With support from American Public University System (apus.edu). (The sentiments expressed do not in any way reflect modern-day policies of APUS, and are intended to encourage fact-based exchange for a better understanding of our nation’s foundational values.
French, Steve. (2012). “Rebel Chronicles: Raiders, Scouts and Train Robbers of the Upper Potomac.” New Horizons Publishing Company. Print. info-sfrench52@yahoo.com
In May of 1864, when Andrew Leopold was taken to Baltimore under guard to be taken to be transferred to Fort McHenry a Baltimore Sun reporter noted “he is a guerilla chief and spy and murderer of the blackest die.” Now whether all that was true or not remains to be seen. But Andrew Leopold was born in Sharpsburg, Maryland in 1841. His father was Mathew Leopold and his mother, Polly Leopold. His father soon died and later his mother would marry John Zittle of Sharpsburg. The boy grew up in the town; later on, he worked on farms – local farms along the C&O Canal. He was a friendly boy who knew people on both sides of the river, especially in Shepherdstown where he knew quite a few people and traveled over here quite a bit. Probably at this time during his teenaged years he met Thomas Hipsley, who lived over near Moler’s Crossroads, who was an especially close friend of his and served in the Confederate Army later on with him. In 1861, he would join the first Virginia Cavalry.
Some of his first actions in the Civil War would be right here when militia men from Virginia would fire across at union guards, guarding the C&O Canal. The Entlers who lived across the river at that time running the ferry, commented later on, especially Luther about gunshots ringing out and bullets flying in the ferry house on the far side. But he served in the 1st Virginia Cavalry until April of 1862. Then he joined the 12th Virginia Cavalry along with his friend, Thomas Hipsley. During that time he participated in the Valley Campaign with Stonewall Jackson. He wrote a letter home to his mother about his experiences during that time, attacking the Union camp. Later on, he’ll fight in the Battle of Second Manassas, and he’ll be wounded three times towards the end of that battle. And his brigade commander, Gen. Beverly Robertson, will mention in the official reports of the battle how brave a man Leopold was. But once again, he was wounded three times at the Battle of Second Manassas. He has a long recovery but about October, 1862, he is headquartered with Stuart, at Stuart’s headquarters at The Bower, not far from here in Jefferson County. Towards the end of October, he is dispatched with Capt. Redmond Burke with a small band of men and they come to Shepherdstown, and are in this area scouting and rounding up conscripts for a two or three-week period.
On November 19th, there is a skirmish along the river at Guard Lock 4. And at this time a civilian named Mortimer Cookus is shot and killed by Leopold, as he is trying to escape across the river. On the night of the 24th and 25th of November, Leopold, Burke, Burke’s sons are surrounded in a house in Shepherdstown by soldiers from the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. Burke is killed. Leopold and two of Burke’s sons are captured, Hipsley and a soldier named John O’Brien also. The next day they are taken to Sharpsburg. The Union soldiers come back to Shepherdstown to arrest Daniel Rentch, a noted Shepherdstown resident. They are taken to Fort McHenry. The soldiers who are captured – they’re released very soon afterwards, paroled.
And by January the first, 1864, they’re all back with Stuart at his camp near Fredericksburg, Virginia. That winter, as soon as he is exchanged and the others are exchanged, they’re back in the service – dispatched service – operating once again in the Shepherdstown/Berryville area, carrying mail back and forth between the citizens and armies, scouting and so on. On the night of March the 6th, he comes into Shepherdstown with John O’Brien, and he’s hunting for a man named Jacob Hudson. He finds Hudson caring for his uncle at his house at Shepherdstown. And he knocks on the door with O’Brien. Evidently he doesn’t know Hudson, but Hudson has been talking about him around town. When Hudson opens the door, Leopold asks for Hudson -“Is Hudson in the house?” – Hudson immediately becomes scared and he runs toward the back door and he is shot down. George Brantner, who was a former Confederate soldier, he’s seated right in that room, cannot tell whether it was Leopold or O’Brien who shot the young man, but he sure identifies him later on, because Leopold met Brantner at the door and (Leopold) told him he had mail for him. Leopold will come down the street that night. He will tell one resident here in the town that he did shoot a man up the street and then they will leave the mail here and head back for camp.
Ten days later, on the night of March 15th & 16th, Leopold and a group of men go to Sharpsburg, Maryland, and, in Sharpsburg that night they steal six horses from an oyster wagon, parked outside of a local tavern. After midnight on the 16th, they return to try to get across the river. They go to Bridgeport where the ferry is, directly behind me, and they knock on the door. They say they have a dispatch to take to Harper’s Ferry to (Federal) General Stevenson. The young man, Charles Entler and his friend Samuel Jones, that are in the office that night, sleeping in the office, refuse to answer the door. Finally, Leopold starts tearing the shutters off the windows and Charles decides to come out. Samuel Jones would later say he knew it was Leopold at the door, but he was too scared, too frightened to say a word. As Charles comes out the door, his brother, Luther, who is in the ferry house himself, walks outside; and, as soon as he gets outside, he hears a man shout at his brother: “By God, I’m Captain Leopold and I’ve been looking for you a long time.” Immediately the gunshot goes off, Luther turns, makes haste into his house to get his revolver. His brother, Charles, nineteen-years-old, runs off and dies in the road, going up towards Ferry Hill. Leopold and his men escape. Now, they’re wanted men. The Middletown Valley Register over in Maryland, a few days later, comes out with a long article about Leopold and his band and at the end of it says: “Leopold deserves a hempen collar.” So he’s a wanted man, not only by the authorities in Maryland, but by Union soldiers, especially Major General Robert Milroy, the famous “Grey Eagle,” who was headquartered at that time in Winchester.
Towards the end of April around April 21st, Union forces are sent out of Berryville and they go to Castleman’s Ferry. That night, they will capture Leopold, and, once again, some of the Burkes – Hipsley and some other men when they surround the house, and they threaten to burn it down, if the Confederates don’t come out. They’re taken to Winchester and put in the Clarke County jail. While in that jail, one of Milroy’s citizen spies named Michael Graham from Woodstock, Virginia, talks to Leopold and finds out what he wants. Leopold wants to either join the Union Army or be allowed to get out of jail and go to Ohio. In return he will tell Milroy who the scouts and spies are in the lower Shenandoah Valley. He will meet with Milroy, and Milroy will listen to all this, but Leopold plays his hand too fast, and tells Milroy what he needs to know beforehand. So Milroy won’t agree to give him his freedom or allow him to switch sides and join the Union Army, but he will pack him to the prison at Fort McHenry. The inner fort was where only the most notorious Confederate guerrillas and partisans are held.
Now over in Sharpsburg at this time, Polly Zittle will hear of her son’s dire circumstances, and she will ask daughter, Sally Zittle, who is Andrew’s half-sister to come to Shepherdstown and meet with Mary Louise Entler and convince her to take her south – for Entler to take Zittle south – and meet with J.E.B. Stuart and try to arrange some sort of deal where(by) Andrew can get out of prison. So, at this time, Andrew is already at Fort McHenry. The girls meet here and they head south. Now, Entler was a – maybe we’d call spy today – but she was mostly concerned with delivering the mail between – once again this mail system between the army and the citizens. The girls get as far as Berryville. They’re taken into custody one morning at the Berryville hotel and sent to Winchester. Here they are going to meet – once again – General Milroy, who is in a big argument with a lot of women there. It’s over a cow. All of the sudden, the girls come in. He turns around and sees them and says: ”What do you want?” They tell him and he shouts out: “By God, I wouldn’t have any trouble here if it wasn’t for the women!” The women in Winchester. So, he listens to them, talks to them a while, then he will pack them off to Harper’s Ferry. At Harper’s Ferry, they are put under guard there, kind of loose guard – the Stipes Boarding House. They’ll stay probably close to six weeks there under sort of a house arrest. Mary Lou Entler will even meet her future husband Walter Herrington, who is a telegrapher for the Union Army at Harper’s Ferry. The girls are eventually sent to Baltimore and, while there, they will take the Oath of Loyalty to the Union, although the girls would say: “We really didn’t mean it. We dropped the Bible on the floor. So we didn’t swear to it on the Bible.” When, especially Miss Entler, gets back to Shepherdstown, she’s met right at this location as she comes across the ferry by hundreds of people and she’s a very gracious local hero for a long time afterward. (Back to Leopold).
He’s in the prison at the inner fort. He’s with a number of noted desperadoes, including William Boyd Compton (Belle Boyd’s cousin), who had been captured behind the Union lines in Fairmont, West Virginia. Captain Joel Baker, the guard, comments that most of the prisoners of the group – there’s about eight or nine in the guard room – most of the prisoners are cultured gentlemen, but not Leopold. Baker would write that Leopold is not trusted by the other prisoners. They think he would sell them out for just a few cents. Leopold is held in prison until mid-December, 1863, when he is put on trial by a military tribunal. He’s charged with a number of crimes, of being a guerrilla, murderer, violating an act of war, and being a spy. The tribunal is led by Col. W. W. Bates of the 8th New York heavy artillery. The Judge Advocate is Lieutenant Roderick Baldwin. Leopold will represent himself, but he will have the help of a local, Baltimore attorney, Milton Whitney Esq. who was well-known in Baltimore for many years. The trial opens up. A lot of local residents come from here to Fort McHenry to testify, including Daniel Rentch, Luther Entler, Samuel Jones, other men from Shepherdstown and also General Milroy will appear. The trial will go – on and off – for probably three, almost four, weeks. They break for Christmas a while; they break for different witnesses to arrive.
Finally, two charges are dropped, but he is still charged with being a guerilla and murderer, both capital offences. His defense rests on that he wasn’t a guerilla, that he was a Confederate soldier, especially dispatched into this area by J.E.B. Stuart. Also, he refused to admit that he had murdered Charles Entler. He said he didn’t have anything more to do with the murder of that young boy than any of the judges on the tribunal; and, he said the shooting of Cookus was just part of a local skirmish. So he denied being a guerilla; he denied being a murderer. In his summation, Lt. Baldwin, the Judge Advocate, would say: we owe something to the people of the border who have been hounded from their home, who have been murdered at their doorstep. We need to protect them. The verdict comes back. He is convicted of murder: the murder of Entler, the murder of Cookus – and he is convicted of being a guerrilla. Afterwards, the verdict and the results of the trial – goes up through the chain of command.
Finally, they reach that April, Judge Advocate Joseph Holt. Holt reviews all capital cases for Abraham Lincoln. In a four-page review, Holt will say this man has been convicted of these crimes and he deserves the death penalty. In late April, 1864, Abraham Lincoln will sign off on that. At that time, Leopold is taken from the guard room, shackled. He’s put in a cell, still in the inner fort, but not with the rest of the men on death row. During that month, there is a big escape from the guard room at Fort McHenry. William Boyd Compton leads the rest of the men in the escape and they all eventually get back to the Confederate lines. On the evening of April the 22nd, Leopold will be informed by his chaplain, Doctor Reese, that his execution will be the next morning. He will meet with Reese that evening for prayer and communion. During the winter, Leopold would become a committed Christian. He studied the Bible frequently. He had another small book that he would study. They had prayer. Reese left for a while.
