The Emmitsburg and Waynesboro Pike was a major road that traveled
over South Mountain and had several key intersections that connected
to it. Zora was only a crossroad at the time of the Civil War. It was
where the Emmitsburg-Waynesboro Road and the Fairfield Road came
together, and both armies felt the need to obtain and protect their
positions at these crossroads and mountain gaps.
Midway between Emmitsburg, Maryland and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
was a mountain pass called Monterey. During the Civil War soldiers
from both side felt it necessary to keep this road open for
communication and observation. Scouts and pickets used the crossroads
to see the troop movements that came from the direction of Emmitsburg,
Waynesboro or Fairfield.
On June 15, 1863, Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins, with 1,600
cavalry entered Pennsylvania and advanced on Greencastle where he
divided his cavalry brigade. On June 19th, Company D of the 14th
Virginia Cavalry was ordered to Waynesboro to capture horses and
cattle for the army. The next day the men were foraging and around
noon Company D came upon a farm of an old Pennsylvania German.
According to Lieutenant Herman Schuricht; "He was scared to death at
catching sight of us, and shouted "O mein Gott, die rebels!" I soon
reassured him, telling him that no harm should result to him if he
furnished us with a dinner and rations for our horses, and we were
well cared for.
On June 22nd a skirmish erupted at Monterey. Company D of the 14th
Virginia Cavalry ran into an armed militia of Captain Robert Bell's
21st Pennsylvania, Captain David Conaughy's Home Guard and a
detachment of 1st Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry under Captain Samuel
Randall. Confederate skirmishers scoured the woods on foot on each
side of the Emmitsburg and Waynesboro Turnpike. When the Federal
Cavalry left, the Confederates reached Monterey Springs and continued
firing at several bodies on horseback and enter Fairfield at Dusk.
Six miles north of the Mason and Dixon Line is a little town called
Fountaindale. Fountaindale is located between Jack's Mountain,
Beards Hill, on the Old Waynesboro Pike. Pegram's Artillery reached
Maryland late in the evening on June 25th, crossing the Potomac River
at Boteler's Ford. From there they traveled the roads that led into
Hagerstown. Private John C. Goolsby who was a member of Crenshaw's
Artillery recorded "We pushed on and soon struck the village of
Waynesboro, where United States flags were displayed in great numbers,
which, of course, we greeted pleasantly. Another day's journey brought
us to the foot of Cash Mountain, where we had several men captured. "
By the time that parts of Pegram's Artillery Battalion had encamped
at Fayetteville they had lost several horses. Because of the concerned
state the horses were in, Lieutenant John Hampden (Ham) Chamberlayne
led a small detail soldiers from Purcell, Crenshaw, and Lecture's
Batteries and made their way through Franklin County into Adams County
where they came to Fairfield.
From Fairfield, Chamberlayne's men traveled toward Monterey when
they came across a small church at Fountaindale on June 28th. A small
Lutheran Church, located on Old Waynesboro Pike near present day Jacks
Mountain Road is where the encounter of Fountaindale took place. It
was Sunday and church services were underway. Ham Chamberlayne saw
about 20 horses tied to a post and decided that these horses were are
exactly what his battery needed.
As Chamberlayne's men started for their camp, a detachment of the
Keystone Rangers was spotted coming down Waynesboro Pike. This was a
small squad of horsemen under the command of Lt. William A. Horner.
Seeing rebel horsemen near the church Lt. Horner, order his squad to
halt near a brick school house near the Lutheran Church and try to
intercept them.
It
was at this time that Ham Chamberlayne hand-selected 6 men who had
revolvers to turn and make a stand with him, while the others made
their escape. Chamberlayne led his men directly toward Horner's men
and charged. A clash erupted between these two forces. Private Goolsby
mentions the small detail fell back to it's main party. After the
charge, Chamberlayne and his six men were taken prisoner. After the
skirmish, Horner's Keystone Rangers retired with their prisoners to
Emmitsburg. During the evening of June 28th the Federal Cavalry under
General John Buford came into Fountaindale moving toward Fairfield,
investigating the rebel forces in the area.
By June 29, General John Buford stood at the opening of Monterey
Pass which overlooked the Cumberland Valley and saw the Confederate
Army in Greencastle. It was at this time that he suspected a battle
would soon erupt in south-central Pennsylvania. That evening General Buford counter-marched back toward
Fountaindale, and on the highest point he looked down the valley
toward Fairfield, and saw the campfires of those troops belonging to
General Henry Heth's Division.
On the evening of July 4th, one of the most confusing battles of
the Civil War occurred during the retreat from Gettysburg known as the
battle of Monterey Pass. General Robert E. Lee had given the order to
retreat from Gettysburg. During this retreat General Ewell's
Confederate wagon train took the road leading over Jack's Mountain
from Fairfield.
Around 9:00 p.m. near Fountaindale, Pa. the Union cavalry under
the command of General Kilpatrick came in contact with the Confederate
1st Maryland cavalry under Captain George Emack, who had a small
detail guarding the approach to Monterey, re-enforced by one cannon
that was loaded with two rounds of ammunition.
