Gen. Bradley T. Johnson's Raid

Gen. Bradley T. Johnson's Raid. Looting in New Windsor. , In June 1864, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee sent Gen. Jubal A. Early's corps from the Richmond battlefields to the Shenandoah Valley to counter Union Gen. David Hunter's army. After driving Hunter into West Virginia, Early invaded Maryland to attack Washington, D.C., draw Union troops from Richmond, and release Confederate prisoners held at Point Lookout. On July 9, Early ordered Gen. Bradley T. Johnson's cavalry brigade eastward to free the prisoners. The next day, Johnson sent Maj. Harry Gilmor's regiment to raid the Baltimore area. Union Gen. Lew Wallace delayed Early at the Battle of Monocacy on July 9. Federal reinforcements soon strengthened the capital's defenses. Early attacked there near Fort Stevens on July 11-12 and then withdrew to the Shenandoah Valley with the Federals in pursuit. He stopped them at Cool Spring on July 17-18. Despite failing to take Washington or free prisoners, Early succeeded in diverting Federal resources., On July 9, 1864, a typical Maryland summer morning, overnight thunderstorms had steamed the unstable air wafting over the mountains and valleys northwest of Frederick. Frederick County native Confederate Gen. Bradley T. Johnson led his brigade of mounted men, many of them fellow Marylanders, from those mountains toward Worman's Mill on the old Frederick Road. They halted just long enough to hear Gen. Jubal A. Early's cannons belching out destruction at Monocacy Junction. The column then moved rapidly along the road to Libertytown and through it for another mile to the intersection with the New Windsor road. In New Windsor, shopkeepers had already locked their doors and fled. Johnson commandeered the Stouffer house on Main Street for his headquarters, as he recognized Nettie Stouffer as an old Frederick County classmate. His men began looting the Stouffer store across the street but stopped when Stouffer complained to Johnson. Elsewhere, the Confederates broke in and helped themselves to precious clothing and food staples. Scores of giddy soldiers loitered near the hotel that Louis Dielman had recently acquired, "modeling" their newly looted wardrobes and eating. Johnson then ordered Baltimore County native Maj. Harry Gilmor forward six miles with twenty hand-picked men to capture Westminster.