About, five-thirty, he would return. Once again, they would talk of the afterlife. Then he (Leopold) would go out under guard, get on the wagon atop his coffin, and he would ride to the execution site right outside the walls. Captain Robert Baylor of Charlestown was also a prisoner at Fort McHenry at the time. He was out on the grounds of the fort and as he passed Baylor, Leopold would wave to Baylor and said: “Tell the boys I remain true to the cause.” As they neared the execution site, he could see the soldiers of the fort lined up on three sides of the gallows. The gallows there could have four executions at the time. (Federal) Major General Lew Wallace was there, later on the author of “Ben Hur.” He was the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Corps Middle Department, and Brig. General W. W. Morris, the sixty-six year old commander of Fort McHenry was also there. He was helped off the wagon. The reporter for “The Baltimore American” said that “Leopold went up the steps firm and undaunted.” Once atop the scaffold, he was asked for any last words and Leopold pointed to Gen. Morris and said: “Old man, you’re the reason I’m here. But I’ll forgive and I’ll meet you in Heaven.” After that, he stepped back. The hood was put on his neck by Private Elijah Brown, and then the rope put around his neck. Just afterwards, Morris gave the signal, and then – Leopold dropped into eternity. He would hang there for about twenty minutes before the soldiers took him down. There were friends there in Baltimore, some of Leopold’s friends.
They brought him back to Sharpsburg, where he was prepared for burial. A few days later, he was going to be brought to Shepherdstown to bury in the Soldier’s Cemetery. His plot will be right beside Redmond Burke, his old Captain. But he’s going to be brought across here by the undertaker, (with) of course his mother and sisters are with that group. They’re going to ride up this hill. At the Entler Hotel, there is a group of Unionists shouting at the undertaker to go back. Beforehand these same people had (gone) to the cemetery and warned the over four hundred mourners there to leave, but they ignored them. They go to the cemetery – once again – there’s a big crowd there. Lots of girls crying and so on. He is buried. Although maybe a year before, Leopold had been a hated person by most Confederates in this area because they heard that he was going to switch sides. By this time, he totally redeemed himself.
His conversion to Christianity, his bravery on the scaffold had turned him into a local hero. Later on, that same day, the Unionists would strike. They would come back and would steal the undertaker’s hearse and his horses and ride away with them. Whether he was really guilty of every crime that he was accused is questionable. He wasn’t a guerilla. He was a member of the regular Confederate Cavalry and there’s some question, on the murder of Entler that it might have O’Brien did the shooting.
Leopold’s Forlorn Hope (1) by Steve French with Jim Surkamp About a young man from Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown who war changed into an avenging angel of death but who, at the foot of the gallows, found God. TRT: 11:25 Video link: https://youtu.be/-iks5ANler0
With support from American Public University System (apus.edu). (The sentiments expressed do not in any way reflect modern-day policies of APUS, and are intended to encourage fact-based exchange for a better understanding of our nation’s foundational values.
About a young man from Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown who war changed into an avenging angel of death but who, at the foot of the gallows, found God.
Andrew Leopold: War-maker To Peacemaker With Steve French, Author “Rebel Chronicles,” contact: info-sfrench52@yahoo.com (Image of Andrew Leopold courtesy Horace Mewborn, Jr. co-author of the “43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry: Mosby’s Command” for the H.E. Howard Virginia Regimental Series for Blue and Gray Magazine).
Redmond Burke, Andrew Leopold, and Their Gang Descend on The River Towns:
Leopold is ordered by General Stuart to join Redmond Burke on “detached service” and, with a small team, stays behind in the Potomac River area from Berryville to Shepherdstown while the main Confederate Army moves further south. His job is to find conscripts, carry mail between homes and soldiers, steal horses and watch the movements of the Federal army. Leopold in carrying mail, is also enabled to determine the names of, and whereabouts of able-bodied men not enlisted in his Confederate army, such as Jacob Hudson and Charles Entler.
The Wayward Letter: (NOTE: correction in the montage, “D. S. Rentch” should be “D.L. Rentch”-JS)
(One letter to be delivered that would cause much controversy was a “thank you” note to widow Lily Parran Lee in Shepherdstown. Gen. Stuart had been trying to order a new uniform while at The Bower. He had visited Mrs. Lee, a dear and trusted friend in Shepherdstown. Her husband, William Fitzhugh Lee, died at First Manassas/Bull Run wearing silver spurs Stuart had given him. It seems, according to the letter, that Daniel Rentch, a merchant in Shepherdstown, was commissioned and – did indeed have made – the famed cape that J.E.B. Stuart would wear in the war. It was delivered. In the letter Stuart tells Mrs. Lee to thank Mr. Rentch for the cape. Burke was carrying a letter between Stuart and Mrs. Lee, maybe this one).
Wednesday – November 19, 1862, Dam No. 4 on the Potomac River – Leopold’s First Victim:
Fearing conscription, Unionist residents hastily relocated across the Potomac into the safety of Maryland. The large family of one Jim Dunn was making such a move across the river near the guard lock of Dam No. 4, wth some pickets from the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry watching from the Maryland side. Burke’s and Leopold’s gang suddenly appeared and with gunfire broke up the moving, leaving most of Dunn’s family stuck still on the Virginia side. Dunn was stuck on the Maryland side. Dunn asked three local men – Theodore “Mort” Cookus, a farmer with land on the Virginia side, Charles Ridenour and William Colbert – ambling along on the towpath – to help get his family and cargo across the river. After over an hour, the four men re-crossed the Potomac to the Virginia side. Burke and Leopold and others attacked again:
Author French Recounts Leopold’s Firing On “Mort” Cookus:
Suddenly Burke, Leopold, Hipsley and O’Brien appeared. Leopold shouted to Ridenour, “Halt you Yankee Son-of-a bitch!”. . . He (Ridenour) remembered Cookus crying out, “For God’s sake men, don’t shoot me!” Burke replied, “Surrender or we will surely kill you.” Then almost simultaneously, the captain and Leopold each fired once into the skiff. Cookus, now hit on the left side, jumped into the river. “After Cookus jumped out,” Ridenour later testified, “he swam twelve or fifteen feet and received three more shots. Every time the guns crack, he dodged his head under water. Capt. Burke says don’t kill him. Laypole says I will kill the son of a bitch.” And he did. Union Gen. George Gordon wrote: . . . a brave and plucky fellow named Cookus . . . plunged into the river and struck out vigorously for the Maryland shore. Two-thirds of the way across he was hit by a bullet and sank dead to the bottom of the river. – Gordon, p. 14. – See more . . .
Author Steve French:
They are taken to Fort McHenry. The soldiers who are captured – they’re released very soon afterwards, paroled. And by January the first, 1863, they’re all back with Stuart at his camp near Fredericksburg, Virginia. That winter, as soon as he is exchanged and the others are exchanged, they’re back in the service – dispatched service – operating once again in the Shepherdstown/Berryville area, carrying mail back and forth between the citizens and armies, scouting and so on.
March 6, 1863 – Leopold – the Deserter’s Avenger in Shepherdstown:
Author Steve French: On the night of March the 6th, he comes into Shepherdstown with John O’Brien, and he’s hunting for a man named Jacob Hudson. He finds Hudson caring for his uncle at his house at Shepherdstown. And he knocks on the door with O’Brien. Evidently he doesn’t know Hudson, but Hudson has been talking about him around town. When Hudson opens the door, Leopold asks for Hudson – “Is Hudson in the house?” – Hudson immediately becomes scared and he runs toward the back door and he is shot down. George Brantner, who was a former Confederate soldier, he’s seated right in that room, cannot tell whether it was Leopold or O’Brien who shot the young man, but he sure identifies him later on, because Leopold met Brantner at the door and (Leopold) told him he had mail for him. Leopold will come down the street that night. He will tell one resident (Federal postmaster Elias Baker on German Street-JS) here in the town that he did shoot a man up the street and then they will leave the mail here and head back for camp.
March 15-16, 1863 – Leopold Avenges Again at the Bridgeport, MD Ferry: Author French:
Ten days later, on the night of March 15th & 16th, Leopold and a group of men go to Sharpsburg, Maryland, and, in Sharpsburg that night they steal six horses from an oyster wagon, parked outside of a local tavern. After midnight on the 16th, they return to try to get across the river. They go to Bridgeport where the ferry is, directly behind me, and they knock on the door. They say they have a dispatch to take to Harper’s Ferry to (Federal) General Stevenson. The young man, Charles Entler and his friend Samuel Jones, that are in the office that night, sleeping in the office, refuse to answer the door. Finally, Leopold starts tearing the shutters off the windows and Charles decides to come out. Samuel Jones would later say he knew it was Leopold at the door, but he was too scared, too frightened to say a word. As Charles comes out the door, his brother, Luther, who is in the ferry house himself, walks outside; and, as soon as he gets outside, he hears a man shout at his brother:
“By God, I’m Captain Leopold and I’ve been looking for you a long time.” Immediately the gunshot goes off, Luther turns, makes haste into his house to get his revolver. His brother, Charles, nineteen-years-old, runs off and dies in the road,
going up towards Ferry Hill. Leopold and his men escape. Now, they’re wanted men. The Middletown Valley Register over in Maryland, a few days later, comes out with a long article about Leopold and his band and at the end of it says: “Leopold deserves a hempen collar.” So he’s a wanted man, not only by the authorities in Maryland, but by Union soldiers, especially Major General Robert Milroy, the famous “Grey Eagle,” who was headquartered at that time in Winchester.
April 21-22, 1863 south of Millwood, Va.- Leopold and his team are recaptured:
French continues: Towards the end of April around April 21st, Union forces are sent out of Berryville and they go to Castleman’s Ferry. That night, they will capture Leopold, and, once again, some of the Burkes – Hipsley and some other men when they surround the house, and they threaten to burn it down, if the Confederates don’t come out.
Author French continues: They’re taken to Winchester and put in the Clarke County jail. While in that jail, one of Milroy’s citizen spies named Michael Graham from Woodstock, Virginia, talks to Leopold and find out what he wants. Leopold wants to either join the Union Army or be allowed to get out of jail and go to Ohio. In return he will tell Milroy who the scouts and spies are in the lower Shenandoah Valley. He will meet with Milroy, and Milroy will listen to all this, but Leopold plays his hand too fast, and tells Milroy what he needs to know beforehand.
Leopold (Laypole, Leopole) is brought before Federal Major General Robert Milroy at Winchester, VA and begins bargaining:
Major-General SCHENCK, WINCHESTER, VA., April 25, 1863. Baltimore, Md.: Rebel [Andrew T.] Leopole, the last two days in irons, hoping for leniency, makes this statement:
Residence, Sharpsburg, Md. Enlisted in Confederate service two years ago, as ensign First Regiment Virginia (rebel) Cavalry, and remained in that regiment until Stuart’s appointment as brigadier, about a month after the first battle of Manassas, when I became ensign of his brigade, which I continued to be until last May, when I was transferred to the Virginia Cavalry as third lieutenant. I continued in that regiment until after the battle of Sharpsburg, in September last, when I was promoted to first lieutenant of Company D, same regiment, in which regiment I served until November 24 last, when I was captured at Shepherdstown. I remained a prisoner until January 6 last, when I was exchanged, and reported, as ordered, to General Stuart, at his headquarters, where I remained until January 13, acting as his couriers. On January 14, as ordered by him, I left for Castlemans Ferry, in command of 70 men, where I remained until last Tuesday, when, with 6 of my men, I was captured. My business there was to observe the movements of Federal forces, . . .
