History Press New Release: Silver Spring and the Civil War

The History Press is pleased to announce the publication of Silver Spring and the Civil War by Robert E. Oshel, PhD.

On July 11, 1864, some residents cheered and others watched in horror as Confederate troops spread across the fields and orchards of Silver Spring, Maryland. Many fled to the capital while General Jubal Early’s troops ransacked their property. The estate of Lincoln’s postmaster general, Montgomery Blair, was burned, and his father’s home was used by Early as headquarters from which to launch an attack on Washington’s defenses. Yet the first Civil War casualty in Silver Spring came well before Early’s raid, when Union soldiers killed a prominent local farmer in 1862. This was life in the shadow of the Federal City. Drawing on contemporary accounts and memoirs, Dr. Robert E. Oshel tells the story of Silver Spring over the tumultuous course of the Civil War.

Oshel is the vice-president and past president of the Woodside Park Civic Association. He is the author of the association’s "Home Sites of Distinction: The History of Woodside Park." He is a member and past-chair of the Silver Spring Library Advisory Committee, and a member of the Friends of the Silver Spring Library. Dr. Oshel was also a founding member of the Silver Spring Historical Society. He writes a monthly history column for the Woodside Park Voice, and already has several local events lined up this spring.

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Meet the author

Saturday, May 3 at 1:30 p.m. @ Silver Spring Library (8901 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD)

Thursday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. @ Long Branch Library, with Sligo-Branview Civic Association (8800 Garland Ave, Silver Spring, MD)

Saturday, June 7 from 2-4 p.m. @ Costco (Westfield Wheaton Shopping Mall, 11160 Veirs Mill Rd,Wheaton, MD)

Press Release--Prince George's County and the Civil War

The History Press is pleased to introduce the new title:

 

Prince George’s County & the Civil War

Life on the Border

Nathania A. Branch Miles & Monday M. Miles

 

Bordered by the Federal capital but separated from Virginia and the Confederacy only by the Potomac River, the citizens of Prince George’s County found themselves on the front lines of the Civil War. As Maryland’s largest slave-owning county, some—including members of the Bowie and Surratt families— joined the Confederacy. Many remained loyal to the Union, losing sons and property for the cause. Three forts in the county were dedicated to the capital’s defense: Fort Foote, Fort Washington and Fort Lincoln. This did not prevent Confederate general Jubal Early’s troops from invading in July 1864. The Rebel forces blew up rail lines in Beltsville and took the Rossborough Inn near the Maryland Agricultural College—now the University of Maryland, College Park—as their headquarters. Prince George’s County and the Civil War: Life on the Border charts the course of a community caught in the midst of the bloodiest conflict in American history.

  

Monday M. Miles is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, with a bachelor’s degree in history. She also has a master’s degree from Trinity Washington University in nonprofit management/human resources management. She lives in Bowie, Maryland.

 

Nathania A. Branch Miles is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, with a bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning. She is the coauthor of three books on the history of Prince George’s County and an active member of several genealogical, historical and community organizations. She lives in Hyattsville, Maryland.

 

ISBN: 978-1-60949-848-1 •  Paperback   •   128 pages   •   $19.99  •  November 2013

 

This new book is available at local stores and online at www.historypress.net

It retails as an E-BOOK via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the iBookstore, Kobo & OverDrive.

 

Mount Olivet Cemetery--Frederick, MD

During our recent vacation we had the pleasure (the cold pleasure I should say) of taking a quick visit to Mount Olivet Cemetery in beautiful Frederick, MD. Unfortunately it was during the freak late October snow and the grounds were rapidly accumulating snow and the cemetery offices were closed so we did the best we could with our limited knowledge, time, and warmth.

The cemetery was opened in 1854 and the first burial was Ann Crawford. According to it's website the cemetery now is the final resting place for more than 34,000 people with plenty more room.

Perhaps the most famous burial in the cemetery is that of Francis Scott Key. Key lived from 1779-1843. He is most remembered for having written the lyrics to "The Star Spangled Banner". Key wrote the famous words after having witnessed the bombing of Fort McHenry during Battle of Baltimore in 1814. On his way back to Baltimore, Key penned the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry" which was published in December 1814. In 1916 by executive order Woodrow Wilson declared the song to be the national anthem. In 1931 Congress authorized the same and this was signed by Herbert Hoover. In later life Key served as an attorney and helped in the prosecution of Richard Lawrence who had attempted to kill President Andrew Jackson. Originally buried in Old Saint Paul's Cemetery. Key and his wife were moved to Mount Olivet in 1866. The large monument was placed in 1898. By Congressional resolution an American flag has flown over the Key grave since May 30, 1949.

Frederick resident Barbara Fritchie has been memorialized in the poem Barbara Frietchie written by John Greenleaf Whittier. Legend has it the over 90 year old woman waved a Union flag in the face of Stonewall Jackson's troops as they marched through Frederick during the Maryland campaign. When fact confronts legend however it  turns out that Fritchie was sick on the day Jackson's troops marched through Frederick and also that they did not pass Fritchie's house. Despite this her legend lives on and the Barbara Fritchie House still stands today.

Maryland's first governor Thomas Johnson is also buried here. Johnson was a member of the Continental Congress and supported a break with England. Johnson then served as Governor from 1777-1779. Johnson held many other posts leading to a nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court. He served two years before resigning due to the rigors of the old circuit court system. Johnson passed away in 1819 and was originally buried in the All Saints Churchyard. His remains were later moved to Mount Olivet.

While there we were able to photograph a few other interesting markers that were Civil War related. There is a neat memorial to the young who served and died. There is also a nice memorial to the more than 400 unknown Confederate dead from the Battle of Monocacy. There is also a large Confederate memorial that was dedicated in 1990.

Unknown Confederate dead from Monocacy

Memorial to children killed in the Civil War

Full length view of the Confederate Memorial

Close up of the soldier atop the
Confederate Memorial.

Be sure to check Findagrave or Interment for partial listings of those buried here.