Barnesville

Barnesville. “… a bad night of it…”. , The advance of Union Gen. John F. Reynolds’ I Corps began slogging through Barnesville on the morning of Friday, June 26, 1863, having crossed the Potomac River the afternoon before and camped west of town. Continuous heavy rain made marching muddy and camping soggy, but recently mowed straw from a nearby farm provided dry bedding for some. A Pennsylvania officer wrote, “The troops had a bad night of it, the more dismal from their inability to cook supper, and the incessant braying of some hundreds of mules belonging to the wagon trains which were parked nearby.” , Early on June 27, Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock's II Corps began marching through town. It had camped near Barnesville less than a year before on September 13, 1862, on its way to Antietam. After two days of soldiers tramping by, the townspeople thought they were finally rid of soldiers. But on Sunday, June 28, 1863, Gen. John Sedgwick’s VI Corps came through, having crossed the Potomac in the early morning. , Sidebar: , While marching, many VI Corps soldiers heard church bells ringing. Some attended services at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and were gratified to hear prayers for President Abraham Lincoln and peace. After eight months in Virginia, the men enjoyed the smiling faces and warm greetings. The congregation had an old and distinguished history, with the Carroll family among its founders in 1741. The church that the soldiers entered was built in 1822, replacing one that had burned. The present brick church was built in 1900.