NOTE – At this point Leopold appears to be divulging intelligence on Confederate positions to Milroy in hope of leniency – JS: and report to General Fitzhugh Lee, who is now between Markham Station and Manassas Gap Railroad and the Shenandoah River, about 2 miles east of the Blue Ridge, with the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Virginia Cavalry and two batteries. Regiments average about 350 men each. The locality of these troops is about 16 miles from Castlemans Ferry and 10 miles from Berrys Ferry. General Trimble, with three infantry brigades, is near Orleans, in Fauquier County. Lee’s and Trimble’s forces moved at the same time from Culpeper Court-House to their present position, where they arrived about two days before my capture. There are two other brigades one from Louisiana and the other from Virginia encamped between Sperryville and Little Washington. They belong to Trimble’s division. With each brigade is a battery, and a battalion of artillery besides, attached to the division. The brigades, I think, will average 1,900 men each. The two brigades near Sperryville came that far with the other brigades, and halted there. I saw Geueral Stuart on the 17th of this month between Salem and Jefferson, and learned from him that A. P. Hill, with a portion of his command, had left for the Valley by way of Hanover Junction, Charlottesville, and Staunton. I saw Hill’s baggage at Culpeper, and learned from the master of transportation that it was en route from Staunton. I heard General Stuart say that the Federal forces at Winchester would be captured as soon as the Shenandoah River became passable. I also learned from his general order book that Jones had been ordered to march to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and destroy certain trestle-work on that road. I am tired of fighting, and wish to take the oath of allegiance and retire into Ohio. I have always stood high with General Stuart, enjoyed his confidence, and, when at his headquarters, ate at his table.
Milroy concludes in this report: The above statement is strongly corroborated by other circumstances and information. I recommend that Heintzelman be directed to ascertain the truth of the above statement, so far as it refers to Fitzhugh Lees and Trimbles forces and their locality. R. H. MILROY, Major-General. – Letter to Maj. General Robert C. Schenck from Maj. General R. H. Milroy. pp. 252-253.
Author French recaps: They’re taken to Winchester and put in the Clarke County jail. While in that jail, one of Milroy’s citizen spies named Michael Graham from Woodstock, Virginia, talks to Leopold and finds out what he wants. Leopold wants to either join the Union Army or be allowed to get out of jail and go to Ohio. In return he will tell Milroy who the scouts and spies are in the lower Shenandoah Valley. He will meet with Milroy, and Milroy will listen to all this, but Leopold plays his hand too fast, and tells Milroy what he needs to know beforehand. So Milroy won’t agree to give him his freedom or allow him to switch sides and join the Union Army, but he will pack him to the prison at Fort McHenry.
Fort McHenry, MD – Leopold is not trusted, is tried after much delay and hanged:
French continues:
So Milroy won’t agree to give him his freedom or allow him to switch sides and join the Union Army, but he will pack him to the prison at Fort McHenry.
Captain Joel Baker, the guard, comments that most of the prisoners of the group – there’s about eight or nine in the guard room – most of the prisoners are cultured gentlemen, but not Leopold. Baker would write that Leopold is not trusted by the other prisoners. They think he would sell them out for just a few cents.
Leopold is held in prison until mid-December, 1863, when he is put on trial by a military tribunal. He’s charged with a number of crimes, of being a guerrilla, murderer, violating an act of war, and being a spy. The tribunal is led by Col. W. W. Bates of the 8th New York heavy artillery. The Judge Advocate is Lieutenant Roderick Baldwin. Leopold will represent himself, but he will have the help of a local, Baltimore attorney, Milton Whitney Esq. who was well-known in Baltimore for many years.
Author French continues: The trial opens up. A lot of local residents come from here to Fort McHenry to testify, including Daniel Rentch, Luther Entler, Samuel Jones, other men from Shepherdstown and also General Milroy will appear. The trial will go – on and off – for probably three, almost four, weeks. They break for Christmas a while; they break for different witnesses to arrive. Finally, two charges are dropped, but he is still charged with being a guerrilla and murderer, both capital offences.
His defense rests on that he wasn’t a guerilla, that he was a Confederate soldier, especially dispatched into this area by J.E.B. Stuart. Also, he refused to admit that he had murdered Charles Entler. He said he didn’t have anything more to do with the murder of that young boy than any of the judges on the tribunal; and, he said the shooting of Cookus was just part of a local skirmish. So he denied being a guerrilla; he denied being a murderer.
In his summation, Lt. Baldwin, the Judge Advocate, would say: we owe something to the people of the border who have been hounded from their home, who have been murdered at their doorstep. We need to protect them.
The verdict comes back. He is convicted of murder: the murder of Entler, the murder of Cookus – and he is convicted of being a guerilla. Afterwards, the verdict and the results of the trial – goes up through the chain of command. Finally, they reach that April, Judge Advocate Joseph Holt. Holt reviews all capital cases for Abraham Lincoln. In a four-page review, Holt will say this man has been convicted of these crimes and he deserves the death penalty. In late April, 1864, Abraham Lincoln will sign off on that.
French continues: At that time, Leopold is taken from the guard room, shackled. He’s put in a cell, still in the inner fort, but not with the rest of the men on death row. During that month, there is a big escape from the guard room at Fort McHenry. William Boyd Compton leads the rest of the men in the escape and they all eventually get back to the Confederate lines.
On the evening of April the 22nd, Leopold will be informed by his chaplain, Doctor Reese, that his execution will be the next morning. He will meet with Reese that evening for prayer and communion. During the winter, Leopold would become a committed Christian. He studied the Bible frequently. He had another small book that he would study. They had prayer. Reese left for a while.
About, five-thirty (AM), he would return. Once again, they would talk of the afterlife. Then he (Leopold) would go out under guard, get on the wagon atop his coffin, and he would ride to the execution site right outside the walls.
Captain Robert Baylor of Charlestown was also a prisoner at Fort McHenry at the time. He was out on the grounds of the fort and as he passed Baylor, Leopold would wave to Baylor and said: “Tell the boys I remain true to the cause.” As they neared the execution site, he could see the soldiers of the fort lined up on three sides of the gallows. The gallows there could have four executions at the time.
(Federal) Major General Lew Wallace was there, later on the author of “Ben Hur.” He was the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Corps Middle Department, and Brig. General W. W. Morris, the sixty-six year old commander of Fort McHenry was also there.
He was helped off the wagon. The reporter for “The Baltimore American” said that “Leopold went up the steps firm and undaunted.” Once atop the scaffold, he was asked for any last words and Leopold pointed to Gen. Morris and said: “Old man, you’re the reason I’m here. But I’ll forgive and I’ll meet you in Heaven.” After that, he stepped back. The hood was put on his neck by Private Elijah Brown, and then the rope put around his neck.
Just afterwards, Morris gave the signal, and then – Leopold dropped into eternity. He would hang there for about twenty minutes before the soldiers took him down. There were friends there in Baltimore, some of Leopold’s friends. They brought him back to Sharpsburg, where he was prepared for burial. A few days later, he was going to be brought to Shepherdstown to bury in the Soldier’s Cemetery. His plot will be right beside Redmond Burke, his old Captain. But he’s going to be brought across here by the undertaker, (with) of course his mother and sisters are with that group.
They’re going to ride up this hill. At the Entler Hotel, there is a group of Unionists shouting at the undertaker to go back. Beforehand these same people had (gone) to the cemetery and warned the over four hundred mourners there to leave, but they ignored them. They go to the cemetery – once again – there’s a big crowd there. Lots of girls crying and so on. He is buried.
French continues: Although maybe a year before, Leopold had been a hated person by most Confederates in this area because they heard that he was going to switch sides. By this time, he totally redeemed himself. His conversion to Christianity, his bravery on the scaffold had turned him into a local hero. Later on, that same day, the Unionists would strike. They would come back and would steal the undertaker’s hearse and his horses and ride away with them. Whether he was really guilty of every crime that he was accused is questionable. He wasn’t a guerilla. He was a member of the regular Confederate Cavalry and there’s some question, on the murder of Entler that it might have O’Brien did the shooting.
Mary Louise Entler who lived her life from rebel wild cat to 92-year old wise woman in Shepherdstown at the time she died there March 27, 1932 who carried mail with Leopold and tried to save him, wrote: “His fault was recklessness. He did not stop to consider what might be his fate if caught in the Union lines, and he had run the gauntlet so often without being caught that he became heedless of danger.”
References:
French, Steve. (2012). “Rebel Chronicles: Raiders, Scouts and Train Robbers of the Upper Potomac.” New Horizons Publishing Company. Print. info-sfrench52@yahoo.com
Baylor, George. (1900).”Bull Run to Bull Run: Four years in the army of northern Virginia.” Richmond, VA: B. F. Johnson Publishing. Print.
Baylor, George. (1900).”Bull Run to Bull Run: Four years in the army of northern Virginia.” Internet Archives: pp. 133-134 https://archive.org/stream/bullruntobullru00baylgoog#page/n137/mode/2up
Beach, William H. (1902). “The First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry From April 19, 1861 to July 7, 1865.” New York, NY: The New York Cavalry Association. Print.
Beach, William H. (1902). “The First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry From April 19, 1861 to July 7, 1865.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 March 2011. https://archive.org/stream/firstnewyorklin00beac#page/218/mode/2up
On the afternoon of April 21, a scouting party went out with Captain Bailey in command. There were forty men detailed from several companies. Lieutenant Wyckoff was in the lead. The route was toward Millwood ferry; then around toward the right; then the party followed the narrow roads until it became dark and they were near to the river again. Here was a brief halt and the men were told to eat anything they had. As they had not expected to be out long and had not brought anything with them, this part of the service was omitted. After a short rest they moved on up the river road, being told to make as little noise as possible. A short ride and another halt. Wyckoff came to the front and asked for a volunteer to cross the river with him in a small row boat. Corporal Anthony Fiala of Company E responded. The night was very dark. The two went down to the boat. The lieutenant told Fiala to go into the front of the boat and lie down with his carbine ready to fire at a moment’s notice, he himself taking the oars. Nearing the opposite side, Fiala was told to catch hold of a limb of a tree that hung over the water. Wyckoff asked in a low voice: ”Are you there, Sam?” And Sam answered : “Yes, master, I’m here. Everything is all right, and I want to see you.” A few minutes’ low talk and the boat recrossed the river. The men mounted their horses, and dividing into two parties, forded the river and crossed the Blue Ridge. Precaution had been taken to avoid any surprise in case the colored man proved unreliable, or his scheme was discovered by the enemy. Artillery and infantry were to protect the crossing. The two parties, making a detour, surrounded the house to which they had been directed by the colored man. They wrapped at the door. There was some commotion within. The inmates were directed to open the door, and warned that the house would be burned if any shots were fired. The notorious Captain Leopold and seven of his partisan rangers who were staying there for the night, were taken captives. – pp. 218-219.
References to Samuel Barnhart and Elias Baker Kenamond, A. D. “Prominent Men of Shepherdstown 1862-1962.” A Jefferson County Historical Society Publication. 1963.