Darkness set in during a blinding rainstorm. The Confederates
wearing gum blankets were mistaken as Union troops by Kilpatrick's
cavalry as they made their way from Fountaindale. Knowing that their
identity was withheld, the order came from Emack to fire the cannon.
As the confusion subsided, the Confederates charged, pushing the
Federals back until they reached the Federal artillery that was at
Fountaindale.
General
Kilpatrick gained the mountain summit of Monterey six hours capturing
and destroying 9 miles worth of wagons, taking 1,360 Confederate
prisoners and a large number of horses and mules as they moved on to
Waterloo.
On July 5, General Meade issued orders for the Army of the Potomac
to begin its removal from the battlefield at Gettysburg. By July 6,
General Meade ordered General Howard to move one of his Corps to
Emmitsburg and the other Corps to be posted on a road leading to
Fairfield. According to General Meade, after receiving information on
the Confederate Army's retreat route, all evidence showed that the
principal force was between Fairfield and Hagerstown moving toward the
Potomac River.
By 9:00 a.m., the Confederate Infantry, numbering about 80,000 men,
was reported to have passed the Fairfield Road. General Meade learned
that the Waynesboro Road was empty when parts of his army arrived.
General Meade advised his Corps Commanders that he would continue his
flanking movement once the main Confederate Army had retired from the
mountain. With this plan, he directed General Couch's Cavalry to move
down the Cumberland Valley and threaten the Confederate rear.
General Pleasanton ordered a brigade of Cavalry, under Colonel
McIntosh to communicate the Confederate troop's movements as his
Cavalry traveled toward Waynesboro. General George Sykes, commanding
the Fifth Corps wrote to General Howard during the evening, explaining
his position. He was located near the junction of the Emmitsburg Pike
and the Fairfield Road. He had not heard word from General Sedgwick on
troop movements and had not received orders from General Meade or from
his wing commander, General Howard. A sign of frustration along with
the lack of communication was taking its toll on the Union Army.
During the Raid on Washing in June and July of 1864, Union Cavalry
patrolled the Emmitsburg and Waynesboro Pike. By late July, General
Early ordered his army North, and splitting his army into two columns.
The first column under the command of General John McCausland was sent
forth to Chambersburg, PA, while the second column under General Early
himself set forth to Moorefield W.V. Some independent Confederate
Cavalry units operated independently along the Maryland Border. The
Union Army took action in protecting it's communities along the Mason
and Dixon Line.
On July 30, around 11:30 a. m. General H. W. Halleck sent word to
General Hunter that as of 3 a.m. the enemy entered Chambersburg in
three columns. A detachment of Hunters Cavalrymen was ordered to march
by South Mountain toward Emmitsburg. General Halleck stated that it
was absolutely necessary that he know where the Confederates were
marching to in order to send re-enforcements. By 3 p.m. General
Halleck sent another dispatch to General Hunter stating that
Clendenin's cavalry was ordered to scout toward Emmitsburg and send
back information on rebel force that entered Chambersburg. Meanwhile,
General Lew Wallace sent a detachment of the Twenty-first Pennsylvania
Cavalry, under the command of Captain J. C. Hullinger to march to
Waynesboro via Emmitsburg. Also a Signal Camp was opened at Emmitsburg
by Chief Signal Officer Amos M. Thayer relaying messages to the
cavalry stationed at Emmitsburg as they waited.
In his report; Captain Franklin E. Town who was the Chief Signal
Officer during the Operations of the Shenandoah Valley stated on July
31st, he had reached Frederick, Maryland and sent Lieutenant Ellis to
Emmitsburg to communicate with Captain Thayer (Also a Signal Officer)
and order him to go to Chambersburg and report the operations of the
enemy there. A line of communications was made along the Mason and
Dixon Line which kept General Crook in communication with headquarters
during his march toward Emmitsburg. On August 1st, Lieutenant Ellis
reported from High Rock that Chambersburg was burned; General Couch
had returned to Carlisle, and General Averell was at Greencastle and
was headed toward Gettysburg. On the 2nd of August, Lieutenant Ellis
returned to Frederick from Emmitsburg.
By the afternoon, a skirmish erupted at Emmitsburg as a percussion
from the Burning of Chambersburg. A small contingent of Union Cavalry
guarding the area around Emmitsburg was driven into Emmitsburg by
superior numbers of Confederate forces. A detachment of Philadelphia
City Scouts operating in the area captured a considerable number of
Rebels and among those arrested a few days ago was a brother of the
celebrated General Stewart, of raid memory. He was taken near
Emmitsburg by two or three of the scouts from Philadelphia, one of
whom was a physician, and had been in the same medical class at
Philadelphia with the Rebel spy arrested (Dr. Stewart.) He accosted
the Stewart familiarly by name, when he came up to him. The latter
denied all knowledge of his captor, but finally confessed that he was
the man.
