Civil War (MD)

The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War provided a fresh opportunity to examine this watershed event in our nation's history and the profound impact it had on the lives of individuals. Many of the stories of those who lived during the period are told in the letters, diaries, photographs, and other documents that have been kept by families and handed down through the generations.

Digital Maryland Collection

Included in this collection are 17 Civil War military discharges, ordnance records, muster rolls, and other documents. The majority pertain to soldiers who served in the 2nd or 3rd Maryland Infantry Regiments of the Potomac Home Brigade. Most of the soldiers lived in Cumberland, or other areas within or close to Allegany County, Maryland.

On July 5, 1864 Brigadier General John McCausland of the Confederate States of America, marched towards Hagerstown and demanded a ransom from the town. This collection includes the Hagerstown newspaper reports of the events shortly after they happened.

In 1862, as a young man of 21, William H. Perkins enlisted in the Baltimore Light Artillery Association, Maryland Volunteers. His battery was assigned to the Maryland Brigade, where he served honorably in various engagements including Winchester and Martinsburg in 1862 and in 1864 at Cedar Creek and the Battle of Monocacy (Roster of Civil War soldiers from Washington County, Maryland, Roger Keller, 2008).

This collection of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal items was made available by Michael and Linda Marmer of Maryland. Particularly of interest are the canal boat registrations from 1857, and a payment slip for an assistant clerk of the company, signed by Alfred Spates, president of the Canal Company.  Two letters written by combatants during the Civil War tell of the attack on Dam 5 by Confederates and the use of the canal towpath as a route west.

The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were composed of African American soldiers who joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. In Washington County, Maryland, no African Americans fought in battles at home, at the Battle of Antietam, South Mountain, Hancock or the various skirmishes as the Confederates headed south after the Battle of Gettysburg. But a significant number of men from the county did serve elsewhere during the war, either in infantry divisions or in the famous Brigade Band where the Moxley brothers and others served.

The U.S. General Hospital Register, Clarysville, Maryland, 1863-1865, a log book of 2866 patients treated by Dr. Morris Townsend, was transcribed and verified by Richard H. Sauer. Harriet Moore edited the collection and wrote the introduction.

A descriptive list of the burial places of the remains of Confederate soldiers, who fell in the battles of Antietam, South Mountain, Monocacy, and other points in Washington and Frederick counties, in the state of Maryland was created by Poffenberger and Good to list the location of the bodies of Confederates after the battles of Antietam, South Mountain and Monocacy.