Title: The war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. ; Series 1 – Volume 25 (Part II); Author: United States. War Dept., John Sheldon Moody, Calvin Duvall Cowles, Frederick Caryton Ainsworth, Robert N. Scott, Henry Martyn Lazelle, George Breckenridge Davis, Leslie J. Perry, Joseph William Kirkley. pp. 252-253 (SEE REFERENCES)
Major-General SCHENCK, WINCHESTER, VA., April 25, 1863. Baltimore, Md.: Rebel [Andrew T.] Leopole, the last two days in irons, hoping for leniency, makes this statement:
Residence, Sharpsburg, Md. Enlisted in Confederate service two years ago, as ensign First Regiment Virginia (rebel) Cavalry, and remained in that regiment until Stuart’s appointment as brigadier, about a month after the first battle of Manassas, when I became ensign of his brigade, which I continued to be until last May, when I was transferred to the Virginia Cavalry as third lieutenant. I continued in that regiment until after the battle of Sharpsburg, in September last, when I was promoted to first lieutenant of Company D, same regiment, in which regiment I served until November 24 last, when I was captured at Shepherdstown. I remained a prisoner until January 6 last, when I was exchanged, and reported, as ordered, to General Stuart, at his headquarters, where I remained until January 13, acting as his couriers. On January 14, as ordered by him, I left for Castleman’s Ferry, in command of 70 men, where I remained until last Tuesday, when, with 6 of my men, I was captured. My business there was to observe the movements of Federal forces, . . .
NOTE: At this point Leopold appears to be divulging intelligence on Confederate positions to Milroy in hope of leniency – JS: and report to General Fitzhugh Lee, who is now between Markham Station and Manassas Gap Railroad and the Shenandoah River, about 2 miles east of the Blue Ridge, with the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Virginia Cavalry and two batteries. Regiments average about 350 men each. The locality of these troops is about 16 miles from Castlemans Ferry and 10 miles from Berrys Ferry. General Trimble, with three infantry brigades, is near Orleans, in Fauquier County. Lee’s and Trimble’s forces moved at the same time from Culpeper Court-House to their present position, where they arrived about two days before my capture. There are two other brigades one from Louisiana and the other from Virginia encamped between Sperryville and Little Washington. They belong to Trimble’s division. With each brigade is a battery, and a battalion of artillery besides, attached to the division. The brigades, I think, will average 1,900 men each. The two brigades near Sperryville came that far with the other brigades, and halted there. I saw General Stuart on the 17th of this month between Salem and Jefferson, and learned from him that A. P. Hill, with a portion of his command, had left for the Valley by way of Hanover Junction, Charlottesville, and Staunton. I saw Hill’s baggage at Culpeper, and learned from the master of transportation that it was en route from Staunton. I heard General Stuart say that the Federal forces at Winchester would be captured as soon as the Shenandoah River became passable. I also learned from his general order book that Jones had been ordered to march to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and destroy certain trestle-work on that road. I am tired of fighting, and wish to take the oath of allegiance and retire into Ohio. I have always stood high with General Stuart, enjoyed his confidence, and, when at his headquarters, ate at his table.
Milroy concludes in this report: The above statement is strongly corroborated by other circumstances and information. I recommend that Heintzelman be directed to ascertain the truth of the above statement, so far as it refers to Fitzhugh Lees and Trimbles forces and their locality. H. H. MILROY, Major-General. – Letter to Maj. General Robert C. Schenck from Maj. General R. H. Milroy
List_of_weapons_in_the_American_Civil_War wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.
Image Credits:
Jacob Hudson born 1842 – apprentice carpenter in Walters (carpenter) household in Hainesville NARA M653. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860 population schedules. Roll: 1335 State: Virginia County: Berkeley Minor Civil Division: [Blank] Page: 60. footnote.com(fold3.com) 21 October 2010 Web. 20 May 2014.
Samuel Hudson (carpenter) In SamuelBarnhat’s residence, next to Anne Warner, (age 16) house on Princess Street, north, and Jacob Crow house, Charles Lambert a butcher NARA M653. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860 population schedules. Roll: 1355 State: Virginia County: Jefferson Minor Civil Division: Shepherdstown Page: 100. footnote.com(fold3.com) 21 October 2010 Web. 20 May 2014.
[Map of the northern part of Virginia and West Virginia, between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany Front, south of the Potomac River and north of New Market]. by Jedediah Hotchkiss. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014. tiff size map.
Foraging Party Harpers Weekly April 1, 1865 sonofthesouth.net start date unavailable Web. 20 June 2014.
Bummers (Foragers) by Edwin Forbes – The Library of Congress [between 1862 and 1864] | 1 drawing. | Forbes, Edwin, 1839-1895 DRWG/US – Forbes, no. 257 (A size) [P&P] | LC-DIG-ppmsca-21787 (digital file from original item) – memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014. See more . . .
Shepherdstown, Va. 1862 This photograph was taken looking across the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, West Virginia from Ferry Hill plantation on the Maryland side. At various times before and after the Battle of Antietam both Confederate and Union troops had camped at Ferry Hill, which is situated three miles southwest of the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland.
At the bottom of the hill is a group of buildings known as Bridgeport and Lock 38 of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Across the river (background) is the town of Shepherdstown. Extending across the river are the abutments of the bridge that once connected the two states. Burned in 1861, the bridge was not replaced for 10 years, during which time once again a ferry served the crossing. The gentleman standing on the hillside (foreground) is not identified, but may be the Reverend Robert Douglas, owner of Ferry Hill plantation at the time of the Civil War.
Ferry Hill was built by John Blackford c. 1813 and was a working farm until the 20th century. The large white house was used as a hotel, while down at the lock there was a feed store that was later converted into a bath house before it was destroyed in the 1936 flood. ID: wcco006; Creator: Bachrach, David Original at the Library of Congress. Notes: The image and description were provided by Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage whilbr.org 4 October 2003 Web. 20 June 2014.
Jedediah Hotchkiss map [Northwest, or no. 1 sheet of preliminary map of Antietam (Sharpsburg) battlefield]. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Title: [Sharpsburg, Md. Principal street] Creator(s): Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer Date Created/Published: 1862 September. Medium: 1 negative : glass, stereograph, wet collodion ; 4 x 10 in. Summary: Photograph from the main eastern theater of the war, Battle of Antietam, September-October 1862. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Title: [Washington, D.C. Adjusting the rope for the execution of Wirz] Creator(s): Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer Date Created/Published: [1865 November 10] http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003001032/PP/
Robert_H._Milroy Library of Congress description: “Gen. Milroy” wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.
Two women (semblance of Mary Entler) Crayon, Porte (Strother, D. H.). “The Mountains, Pt. V.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 45, Issue: 268, September 1872, pp. 502-516. Print.
Crayon, Porte. (September 1872). “The Mountains, Pt. V.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 512 (SEE REFERENCES)
Not used:
The ferry that operated between Shepherdstown and Bridgeport was first built and owned by Thomas Swearingen sometime before 1765. John Blackford married Thomas Swearingen’s daughter Sarah and purchased the ferry along with land around Bridgeport from the Swearingen family. The ferry was reinstated in the 1930s after the third toll bridge was destroyed by the 1936 flood and was in operation until the new James Rumsey Bridge was erected in 1939, which itself was replaced in 2004.
This photo appears to be from the time between the razing of the first toll bridge during the Civil War and the construction of the second toll bridge in 1871. whilbr.org 4 October 2003 Web. 20 June 2014.
Not used:
Lt. Col. Willard W. Bates 8th Heavy Artillery – Civil War dmna.ny.gov 30 January 2012 Web. 20 June 2014.
Not used:
Lock 38 Area This photograph provides an excellent view of the downstream end of a bypass flume that carried water past the lock. To keep the current as minimal as possible, canals are built on a series of levels with locks serving to raise and lower boats where the canal level is changed. However, it is still necessary to maintain a steady supply of water to all parts of the canal and the bypass flumes serve this purpose. Typically located on the berm side (i.e. land vs. river side) of most locks, the flumes carried water past the lock, helping to maintain the water level even if one of the lock gates was closed. While some bypass flumes had sluice gates to facilitate the regulation of water flowing through the flumes, others had slots into which locktenders could place beams to completely or partially close them off. whilbr.org 4 October 2003 Web. 20 June 2014.
Not used:
George W. Brantner 2nd Va. Infantry Co. B NARA M324. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Virginia units, labeled with each soldier’s name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier. Roll: 0373; Military Unit: Second Infantry; Given Name: George W. Surname: Brantner; Age: 34; Year: 1861; footnote.com(fold3.com) 21 October 2010 Web. 20 May 2014.
Not used:
Sharpsburg, Md. View with Episcopal church in distance About This Item Obtaining Copies Access to Original Title: [Sharpsburg, Md. View with Episcopal church in distance] Creator(s): Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer Date Created/Published: 1862 September. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Not used:
Map of the state of Virginia containing the counties, principal towns, railroads, rivers, canals & all other internal improvements. Other Title: New map of Virginia, 1864 Contributor Names; West & Johnston; Created / Published Richmond, Va. : West & Johnston, c1862, [1864] memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Reference Credits from the Leopold VIDEOs No. 2 & 3 not cited in image credits for this POST:
Goodhart, Briscoe. (1896).“History of the Independent Loudoun Virginia rangers. U.S. vol. cav. (scouts) 1862-65.” Washington, D.C.: Press of McGill & Wallace. Print.
Stevenson, James H. (1879). “”Boots and saddles.” A history of the first volunteer cavalry of the war, known as the First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry, and also as the Sabre regiment. Its organization, campaigns and battles.” Harrisburg, PA: Patriot publishing company. Print.
p. 84. – April 22, Capt. Means, with twenty of the Rangers, accompanied by Lieut. Wykoff, ist New York Cavalry, and Lieut. Powell, with forty men of the 12th West Virginia Infantry, crossed the Shenandoah River at Snicker’s Ferry, and attacked a camp of Confederate cavalry, capturing Capt. Leopold and six men, and took them to Winchester.
p. 225. – Samuel C. Means mustered in at Harpers Ferry June 20, 1862, resigned on account of wounds.
Hotchkiss no. 43 – (1864) [Map of Loudoun County and part of Clarke County, Va., Jefferson County and part of Berkeley County, W. Va., and parts of Montgomery and Frederick counties, Md.]. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
[Hawkins Zouaves; New York; General Dix; Colonel Hawkins; Herald] Date: Thursday, May 7, 1863. Paper: Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, VA) Page: 2. This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. genealogybank.com. 11 October 2008 Web. 20 September 2014.
Date: Monday, December 1, 1862. Paper: Evening Star (Washington (DC), DC) Page: 2. genealogybank.com. This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. genealogybank.com. 11 October 2008 Web. 20 September 2014.
Date: Thursday, May 26, 1864. Paper: Lowell Daily Citizen and News (Lowell, MA) Volume: XIV Issue: 2475 Page: 2 This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. genealogybank.com. 11 October 2008 Web. 20 September 2014.
Date: Saturday, May 28, 1864. Paper: New York Tribune (New York, NY) Volume: XXIV Issue: 7222 Page: 4 This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004. genealogybank.com. 11 October 2008 Web. 20 September 2014.
Image Credits from the VIDEO not cited in image credits for this POST:
Brig. Gen.John Dunlap Stevenson americancivilwar.com 21 January 1998 Web. 20 September 2014.
Strother, David Hunter; 1847 (W1995.030.387pg25a) West Virginia Historical Art Collection images.lib.wvu.edu 6 August 2004 Web. 20 September 2014.
