Middletown in Frederick County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Middletown

Enemies and Friends

— Antietam Campaign 1862 —

Middletown Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 28, 2024

1. Middletown Marker

Inscription.

Middletown. Enemies and Friends. , After Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's smashing victory over Union Gen. John Pope at the Second Battle of Manassas, Lee decided to invade Maryland to reap the fall harvest, gain Confederate recruits, earn foreign recognition of the Confederacy, and perhaps compel the Union to sue for peace. The Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac river on September 4, 1862. Lee divided his force, detaching Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps to capture Harpers Ferry. At Antietam on September 17, Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac fought Lee's men to a bloody draw. Lee retreated to Virginia September 18-19., When Gen. Robert E. Lee and part of the Army of Northern Virginia passed through Middletown on September 10-11, 1862, they encountered a chilly reception. The inhabitants of this single-street hamlet on the National Road loved the union, and the ragged Confederates who marched west through here epitomized what the citizens regarded as a rebellion. Confronted by openly defiant residents, the Confederates considered Middletown the most Union of all places they saw during their first trek to Maryland. When part of Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac marched through town a few days later, the citizens were more welcoming., Following the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, Middletown's church and dwellings became hospitals for Union casualties. Future President of the United States Rutherford B. Hayes, then a lieutenant colonel of the 23rd Ohio Infantry, was wounded at Fox's Gap. His wife, Lucy, nursed him back to health at Jacob Rudy's home at 504 West Main Street.,

As Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson rode through Middletown on September 10, two very pretty girls with ribbons of red, white, and blue in their hair and small Union flags in their hands ran out to the curbstone, and laughingly waved their colors defiantly in the face of the General. He bowed and lifted his cap with a quiet smile and said to his staff, "We evidently have no friends in this town." , , Henry Kyd Douglas, I Rode with Stonewall

After Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's smashing victory over Union Gen. John Pope at the Second Battle of Manassas, Lee decided to invade Maryland to reap the fall harvest, gain Confederate recruits, earn foreign recognition of the Confederacy, and perhaps compel the Union to sue for peace. The Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac river on September 4, 1862. Lee divided his force, detaching Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps to capture Harpers Ferry. At Antietam on September 17, Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac fought Lee's men to a bloody draw. Lee retreated to Virginia September 18-19.

When Gen. Robert E. Lee and part of the Army of Northern Virginia passed through Middletown on September 10-11, 1862, they encountered a chilly reception. The inhabitants of this single-street hamlet on the National Road loved the union, and the ragged Confederates who marched west through here epitomized what the citizens regarded as a rebellion. Confronted by openly defiant residents, the Confederates considered Middletown the most Union of all places they saw during their first trek to Maryland.

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When part of Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac marched through town a few days later, the citizens were more welcoming.

Following the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, Middletown's church and dwellings became hospitals for Union casualties. Future President of the United States Rutherford B. Hayes, then a lieutenant colonel of the 23rd Ohio Infantry, was wounded at Fox's Gap. His wife, Lucy, nursed him back to health at Jacob Rudy's home at 504 West Main Street.

As Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson rode through Middletown on September 10, two very pretty girls with ribbons of red, white, and blue in their hair and small Union flags in their hands ran out to the curbstone, and laughingly waved their colors defiantly in the face of the General. He bowed and lifted his cap with a quiet smile and said to his staff, "We evidently have no friends in this town."
— Henry Kyd Douglas, I Rode with Stonewall

Erected by Maryland Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • Roads & Vehicles • Science & Medicine •

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 28, 2024

2. Middletown Marker

War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #19 Rutherford B. Hayes, the Maryland Civil War Trails, and the The Historic National Road series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is September 4, 1862.

Location. 39° 26.632′ N, 77° 32.854′ W. Marker is in Middletown, Maryland, in Frederick County. It is at the intersection of West Main Street (Alternate U.S. 40) and Elm Street, on the right when traveling east on West Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 117 W Main St, Middletown MD 21769, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Central Maryland.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in 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

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named Middletown (here, next to this marker); Middletown in the Civil War (here,

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next to this marker); Lamar House (within shouting distance of this marker); Private Martin Luther Lutz (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Middletown (within shouting distance of this marker); Appleman's Tannery (within shouting distance of this marker); Stonebraker and Harbaugh Shafer Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Lutheran Ministers Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Middletown.

Other markers no longer nearby. Middletown (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named Middletown (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has replaced the linked marker. There are differences in the inscriptions.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 226 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 28, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.