johnson, en route to Pennsylvania.

Erected 1964 by Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Maryland Historical Trust series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 18, 1862.

Location. 39° 26.3′ N, 77° 47.7′ W. Marker is near Sharpsburg, Maryland, in Washington County. It is on Shepherdstown Pike (State Highway 34) east of Canal Road, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sharpsburg MD 21782, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Baltimore Metro Region

and in Western Maryland.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

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

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The James Rumsey Bridge / The Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Blackford’s Ford (about 500 feet away); Swearingen’s Ferry and Pack Horse Ford (about 500 feet away); The People of Ferry Hill (about 800 feet away); A View into the Past (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Blackford's Ford

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(approx. 0.3 miles away); Shepherdstown (approx. 0.3 miles away); In Honor of James Rumsey (approx. 0.4 miles away in West Virginia); Waterfront Commerce and the Mecklenburg Warehouse (approx. half a mile away in West Virginia); River Crossing (approx. half a mile away in West Virginia). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sharpsburg.

Other markers no longer nearby. Ferry Hill Place (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Ferry Hill (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . .
1. Henry Kyd Douglas Collection. NPS Antietam National battlefield website entry:
Henry Kyd Douglas was on Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's staff in the Maryland Campaign. He was a great asset to the Confederate leadership at Antietam because he grew up about four miles from the battlefield. (Submitted on October 27, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

2. C&O Canal Ferry Hill. National Park Service website entry:
Ferry Hill sitting above the crossroads of the Potomac River, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and the "great road" has been and continues to be a place of change and adaptation.

Ferry Hill Place Marker<br>At its New Location image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brian Scott, September 19, 2015

2. Ferry Hill Place Marker
At its New Location

In 1775 Van Swearingen had constructed a "Ferry Inn" at the ferry landing on the Maryland side of the river. The community that grew as a result of the ferry became known as Bridgeport. (Submitted on October 27, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

Markers Clustered at the Intersection of Shepherdstown Pike and Canal Road image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, June 9, 2007

3. Markers Clustered at the Intersection of Shepherdstown Pike and Canal Road

Ferry Hill Place Marker<br>At its New Location<br>Looking West Along Shepherdstown Pike image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brian Scott, September 19, 2015

4. Ferry Hill Place Marker
At its New Location
Looking West Along Shepherdstown Pike

Col. Henry Kyd Douglas (d. 1903) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brian Scott

5. Col. Henry Kyd Douglas (d. 1903)

Immediately after the war he was held as a witness at the trial of the Lincoln conspirators, having known some of them. He practiced law at Hagerstown, corresponded and wrote for the press about the Civil War, and was active in veterans' affairs. He wrote his memoirs, I Rode With Stonewall (first published 1940). He led an initiative for the re-burial of Confederates from the Antietam Battlefield to Hagerstown in 1877. He later ran for office in the Maryland Senate and U.S. Congress, but was unsuccessful.

Ferry Hill Place image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Swain, July 28, 2007

6. Ferry Hill Place

Overlooking the present day Rumsey Bridge, and the sites of Packhorse / Blackford’s / Boteler’s / Shepherdstown ford, Ferry Hill Place offers a commanding view of the Potomac River valley. With close proximity to Shepherdstown, it is easy to imagine Col. Douglas slipping across the river to visit family in secret, as he indicated in post war writings.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 30, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 27, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,447 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 27, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 2. submitted on October 27, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 3. submitted on July 27, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 4, 5. submitted on October 27, 2015, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 6. submitted on July 28, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.