Image Credits from Leopold VIDEO 3:
Judge_Joseph_Holt Mathew Brady (1822–1896) Link back to Creator infobox template wikidata:Q187850 Brady National Photographic Art Gallery (Washington, D.C.) (1858 – ?), Photographer (NARA record: 1135962) Record creator War Department. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. (08/01/1866 – 09/18/1947) Date ca. 1860 – ca. 1865.
John Brown Riding on His Coffin to the Place of Execution. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, December 17, 1859. Periodicals Collection, West Virginia State Archives wvculture.org 2 March 2000 Web. 1 Oct. 2011.
The Hanging of Hazlett and Stevens. Boyd B. Stutler Collection, West Virginia State Archives wvculture.org 2 March 2000 Web. 1 Oct. 2011.
[Fredericksburg, Va. Burial of Union soldiers] Date Created/Published: 1864 May [19 or 20]. Medium: 1 negative (2 plates) : glass, stereograph, wet collodion. Summary: Photograph from the main eastern theater of war, Grant’s Wilderness Campaign, May-June 1864. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Map of the city and county of Baltimore, Maryland. From actual surveys by Robert Taylor. Lith by Hunckel & Son. Taylor, Robert (Surveyor). CREATED/PUBLISHED Baltimore, c1857. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
A Typical Court-Martial 9thbattalion.org 21 June 2011 Web. 20 September, 2014.
Title: [Washington, D.C. Reading the death warrant to Wirz on the scaffold] Creator(s): Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer Date Created/Published: [1865 November 10] memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Title: [Washington, D.C. Hooded body of Captain Wirz hanging from the scaffold] Creator(s): Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer Date Created/Published: [1865 November 10]. memory.loc.gov 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Chaplain in the Woods Miller, Francis Trevelyan. (1912). “The photographic history of the civil war in ten volumes.” Vol. 7. New York, NY: The Review of Reviews Co. Print.
Miller, Francis Trevelyan. (1912). “The photographic history of the civil war in ten volumes.” Vol. 7. Perseus Digital Library at Tufts University. 10 May 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. More. .
With support from American Public University System (apus.edu). (The sentiments expressed do not in any way reflect modern-day policies of APUS, and are intended to encourage fact-based exchange for a better understanding of our nation’s foundational values.
The Song of Mary Louise Entler Herrington (1840-1932)
CHAPTERETTES Prelude Flag Dangerous: Carry the Secret Mail: The Sad Fate of the Great Western: A Wartime Shepherdstown Each Day: A Sidetracked Mission: “Fraternizing” With the Enemy: Peacetime – Eternal Tide of Memories: The Eyes of Age:
About the end of the heydays of a great inn; about the innkeeper’s feisty, adventurous – amorous – young daughter during the Civil War who lived to tell about it and see her family’s inn perish.
PRELUDE:
The 1850s in Shepherdstown: Good Times for Joseph and Mary Entler
The Entlers boarded travelers and stabled their teams by the score in their Great Western Inn on Shepherdstown’s German Street.
As Mary Louise Entler Herrington (hereafter “MLH”) told it: After my father bought it in 1809, he hung a large sign swung across the pavement at the east corner of the house. A heavy post at the curb supported one side and the other side was fastened to the house. In the middle of the sign in large letters that were plainly visible for squares up and down the street was the word, “INN”, and just below that, ‘JOS. ENTLER”.
For many years it was a welcome abode to the weary traveler, for then all traveling was by wagon and carriage from Ohio and Kentucky to Baltimore and Washington, where their produce was sold and groceries and other commodities were taken back. All these white-covered wagons were placed in the large grounds and the weary horses were comfortably bedded down and fed in the large stone stables by good trusty colored men.
The house was a quaint, 52-foot-long weatherboard house with massive stone steps to both front doors and stone trimmings and steps to the front cellars and long massive stone stiles or (carriage stepping stones).
The dining room was 34-feet-long. The ice house was under the dining room and was filled every winter with twenty-five, four-horse wagon loads of ice, which lasted until fall. The ice was from the Potomac River.
The large fireplace was in the kitchen that also had the cranes and pothooks and hangers.
Seventeen rooms were in the house and many also had large old-fashioned fireplaces and were finished with high-paneled mantelpieces.
In the 1850s children remembered the fancy carriages, with many horses pulling, making the smart, sharp turn from the main street to the lane leading to the rear stables.
All circuses stopped at this inn and pitched their tents in the large lot arranging the cages of wild animals around the circle inside and all other wagons outside the tent.
Joseph Entler moved his family to Wingert (Wingerd Cottage) in 1858 and leased out the Great Western. Then that all ended – and, so did the Great Western.
FLAG DANGEROUS:
Twenty-one-year-old Mary Louise Entler – in an act of defiance – and several friends sat in chairs in the big hall of Wingerd Cottage sewing . . and sewing – ripping stars from an American flag mailed to them from New Orleans, that once waved from a ship of Rezin Davis Shepherd’s, as he perhaps thought such a flag might be more trouble to have in New Orleans, as the new war boiled over and Louisiana seceded from the Union in early 1861.
Mary Licklider, a niece, recalled how Mary Entler Herrington retold her past before dying in 1932:
A U.S. flag, probably made of wool bunting fabric was given to four or five young girls (young girls at the time), by Mr.
Rezin Shepherd who lived in New Orleans. In the summer he lived at Wild Goose Farm. The flag was one from one of his vessels. It was sent to us by Mr. James Shepherd and was to be converted into a Confederate flag, a work that was dangerous at the time, being in disputed territory. We could work only when our men were in the lines and had to be very cautious then.
My father Joseph Entler owned and lived at Wingert (Wingerd Cottage) during the war and there the flag was made. The location off from town and the large wide hall were ideal places for the work, which took many anxious weeks to complete.
It was very tedious to rip every seam of the stripes in such a way as not to ravel the bunting.
Every star was ripped from the blue field, and then to sew all the red together and all the white to form the bars red, white, and red.
Of course we had a surplus of stars as the Confederacy was young.
After many weeks of work, the flag was finished and a beautiful Confederate flag was ready to be sent through the line to Company B. It was hidden away awaiting a safe transfer. (Mary’s brother – Cato Moore Entler – was with Company B of the 2nd Virginia Infantry).
MLH recalled an investigation in the fall of 1861: I heard the tramp of cavalry and clank of swords and sabers. I looked out the window and saw the cottage was surrounded by “Yankee” cavalry.
Oh, the flag, what was to be done with it? I heard the officer read orders to my father to search his premises thoroughly for contraband goods. My father seemed to be protesting against the search. But that gave me a little time to take the flag from its hiding place in a chest. The house was surrounded. I could not get out to hide it.
I pulled a dress from the wall and put the flag in it and threw the dress carelessly across the back of a chair. Skirts were very wide with deep facings upon them. I put the little flags that we wore on our dresses and letters under the carpet.
My door was pushed open by Capt. Horner of Col. Coles’ Cavalry and the search began. Every bureau drawer and closet was searched, even the grandfather clock where reposed letters to go through the lines. But they were too deep in the bottom of the old clock to be detected. Everything was handled but the blue-striped dress hovering over its precious treasure. It was too insignificant to attract their notice and they gave up the search, but rather in a bad humor. The flag was safe and sent to Company B. That flag would be readily recognized by its many seams and its homemade marks. Now what became of that flag is a mystery.
Due to confusion created by units carrying different flags after 1st Manassas, the 30th of October 1861 saw Governor Letcher present every Virginia regiment with a bunting flag. Another private group in Charles Town had had a regimental flag made for the 2nd Virginia infantry regiment that the unit reportedly carried into battle at First Manassas/Bull Run, but was smuggled back to the Rutherfords in Charles Town.
CARRY THE SECRET MAIL:
March, 1862
MLH recalled: We collected all letters and concealed them by carefully sewing them between the ruching and dress. It required neatness and patience to make the work look innocent of anything contraband. We started on our march one bright beautiful morning but the roads being soft and muddy and we being not yet accustomed to marching could not get over much ground as rapidly as Stonewall Jackson’s men. The first night was spent at the home of Mr. Foley where another mail was collected. Another bright morning blessed our errand and when the purple shades of evening were gathering in the west we entered Charles Town as leisurely and passed the Union soldiers as indifferently as though we were out for an evening stroll. What a triumph it would have been for them to have secured that mail; how they would have gloated over every sacred sentence in those letters. My heart thrilled with fear at the thought although apparently so indifferent to their presence.
THE SAD FATE OF THE GREAT WESTERN HOTEL:
December 26, 1862: The 12th Pennsylvania cavalry – The Bull Run Racers – crossed over the river ford into town and the (Federal-sympathcizing) refugees all came back from Maryland with a fire in their eyes and revenge for Mort Cookus’ blood (who was shot and killed by Andrew Leopold near Dam No. 4 on November 19th. (The refugees) declared that every Southern man’s house should be burned down. – Gallaher in “The Shepherdstown Register.”
MLH: The property was a hotel (in market for rent at the time). It was taken possession of and occupied by a Pennsylvania Cavalry Company. The extensive grounds in which were apple trees and vegetables were trampled and all the fencing destroyed.
WARTIME SHEPHERDSTOWN EACH DAY:
MLH recalled: 1863 still finds our town disputed territory and a veritable “deserted village” – old men, women, and children with a very few Union men . . . In time of war when both armies have fallen back, a town presents a most desolate and forlorn appearance-the old people, women and children have no definite plans. They stand about in groups writing and talking of the latest battle or the expected skirmishes. Their homes are places to retire from inclement weather rather than to adorn – the table to satisfy hunger rather than the delightful board where sweet companionship mingled with health-giving food.
No systematic housekeeping, no aim, no object in performing any household duties. All energy was concentrated in doing for the soldiers. “When our boys come home we will do thus and so” was the oft repeated phrase. Sometimes at the dead of night the report of a pistol shot would warn us that the rebels were in town. But when daylight came we saw only the blue coats patrolling the streets, and they would leave as mysteriously as the rebels.
THE SIDETRACKED MISSION:
May – 1863 – Mary Entler’s Dangerous Mission Gets Sidetracked
NOTE Raider Andrew Leopold, whose sister, Sally Zittle, was a friend of Mary Entler, had been captured in late April, 1863 near Berryville and taken to a jail, awaiting trial for murder and other crimes.- JS
MLH: A beautiful May morning, balmy air waiting the perfume of flowers over the country submerged in war. Sparkling dew drops resting in the bosom of such blossoms like tiny tear drops-weeping for the sad hearts made sad by war. God sends beautiful days in war as well as peace- we must remember that.
A young prepossessing girl introduced herself to me on this May morning as a sister of Andrew Leopold. She told me her brother had been captured by the Yankees and was confined in Fort McHenry, MD, and that the entreaties of her widowed mother had induced her to try to get through the Federal lines to have an interview with (Confederate) General J.E.B. Stuart in regard to having her brother exchanged as a prisoner of war. . . She had been sent to me by a southern woman who knew I had carried letters through to Charles Town and thought I would accompany the young lady to that place, and acquaint her with friends who would assist her through the lines. I hesitated a moment and she said with tears that his mother had a message from Baltimore that if some powerful influence was not brought to bear immediately that her brother would be executed as a guerilla. That decided the matter.
We started off in a one horse carriage for Charles Town. She as a traveler was attired in a brown suit with a cape to match trimmed with quilling around it and a brown straw hat with a veil. I was to spend the day only and was dressed in a blue “Dolly Varden” pattern dress, blue silk bonnet with wide turn over cuffs and concealed in the lining of these cuffs were slips of paper with names of prominent Southern sympathizers who we were to call upon for any assistance. Before starting we concluded it would be better to go under fictitious names – she as Lucy Hamilton, and I as Louise Hamilton, her cousin. And with hearts filled with hope we started off that bright May morning on our errand of mercy.
