John Allen Miller
Emmitsburg
Historical Soceity
Lewistown is one of a
those little towns
that has an
interesting Civil War
history very seldom
covered when it comes
to the Civil War
History of Frederick
County. Just as
Emmitsburg and
Mechanicstown,
Lewistown witness
troop movements during
the Antietam Campaign
of 1862, the
Gettysburg Campaign of
1863, and also during
the battle of Monocacy
in 1864.
At 11:30 P.M. on
September 12, 1862,
Union General Alfred
Pleasonton whose
headquarters was at
Frederick, received an
ordered to send a
cavalry force to scout
the Lewistown and
Mechanicstown area and
report any Confederate
activity. None was
reported and five days
later the signal
bloodiest battle of
the Civil War occurred
at Sharpsburg.
The following year, on
June 29th 1863, Union
General John Reynolds
issued orders to his
division commanders of
the 1st Corps. At 4
a.m. the 1st Corps
marched from
Frederick, Maryland to
the small town of
Emmitsburg. The 1st
Corps marched in the
following order: “The
Second Division, the
Third Division, the
First Division, by
Lewistown and
Mechanicstown to
Emmitsburg, keeping to
the left of the road
from Frederick to
Lewistown between J.
P. Kramer's and where
the road branches to
Utica and Cooperstown,
to enable the Eleventh
Corps to march
parallel to it.”
Before the battle of
Gettysburg, thousands
of Union troops
marched through
Lewistown heading
toward
Emmitsburg.
On Tuesday July 7,
four days after the
battle of Gettysburg,
the 1st Corps marched
from Marsh Creek in
Pennsylvania to
Emmitsburg stopping
briefly to rest.
Orders were then given
to march to
Franklinville,
Mechanicstown, and
Catoctin Furnace and
onto Lewistown. At
Lewistown members of
the 13th Massachusetts
received a warm
welcoming by a group
of local ladies who
were dressed in red,
white and blue. The
ladies all sang “The
Battle Cry of Freedom
as the Massachusetts
boys march through
Lewistown. The 1st
Corps was then
redirected to march
over the Catoctin
Mountain by way of
Hamburg Pass to
Bellsville. From this
point the 1st Corps
would cross into the
Middletown Valley.
On the night of July
7th, Union General
Birney who was
commanding the 3rd
Corps was informed
that he could not send
his Corps over the
Catoctin Mountain and
was ordered to camp
that night in the
Lewistown area. He was
to resume his line of
march early the next
morning.
During the summer of
1864, General Lee had
sent a Corps under the
command of General Jubal Early to cross
the Potomac River and
threaten Washington
and if time allowed,
free the Confederate
prisoners at Point
Lookout, Maryland.
General Early divided
his force and sent
cavalry to Hagerstown
and also toward
Baltimore. The balk of
General Bradley
Johnson’s Cavalry
force was traveling on
the Baltimore
Turnpike. General
Bradley had sent out
detachments of his
cavalry to scout the
areas north and west
while he continued
down the Baltimore
Turnpike.
On July 9th, the
Chairman of Executive
Committee David Willis
sent word to Union
General Darius N.
Counch commander of
the Department of
Susquehanna that parts
of General Bradley
Johnson’s Confederate
Cavalry had entered
Creagerstown. Willis
stated that his scouts
were pursued by the
Confederate scouting
party and was forced
out of Creagerstown.
On July 10th, Union
Major J. B. Burt
stated a force
Confederate troopers
were in the Lewistown
and Creagerstown area
stealing horses.
Confederates troopers
were also reported
looting the stores in
the Woodsboro area.
One or Two companies
of Confederate Cavalry
with a organized
company of
bushwhackers were
observed. In the
Sabillasville and
Monterey area, 40
Confederate soldiers
under General
Imboden’s command were
also spotted. Two
scouts were sent from
General David Hunter’s
Cavalry force to
investigate the
Confederate Scouting
parties and none were
found as they had
traveled back to
Frederick and rejoined
their main command.
