Middletown Enemies and Friends - Middletown MD - Battlefields on Waymarking.com

Middletown-Enemies and Friends— Antietam Campaign 1862 —

When Gen. Robert E. Lee and part of the Army of Northern Virginia passes through Middletown on September 10–11, 1862, they encountered a chilly reception. The inhabitants of this single-street hamlet on the National Road loved the Union, and the ragged Confederates who marched west through here epitomized what the citizens regarded as a rebellion. Confronted by openly defiant residents, the Confederates considered Middletown the most Union of all places they saw during their first trek to Maryland. When part of Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac marched through town a few days later, the citizens were more welcoming.

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

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

Name of Battle: Battle of Middletown MD Name of War: U.S. Civil War Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 09/10/1862 Entrance Fee: Not Listed Parking: Not Listed Date of Battle (End): Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.

In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/17/2021 Don.Morfe visited it