Charles Town was reached in good time. We stopped where we were directed at Mrs. L’s and urged for safety to stay all night here-Lucy to start next morning southward and I to return home would arouse no suspicion. The next morning was quite as beautiful and arrangements were completed when I found she was getting timid about starting off alone. She entreated me to go just as far as Berryville and then she thought she would feel brave enough to travel alone. It was a big undertaking for two young girls as the country was then all excitement and confusion. I finally agreed to go to Berryville. We knew exactly where to stop and whom to see. All was planned before starting from home. I will never forget how beautiful Berryville looked the morning we drove up to the hotel. It was a village embowered in beautiful green trees, blooming flowers. The bees humming in the nectar-laden flowers produced that lazy, peaceful quiet that is so soothing to tired nerves. We made our arrangements with the proprietor and took a stroll through the pretty, cool looking streets.
We met Union soldiers and plenty of them but we did not feel any fear of our plans failing. In the evening we called upon the family next to the hotel and had music until late that night. Next morning while arranging to separate we were visited by a Yankee officer saying he wished to know here were were going, and that we must take the oath. At first we refused to take the oath but when we consented to take it he would not let us, but placed us under arrest. What a frustrating of all our plans. How my heart ached for that poor girl. How she had built her hopes on securing the release of her brother on this venture.
Under arrest by the Federals, Gen. Milroy flabbergasted:
MLH: Winchester reached, we were taken to the head-quarters of General Milroy where we found women, young and old, proud and defiant, now arguing their claims and proclaiming their grievances. One delicate, forlorn-looking widow relating to the General how his men, the Yankees, had taken her cows, her only means of support for her children. He turned from her quickly to my friend and me – if there had been the least disposition on my part to be humble – his exclamation put that feeling to flight and aroused a very rebellious state of mind. “What in the devil are you doing here? If it were not for the women running around the country we would not have so much trouble.” My companion started up with surprise. “General, we did not want to come here. We did not start for this place. Your officers brought us here.” He ran fingers through his mass of snow white hair already standing straight up like the quills of a porcupine and out of the audience chamber he strode without another word. He presented a fine physique, tall, well-proportioned, erect in carriage, a wealth of snow-white hair which suggested from its stand-up appearance that his fingers had a fashion of roaming there when troubles were to be, and plans and problems of great magnitude to be wrought out.
FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY:
June – 1863:
We were soon before the Provost Marshall at Martinsburg awaiting his orders. Next morning we were taken to General Kelly at Harper’s Ferry to await further orders. We were assigned to the best boarding house in the town adjoining the General’s headquarters where a great many of the officers boarded. We had a guard to watch our movements and prevent our escape if we thought of anything of the kind. We were allowed to walk around the town accompanied by the guard and sometimes were invited by officers, to whom we were introduced, to attend concerts and places of amusements but the guard invariably followed behind to the disgust of our gallants. Lucy and I ignored the guard altogether. We did not care how tired he became running over the old hills of Harper’s Ferry after us and many were the taunts and comments we overheard about “secesh” (Confederate-sympathizing) prisoners.
“Miranda!” and the voice startled us – for it came from under the ground – a cottage, vine-clad and embowered in trees and bushes right under our feet on the slope of a hill. (The voice then said: “Here comes the two ‘secesh’ prisoners again trailing that poor tired guard after them as unusual. He looks like he is ready to drop. Much I would follow behind them over these hills.” She lived there under the hill with her beautiful daughter. She had lots and lots of beautiful flowers but not one would she give us after we humbled ourselves to ask for one because we were rebels.
At Harper’s Ferry with your five mountains, your bright Potomac, your smiling languid Shenandoah, your historic Jefferson’s Rock and romantic stone steps leading to the temple of God – St. Peter’s Church. In the yard of this church, high above the streets and houses of Harper’s Ferry, the Fifth New York Regiment Band discoursed sweet music every Sunday evening of the six weeks Lucy and I were prisoners. The sweet strains of the “Mocking Bird” as only Henry Frunkenfield could render them, echoed from Loudoun Heights across the great Shenandoah over the beautiful rock-ribbed Potomac of Maryland Heights, back again the mountain breezes wafted them though the streets and windows as if a hundred mocking birds were trilling their soul-felt song.
As a piece of fun, we were dressed in fantastic costumes, slipped down a stairway, of which the General had no knowledge to the kitchen, to dance for the cook and her black “Topsy”. The guard was told that we were about to make our escape. He hunted the house over for his prisoners and when he found us he did not recognize us for some time, our disguise was so complete. Two guards questioned us until they were finally convinced that we were not attempting an escape.
Sabbath days and week days were all the same at Harper’s Ferry during the war. The soldiers and citizens would promenade the streets. The crowds would send forth their martial airs, dignified and soul-stirring also their merry dance tunes. But this one Sabbath day seemed so different from all others that we had spent at that place. The day was declining and from the description of an Italian sunset, I think the sunset of this evening far surpassed any such Italian scene. The golden rays touched the tree tops and they looked like burnished gold. The strains of music came from the high rocks where St. Peter’s Church rests peacefully. Darts and streaks of gold tips of trees on the mountain tops – the birds twitter and call to their mates in low tones. There is a hush as if all nature were bowed in silent prayer as the twilight settles over the valley. The beauty of this Sabbath will never fade from my memory. It was my last one there as a prisoner. The stillness was soon changed to wild confusion and excitement.
Mary Entler Jumps Sides:
MLH: I took the oath of allegiance to the United States in June, 1863 in Baltimore, Maryland to Col. Fish who was in command there at the time. I have passed from Gen’l Lockwood commander at H. Ferry 1863 also from Gen’l Stevenson.
MLH: late August, 1864 – afterwards Company H., 116 Ohio Infantry, Capt. Peters and Col. Washburns Regiment occupied it, and every partition in the front bedrooms were destroyed. Every mantel piece (they were colonial) all but two were burned. The floor in the garrett of the back building was also destroyed. Enough of new window sash and door frames for a house was stored too. cistern and well floors destroyed and cistern filled with bee hives and rubbish. A fine dressed stable with 25 partitioned off, with board partitions-upper story divided off for grain and sleeping quarters for oster. All was torn out and this weakened the roof so that when a snow came it collapsed. A brick carriage house met the same fate. My father Joseph Entler was an old man at the time, and was never after that financially able to put back what was destroyed by the United States soldiers.
PEACETIME – ETERNAL TIDE OF MEMORIES:
MLH married on February 15, 1865 in Frederick, Maryland Walter L. Herrington, a ticket-agent on the B&O Railroad at Harper’s Ferry.
1870: They lived in her parents’ home of Wingerd Cottage, her parents having been forcibly retired from inn-keeping. Mary’s husband worked as a photographer then, that same year, died an untimely death.
1910: MLH had a dry goods and milliners shop on the south side of German Street.
1914: Mary Herrington paid in trust to George Beltzhoover the remaining western half of the lot of the once Great Western Hotel for $400, a sum to be paid to Nellie M. Entler. – December 5, 1914, Deed Book 111, p. 505. – Jefferson County Clerk.
1920: Mary Herrington was seventy-nine years old, living in Shepherdstown with her seventy-two-year-old-sister, Julia M. Miller, and brother, sixty-nine-year-old Lewis Little.
On June 20th MLH sold the dual-lot Great Western Inn to relative Harry T. Licklider on the condition that she could still live in the inn her natural life with her brother, “the said Home to consist of four rooms of the first floor and five rooms, including a summer kitchen and garden.” Two years later Licklider fell in arrears with the Swift Corporation and was sued and forced to sell the Great Western lands to pay off the debts. So the inn was gone from the family but MLH could live there, literally, on borrowed time.
She recalled: Only the walls of the stables remain today in ruins, covered with Virginia Creeper to screen the ugly scars of the Civil War.
1930: Mary L. Herrington was listed as eighty-nine years old but with her brother, Lewis Little, now listed as head of their house of the south side of German Street between King and Princess Streets near the center of the block, assessed at about $4,000. Mary A. Licklider & Mary Herrington 1930 Census with her interviewer Mary A. Licklider living next door at the home of Edward Licklider, Mary’s father.
1932: Mary Louise Herrington died March 27, 1932, having given much of these recollections to Mary A. Licklider, a descendant of Mary’s brother, Cato Moore Entler. Her marker is in Elmwood Cemetery. That summer, the new owner of the Great Western began massive alterations and reductions.
References:
Matthew M. Neely was U.S.Senator from West Virginia, from 1922-1928, then from 1931 to and thru the year Mary Entler Herrington died in 1932. wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.
Letter to Senator Neely of WV from Mary Louise Entler Herrington; Concerning Damages to Property During the Civil War
Hon. Neely, I wish you to put before Congress a claim for damages to property by U.S. soldiers during the Civil War. The property was a hotel (in market for rent at the time). It was taken possession of and occupied by a Pennsylvania Cavalry Company. The extensive grounds in which were apple trees and vegetables were trampled and all the fencing destroyed; afterwards Company H., 116 Ohio Infantry, Capt. Peters and Col. Washburns Regiment occupied it, and every partition in the front bedrooms were destroyed. Every mantel piece (they were colonial) all but two were burned. The floor in the garrett of the back building was also destroyed. Enough of new window sash and door frames for a house was stored too. cistern and well floors destroyed and cistern filled with bee hives and rubbish. A fine dressed stable with 25 partitioned off, with board partitions-upper story divided off for grain and sleeping quarters for oster. All was torn out and this weakened the roof so that when a snow came it collapsed. A brick carriage house met the same fate. My father Joseph ENTLER was an old man at the time, and was never after that financially able to put back what was destroyed by the United States soldiers. I am sole survivor and think it but just and right that the United States Government should pay me an old woman now to repair it. (Signed) Mary L. ENTLER HERRINGTON. (A postscript was added): I took the oath of allegiance to the United States in Jun 1863 in Baltimore, Maryland to Col. Fish who was in command there at the time. I have passed from Gen’l Lockwood commander at H. Ferry 1863 also from Gen’l Stevenson. My grandfather, Philip ENTLER was a Revolutionary soldier, my father Joseph ENTLER was a soldier in the War of 1812 and helped defend Baltimore and Washington. My husband, Walter HERRINGTON was a Royal Arch Mason and United States Assistant Revenue Assessor under President Johnson for some time. If these facts have any weight in this matter I am glad.
Description of House
An Ancient Landmark Being Changed August, 1932 – The Shepherdstown Register (undated) Joseph ENTLER (my father) conducted it as an inn. The house is a quaint 52′ long weather board house with massive stone steps to both front doors and stone trimmings and steps to the front cellars and long massive stone stiles or carriage stepping stones as were used in ancient days. The dining room is 34 feet long. Seventeen rooms in the house and large old fashioned fireplaces in many of the rooms and finished with high paneled mantelpieces. The large fireplace in the kitchen which was used for cooking and had the cranes and pothooks and hangers. The ice house was under the dining room and was filled every winter with twenty-five four horse wagon loads of ice, which lasted until fall. The ice was from the Potomac River. After Joseph ENTLER bought it in 1809, he opened it as an inn. a large sign swung across the pavement at the east corner of the house. A heavy post at the curb supported one side and the other side was fastened to the house. In the middle of the sign in large letters that were plainly visible for squares up and down the street was the word, “INN”, and just below that, ‘Jos. ENTLER”. For many years it was a welcome abode to the weary traveler, for then all traveling was by wagon and carriage from Ohio and Kentucky to Baltimore and Washington, where their produce was sold and groceries and other commodities were taken back to the states and intermediate points. All these white covered wagons were placed in the large grounds and the weary tired horses were comfortably bedded down and fed in the large stone stables by good trusty colored men.
All circuses stopped at this inn and pitched their tents in the large lot arranging the cages of wild animals around the circle inside and all other wagons outside the tent. Seventeen rooms in the house and large old fashioned fireplaces in many of the rooms and finished with high paneled mantelpieces. All were destroyed but two during the Civil War, when occupied by Union Troops. The bedrooms above are still numbered as in the days when the late the large fireplace in the kitchen which was used for cooking before cook stoves were introduced has still the cranes and pothooks and hangers as the good old cooks used to handle. The ice house is under the dining room and was filled every winter with twenty-five four horse wagon loads of ice, which lasted until fall. The ice was from the Potomac River. This house and ground adjoining on the east extended to within a few feet from the corner below Trinity Episcopal Church all was the property of Cornelius Wynkoop, who sold it to Levi Gooding, 17 Oct 1801. Charles Harper had an interest in it. Joseph ENTLER (my father), bought Harper’s interest Jun 22nd., 1809. The 17th. of Feb 1812 the interest in the property was deeded to Joseph ENTLER from Levi Gooding, which has been the family over 100 years. Philip ENTLER, Joseph ENTLER’S father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and told his son the building was a barracks in that war, and all ground which extended on the east beyond the Episcopal Church was used by Revolutionary soldiers as drilling and practice grounds and was used also in the War of 1812-14. After Joseph ENTLER bought it in 1809, he opened it as an inn. a large sign swung across the pavement at the east corner of the house. A heavy post at the curb supported one side and the other side was fastened to the house. In the middle of the sign in large letters that were plainly visible for squares up and down the street was the word, “INN”, and just below that, ‘Jos. ENTLER”. For many years it was a welcome abode to the weary traveler, for then all traveling was by wagon and carriage from Ohio and Kentucky to Baltimore and Washington, where their produce was sold and groceries and other commodities were taken back to the states and intermediate points. All these white covered wagons were placed in the large grounds and the weary tired horses were comfortably bedded down and fed in the large stone stables by good trusty colored men. Only the walls of the stables remain today in ruins, covered with Virginia Creeper to screen the ugly scars of the Civil War. All circuses stopped at this inn and pitched their tents in the large lot arranging the cages of wild animals around the circle inside and all other wagons outside the tent. On one occasion an elephant died and left a baby elephant. Years after the occurrence, the same circus came to town, and the baby remembered the place where its mother died and was buried in the lot and it’s grief was pitiful site. entlerd originally shared this, 14 Apr 2010 story at ancestry.com trees.ancestry.ca 4 March 2006 Web. 1 July 2014. (Subscription membership required for access). reocities.com 18 October 2000 Web. 1 July 2014.
History of Confederate Flag made in Shepherdstown by Mary Louise Entler Herrington: Copied from the original by Mary A. LICKLIDER, 16 Feb 1938 It may be interesting to the Shepherdstown Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and others also to know the facts about a flag that was made and sent through the line in 1861 to our own Company B.
A U.S. flag was given to four or five young girls (young girls at the time), by Mr. Rezin Shepherd who lived in New Orleans. In the summer he lived at Wild Goose Farm. The flag was one from one of his vessels. It was sent to us by Mr. James (Hervey) Shepherd and was to be converted into a Confederate flag, a work that was dangerous at the time, being in disputed territory. We could work only when our men were in the lines and had to be very cautious then. My father Joseph ENTLER owned and lived at Wingerd Cottage during the war and there the flag was made. The location off from town and the large wide hall were ideal places for the work, which took many anxious weeks to complete. It was very tedious to rip every seam of the stripes in such a way as not to ravel the bunting. Every star was ripped from the blue field and then to sew all the red together and all the white to form the bars red, white, and red. Of course we had a surplus of stars as the Confederacy was young. After many weeks of work the flag was finished and a beautiful Confederate flag was ready to be sent through the line to Company B. It was hidden away awaiting a safe transfer. I heard the tramp of cavalry and clank of swords and sabers. I looked out the window and saw the cottage was surrounded by Yankee Cavalry. Oh, the flag, what was to be done with it? I heard the officer read orders to my father to search his premises thoroughly for contraband goods. My father seemed to be protesting against the search. But that gave me a little time to take the flag from its hiding place in a chest. The house was surrounded. I could not get out to hide it. I pulled a dress from the wall and put the flag in it and threw the dress carelessly across the back of a chair. Skirts were very wide and deep facings upon them. I put the little flags that we wore on our dresses and letters under the carpet. When my door was pushed open by Capt. Horner of Col. Coles’ Cavalry and the search began. Every bureau drawer and closet was searched, even the grandfather clock where reposed letters to go through the lines. But they were too deep in the bottom of the old clock to be detected. Everything was handled but the blue striped dress hovering over its precious treasure. It was too insignificant to attract their notice and they gave up the search, but rather in a bad humor. The flag was safe and sent to Company B, but all inquires after the war failed to locate it. There was an exchange of flags several years ago. That flag would be readily recognized by its many seams and its homemade marks. Now what became of that flag is a mystery. It went through the lines and was received by the company. I believe I am the only one living who helped to make the flag and saved it from being captured by Capt. Horner, its first Yankee assailant. – entlerd originally shared this to Deron’s Original Family Tree trees.ancestry.ca 4 March 2006 Web. 1 July 2014.
“CEOS told of Early Stories of Shepherdstown by Jim Price” – Spirit of Jefferson Farmer’s Advocate – Jun 8, 2000, p. 7. The Great Western Hotel had nineteen rooms and was owned by Joseph Entler, and was more like a truck stop where drovers and drivers and passengers of Conestoga wagons stayed. In 1858 Joseph Entler moved his family to Wingerd Cottage (the home of Cindy and Bob Keller) and leased the hotel out. news.google.com 25 March 2002 Web. 1 July 2014.
Born in Shepherdstown, Jefferson, Virginia, USA on 24 Aug 1821 to Joseph Entler and Mary Ellen Rickard. Cato Moore married Mary Ellen Bowen and had 9 children. He passed away on 6 Apr 1902 in Shepherdstown, Jefferson, Virginia, USA. records.ancestry.com 22 January 2009 Web. July 1, 2014.
1st Maryland Cavalry, U.S.A. (Originally organized as the 1st Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry, “Cole’s Cavalry” was formed under the guidance of Henry A. Cole (from Frederick, Maryland). Company C was recruited primarily from Emmitsburg, Maryland and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and was commanded by Capt. John Horner; wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.
Due to confusion created by units carrying different flags after 1st Manassas the 30th October 1861 saw Governor Letcher present every Virginia regiment with a bunting flag. Another private group in Charles Town had a regimental flag made for the 2nd Virginia Infantry regiemnt that they reportedly carried into batle at First Manassas/BullRun 2ndvirginiacsa.tripod.com 16 May 2013 Web 1 July 2014.
Gallaher, D.C. (December, 1996). “Fragments of a Diary of Shepherdstown Events During the War 1861-1865.” Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, vol. LXII. Print.
Mary Entler’s brother: ENTLER, CATO MOORE: b. 1822. Confectioner. enl. 6/18/61 at Winchester in Co. B as Pvt. sick at Manassas Hosp. 10/21/61. To Chimborazo #5, 1/13/61; diarrhea. To Gen. Hosp. Farmville, 5/7/62; torpor of liver. Returned to duty 7/16/62; however, last official entry shows him absent sick 6/30-10/31 1862. – Frye, Dennis “2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment,” Lynchburg, Va: H. E. Howard. Print. More . . .
Mary L. Herrington was listed as eighty-nine years old but with her brother, Lewis Little, now listed as head of their house of the south side of German Street between King and Princess Streets near the center of the block, assessed at about $4,000. Mary A. Licklider & Mary Harrington 1930 Census with her interviewer Mary A. Licklider living next door at the home of Edward Licklider, Mary’s father. NARA T626. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Roll: 2536 State: West Virginia County: JEFFERSON Browse Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN Enumeration District: 19-9 Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN Sheet Number: 4b fold3.com footnote.com(fold3.com) 21 October 2010 Web. 20 May 2014.
116th Ohio Infantry The most likely time in which the 116th Ohio visited the Great Western Inn was during late August, 1864: Left Ohio for Parkersburg, Va., October 16; then moved to Clarksburg and Buckhannon. Moved to New Creek November 9, and to Moorefield December 12. Duty at Moorefield, Va., December 15, 1862 to January 10, 1863. Moorefield January 3. At Romney until March 17. Near Romney February 16. At Winchester, Va., until June. Operations in Shenandoah Valley April 20–29. Scout toward Wardensville and Strasburg April 20. Scout to Strasburg April 25–29. Bunker Hill June 13 (Companies A and I). Battle of Winchester June 13–15. Retreat to Harper’s Ferry, W. Va., June 15–16, 1863; then to Washington, D.C., July 1–4, and joined Army of the Potomac at Frederick, Md., July 5. Pursuit of Lee to Manassas Gap, Va., July 5–24. Wapping Heights, Va., July 23. At Martinsburg, W. Va., August 4, 1863 to April 29, 1864. Skirmish at Hedgesville October 16, 1863 (detachment). Sigel’s Expedition from Martinsburg to New Market April 29-May 16, 1864. Battle of New Market May 15. Advance on Staunton May 24-June 6. Piedmont June 5. Occupation of Staunton June 6. Hunter’s raid on Lynchburg June 10-July 1. Lynchburg June 17–18. ***Ordered to the Shenandoah Valley July. Battle of Kernstown-Winchester, July 24. Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign August 7-November 28, 1864. Charlestown August 21, 22, and 29. Berryville September 3, Battle of Winchester, Opaquan Creek September 19, 1864. Fisher’s Hill September 22. Cedar Creek October 13, Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Duty at Opequan Crossing November 18 to December 19. Moved to Washington, D.C., December 19; then to Aiken’s Landing, Va. Siege of Petersburg and Richmond December 27, 1864 to April 2, 1865. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9, Hatcher’s Run March 29-April 1. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3–9. Rice’s Station April 6. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Duty at Richmond, Va., until June. wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.
Baldau, Catherine. “House Arrest: Mary Entler’s Adventure in Harpers Ferry.” in “The Harpers Ferry Anthology – Civil War-era Stories by Park Rangers and Volunteers.” (2011). Harpers Ferry, WV: The Harpers Ferry Historical Assocation. Print.
Joseph Entler household 1870 Census p. 506. United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. National Archives and Records Service. (1965). “Population schedules of the ninth census of the United States, 1870, West Virginia [microform] (Volume Reel 1689 – 1870 West Virginia Federal Population Census Schedules – Jackson and Jefferson Counties).” Washington, D.C.: Gov’t Printing Office. Print.
United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. National Archives and Records Service. (1965). “Population schedules of the ninth census of the United States, 1870, West Virginia [microform] (Volume Reel 1689 – 1870 West Virginia Federal Population Census Schedules – Jackson and Jefferson Counties).” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. More . . .
Joseph Entler, Jr. household with MLH, Potomac District p. 26 United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. National Archives and Records Service. (197-). 10th census, 1880, West Virginia [microform] (Volume Reel 1405 – 1880 West Virginia Federal “Population Census Schedules – Jefferson (cont’d: ED 4, sheet 23-end) and Kanawha (part: EDs 1-61, sheet 26) Counties).” Washington, D.C.: Gov’t Printing Office. Print.
1900 United States Federal Census about Mary L Herrington Name: Mary L Herrington Age: 60 Birth Date: May 1840 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1900: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Sister Marital Status: Widowed Father’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania Mother’s Birthplace: West Virginia Mother: number of living children: 0 Mother: How many children: 0 Name Age Joseph Entler, Jr 72 Annie E Entler 65 Mary L Herrington 60 Julia M Miller 53 Maurice Miller 16 Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia; Roll: 1761; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0048; FHL microfilm: 1241761 search.ancestry.com 10 July 1998 Web. 1 July 2014.
Mary Herrington was seventy-nine years old, living in Shepherdstown with her seventy-two-year-old-sister, Julia M. Miller and brother, sixty-nine-year-old Lewis Little. 1920 United States Federal Census about Mary L Herrington Name: Mary L Herrington [Mary L Herington] Age: 79 Birth Year: abt 1841 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1920: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Female Relation to Head of House: Head Marital Status: Widowed [Widow] Father’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania Mother’s Birthplace: West Virginia Household Members: Name Age Mary L Herrington: 79 Julia M Miller 72 Lewis J Little 69 Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia; Roll: T625_1952; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 74; Image: 555. search.ancestry.com 10 July 1998 Web. 1 July 2014.
Suit in favor of Swift & Company against H. T. Licklider, in which Licklider sold to discharge and pay off said decree: ”The certain house and land on the east side of Princess Street in Shepherdstown . . . designated on the plat of said town as the north west corner of Lot No. 127, said lot fronting on said street 40 feet by 98 feet deep on said alley and known as the site of the business of “The Licklider Corporation.” Also, two certain adjoining parcels of real estate of which the late Joseph Entler died seized and possessed and situate on the south side of German Street in Shepherdstown, designated on the Plat of said town as Lot No. 14 and bounded as follows: No. 1 consisting of a vacant lot of land fronting on said street 33 feet by about 206 feet deep to a public alley in the rear, No. 2 consisting of the adjoining lot of land and the large weather-boarded dwelling thereon, the said lot fronting on said street about 60 feet more or less by about 206 feet to a public alley in the rear, subject to a life estate of Mary L. Herrington in part of same and being the same real estate conveyed to Harry T. Licklider by deed from Mary L. Herrington and others by deed dated June 29, 1920. – Lis Pendens, October 14, 1922, Deed Book 122, Page 140, – Jefferson County, WV Clerk. (NOTE: The life estate deed states that Mary Herrington sold the two adjacent lots to Licklider on the condition that she and, as long as Herrington approves, Licklider to allow, provide and maintain free of any charge and expense to her said “Dwelling for and during her natural life: the said Home to consist of four rooms of the first floor and five rooms, including a summer kitchen and garden.” – July 6, 1920, Deed Book 119, Page 82, Jefferson County Clerk.
“Historically, milliners, typically female shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of garments for men, women, and children, including hats, shirts, cloaks, shifts, caps, neckerchiefs, and undergarments, and sold these garments in their millinery shop.” wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.
116th Ohio Infantry – compiled by Larry Stevens. References for this Unit ohiocivilwar.com 17 August 2000 Web. 1 July 2014.
Mary L. Herrington was listed as eighty-nine years old but with her brother, Lewis Little, now listed as head of their house of the south side of German Street between King and Princess Streets near the center of the block, assessed at about $4,000. Mary A. Licklider & Mary Harrington 1930 Census with her interviewer Mary A. Licklider living next door at the home of Edward Licklider, Mary’s father. NARA T626. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Roll: 2536 State: West Virginia County: JEFFERSON Browse Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN Enumeration District: 19-9 Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN Sheet Number: 4b fold3.com. footnote.com(fold3.com) 21 October 2010 Web. 20 May 2014.
“In the Realms of Rest: M. L. Herrington,“ The Shepherdstown Register,” March 31, 1932.
Image Credits:
Montage of images of people in Shepherdstown during the Civil War – Historic Shepherdtown Commission.
Harper’s Weekly September 6, 1862, p. 569 sonofthesouth.net start date unavailable Web. 1 July 2014.
The first flag of the 11th Pennsylvania Reserves
detail of woman sewing flag etsy.com 18 May 2001 Web. 1 July 2014.
Battle flag of the 28th North Carolina Infantry.
Stuart’s Horse Artillery Flag jeffctywvmuseum.org 9 November 2004 Web. 1 July 2014.
The 33rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry 33rdindiana.org 20 June 2011 Web. 1 July 2014.
Remains of U.S. Infantry colors from President Lincoln’s box on the night he was assassinated. medicalmuseum.mil 2 June 2012 Web. 1 July 2014.
Flag of the type carried by the Treasury Guard and other infantry regiments during the Civil War. medicalmuseum.mil 2 June 2012 Web. 1 July 2014.
Ohio Department of the Adjutant General, “National Colors of the Black Brigade of Cincinnati,” in Ohio Civil War 150 | Collections & Exhibits, Item #1490. ohiocivilwar150.org/omeka 25 September 2009 Web. 1 July 2014.
Ohio Department of the Adjutant General, “Guidon of the 27th U.S.C.T.,” in Ohio Civil War 150 | Collections & Exhibits, Item #1489. ohiocivilwar150.org/omeka 25 September 2009 Web. 1 July 2014.
Flag of the Rockbridge Rifles Original Author: W. H. Horstmann & Sons of Philadelphia Created: ca. 1860 Medium: Silk flag with oil-painted seal Courtesy of The Museum of the Confederacy encyclopediavirginia.org 8 November 2006 Web. 1 July 2014.
Alfred Lee : Dolly Varden Dolly Varden / words by Frank W. Green ; music by Alfred Lee Philadelphia : Lee & Walker, between 1872 and 1875 Plate no.: 131819.4 Color: Portrait of a young woman in a Dolly Varden dress / T. Sinclair & Son Lith. Box 25, no. 7. library.upenn.edu/collections 7 March 2003 Web. 1 July 2014.
Hotchkiss, Jedediah, “[Map of Loudoun County and part of Clarke County, Va., Jefferson County and part of Berkeley County, W. Va., and parts of Montgomery and Frederick counties, Md.]..” memory.loc.gov/ammem/ 14 October 2004 Web. 1 July 2014.
One-horse buggy David Hunter Strother, “At Hancock Depot, Aug. 1st, 1857. West Virginia and Regional History Collection. Act, No.:P.95.30.387pg26c
Dicken’s Dolly Varden by William Frith. Owner/Location: Victoria and Albert Museum – London (United Kingdom – London) Dates: 1842 Artist age: Approximately 23 years old. Dimensions: Unknown Medium: Painting – oil on canvas Entered by: Member Irene on 22 December 2013. the-athenaeum.org 23 May 2002 Web. 1 July 2014.
Shepherdstown and Charles Town, Va. Brown, Howell S. “Map of Jefferson County, Virginia From Actual Surveys With Farm Limits, 1852.” Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society Vol. XLV. (1979): pp. 1-7. Print.
Robert_H._Milroy wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.
Woman pouring from watering can Marmion, Annie P. (1959) “Under Fire: An Experience in the Civil War.” William Vincent Marmion, Jr. ed.
Rezin Shepherd-Shepherd University
Elderly woman Crayon, Porte (Strother, D. H.). “The Mountains. Pt. VI.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 45, Issue: 270, November 1872, pp. 801-816. Print.
Crayon, Porte. (November, 1872). “The Mountains. Pt. VI.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 803. (SEE REFERENCES)
Gate to farm house Strother, David H. “Rural Pictures.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 20, Issue: 116, January, 1860. pp. 166-180. Print.
Strother, David H., (Jan., 1860). “Rural Pictures.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 166 (SEE REFERENCES).
Ring on woman’s finger Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 13, Issue: 75, (Aug., 1856). pp. 303-323. Print.
Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 323.(SEE REFERENCES)
Cook in kitchen Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 12, Issue: 68, (Jan., 1856). pp. 158-179. Print.
Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 177 (SEE REFERENCES)
Horses in stable eating hay Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 11, Issue: 63, (Aug., 1855). pp. 289-311. Print.
Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 293 (SEE REFERENCES)
Federal cavalry standstill “Battles and Leaders. Vol. 1.” (1887). Robert Underwood Johnson, Clarence Clough Buel (Ed.). New York, NY: Century Co. Print.
“Battles and Leaders Vol. 1.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. p. 600.
Searching for Arms. Drawing by Adalbert John Volck, circa 1890-1896, glc00493.05. (Image: Gilder Lehrman Collection) civilwar.org 15 May 1998 Web. 1 July 2014.
Additionsal Image Credits for the Videos:
Young Woman at a Piano by George Goodwin Kilburne, 1880.
Detail The Effect of the Rebellion of the Homes of Virginia – Harper’s Weekly, 24 December, 1864. pp. 824-825.
William Stebbins Fish – Maryland Historical Society. Maryland Historical Magazine, (Summer, 1999). Vol. 94. p. 132.
Polish stables in Gdansk wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 25 October 2014.
The Homecoming by E.L. Henry
Title: [Civil War envelope showing soldier standing at attention in camp with message “Our Union defenders”]. Date Created/Published: [between 1861 and 1865]. memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.
Pen and Ink by Edwin Graves Champney. Image courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center. obxentertainment.com 8 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.
Matthew_M._Neely wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 25 October 2014.
Headpiece for ‘Good for the Soul’ – Howard Pyle wikiart.org 30 May 2008 Web. 25 October 2014.
Christmas Boxes in Camp Christmas 1861: Published Harpers Weekly January 4, 1862. (Not used) hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.
Sunday Morning in Virginia: 1887 Winslow Homer hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.
Girl in the Orchard: 1874 by Winslow Homer hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.
The Reaper: 1878 by Winslow Homer hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.
porcupine awf.org 19 June 1998 Web. 25 October 2014.
Union officers eating during the Civil War. (Library of Congress photo) blog.timesunion.com 10 December 2005 Web. 25 October 2014.
Strother, David H., “The Mountains. Pt. IV.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 44, Issue: 267, (Aug, 1872). pp. 347-366. Print.
Strother, David H., “The Mountains. Pt. IV.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. pp. 347-366. (SEE REFERENCES)
Henry_Hayes_Lockwood wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 25 October 2014.
Death Record of W. L. Harrington in 1874 wvculture.org 2 March 2000 Web. 25 October 2014.
Mary Entler 1920 Census, West Virginia, Jefferson County archive.org 9 August 2002 Web. 25 October 2014.
(Not used) Foraging was resorted to, to a considerable extent. Turkeys, Geese, Chickens were taken whenever found; corn-cakes, bread, ham, and smoked sides with butter, apple butter, and in fact everything that was eatable was procured, sometimes by paying cash and at other times by promises to pay when change could not be made. (Courtesy Bradley Forbush) 13thmass.org 29 May 2002 Web. 25 October 2014.
