Evening Star Newspaper, July 5, 1936, Page 42

F—2 MONOCACYBATTLES THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., "JULY 5, 1936—PART FOUR. MADE HISTORY FOR DISTRICT Point of Dramatic Contact Between North and South, Center ~of Thrilling Events Involving Both Nation and Families Now Known to Washington. all the works and the troops defending them in admirable condition, and ready to give the rebels a fitting re- ception. should they approach within range.” And then, at 2 o'clock came the “Second Edition,” with the following announcement: “Messengers just in report skirmish- ing going on this morning in the vicine ity of Fort Massachusetts (near Clag- ett's place) some 4 miles out. “The rebels did not show themselves in large force there, however.” Fort Massachusetts was the early name of Fort Stevens, named in honor of Gen. Isaac I. Stevens, who lost his life in the Battle of Chantilly Septem- ber 1, 1862. THE military authorities at Wash- ington were not surprised at the approach of Gen. Early, for when Gen. Lew Wallace was forced to retreat, he telegraphed the War Department, say- ing: “I have been defeated; the enemy are not pursuing me, from which 1 infer they are marching on Washing- ton.” | However, while the Confederates were moving on Washington, Grant was being informed of their apparent plans and when he fully realized the gravity of the situation, he at first thought of returning from Petersburg to Washington to take command in person. On reflecting, however, he de- cided to send back the 6th Corps, com- manded by Gen. Horatio G. Wright. According to the late W. V. Cox, who made a study of the defenses of Washington, the 25th New York Cav- alry, the headquarters guard of Gen. Grant, which left City Point on July 7, seemed to have been the first regi- ment to reach Washington from the James, and went inta. camp about midnight of the 10th of July, near Fort Stevens. “What & picture!” says Mr. Cox. “Early, with his fighting legion, ad- vancing on the Capital from the North, while fleets bearing the veterans of the 6th and 19th Army Corps were on their way from the James and the Gulf of Mexico to save the Capital they loved so well. North and South looked on with bated breath, and wondered which, in this race of armies, would reach Washington first.” The troops garrisoning the fort on July 10 were composed of Company K, 150th Ohio, 78 men, Capt. A. A. Saf- ford; 13th Michigan Battery, 79 men, Turner, 150th Ohio. With these few seasoned troops oc- cupying Fort Stevens, the situation was indeed critical and no one knew it better than did the military au- thorities at Washington and early on July 11 the order was issued: “Intelligencer, July 12, 1864: “Headquarters, D. C. Militia, “Washington, July 11, 1864. Capt. Charles Dupont, and 52 conva- | lescents, commanded by Lieut. H. L. | on and visited several of and came near being picked by & sharpshooter. He had to be ordered down from the parapet by Gen. Wright, who said: “Mr. President, I know you are Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States, but I am in command here and you are not safe where you are standing. As I am responsible for your personal safety, I order you to come down.” Lincoln looked at the general's de- termined face and smiled and stepped down. A witness of the scene at that per- ilous moment, as related by Louis Cass White, who, after the war bought and erected a home on the land where the old toll gate formerly stood and who was a color sergeant of the 102d Pennsylvania Regiment, engaged in the defense of Washington at that time, said of this incident: “As he, Lincoln, or as we boys all called him, ‘Old Abe,’ stood on the parapet, the boys were mostly looking 8t him to see what he was going to do. He had on a black suit of clothes and a high beaver hat. When the bullet was fired, Lincoln dodged and the oft Hospital. — DC GEN. ISAAC 1. STEVENS, Killed in the Battle of Chantilly, for whom Fort Stevens was o- The Union dead at Battle Ground National Cemetery, Georgia avenue, near Walter Reed | his hat fell off. When Crawford fell, | the cry went all along the fort: ‘The ! surgeon has been shot!’ ‘I ITTLE is left to remind the pres- |7 ent generation of the Battle of | Fort Stevens, and few of those who General Order No. 1. | “Having this day been ordered by the President to call out, for imme- diate service, the Militia and volun- teers of this District and specially as- signed to the command thereof, the 8th Regiment of Infantry and the | volunteer force, including Cavalry and | Infantry, are hereby ordered into the service of the United States for 30 days. “Every available man is wanted im- mediately and captains of companies and colonels of regiments will at once notify the men of their respective commands to assemble for muster without delay. sonally superintend the details of this order and see that it is promptly executed. “GEORGE C. THOMAS, By John Clagett Proctor. IGHTING is bad business at its best, but fighting under a sweltering Sumrmer’s sun, or marching 30 miles to battle over a dusty pike, in a temperature ©of 100 degrees in the shade, would be likely, it seems, to take the enthusi- asm for combat out of most any one, and yet, this is what Gen. Early’s men did on July 10, just prior to engaging in the Battle of Fort Stevens, July 11 and 12, 1864. And this march began, too, the morning following the Battle of Monocacy, which occurred July 9, some say between the hours of 2 and 6 pm. while the Records of the Rebellion tell us it occurred between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. There are three principal events that stand .out above all others in the District of Columbia. The first of these was the laying of the corner stone of the District, at Jones Point, near Alexandria, April 15, 1791. The second was the invasion of the city by the British, August 24, 1814, and the third, what has been called Early’s Raid on the Capital, resulting in the Battle of Fort Stevens, and for once, in this latter instance, Gen. Grant came within an eyelash of making a colossal and critical miscalculation, the extent of which might have lost the war. Indeed, only Lew Wallace, and contributing fortunate circum- gtances, saved the Nation’s Capital, upon that occasion, from capture and probably its distruction by the invading Confederate forces. IT HAS been 72 years since the Battle of the Monocacy took place, and few visitors to that part of Fred- erick County, Md., where this en- gagement occurred, have any knowl- edge of the sacred ground over which they tread—precious to those of the | North, equally precious to those of the South, but hallowed by all, for here, and in the cemeteries hereabout, sleep the 380 men who died fighting for what they thought was right. However, there are so many con- flicting statements as to the casualties at this battle and at Fort Stevens, which took place a few days later, that the figures do not always agree. The Union Army is said to have lost 130 in killed, 560 wounded and to have lost 700 prisoners, while the Confederate loss was 250 killed, 65¢ wounded. The greater loss, sustained by the Confederate forces, was due to the fact that they were the at- tacking party. One writer calls at- tention to a statement made, that at one time there was a stone in Mount Olivet Cemetery, in Frederick, Md., upon which were inscribed words to the effect that 408 Confederate sol- diers, who gave their lives in the Battle of Monocacy, were buried there. Perhaps the greatest point of inter- est attached to this battle is that it undoubtedly saved Washington from being captured, and Gen. Lew Wal- lace is certainly entitled to the largest share of credit in holding Gen. Early back long enough to allow for the arrival of Federal troops adequately to man the forts to-the north of Wash- ington, particularly Fort tevens, where the main attack was lat®r made. That every. available soldier was sent to Grant at Richmond is a known fact, and that this course was taken at that general's demand is also known, though it was not altogether according to Lincoln’s best judgment, and he only gave his consent when he was assured by his ranking general that he would keep steamers with banked fires in readiness to move troops from City Point, 250 miles from ‘Washington, in case there was an at- tempt on the Capital, and as it trans- | pired, they just arrived in the nick | of time—due solely to Wallace, who, with a greatly inferior force, held | back Jubal Early, otherwise Grant | could not have effectively made good his promise. | “7ALLACE had at the Monocacy, | all told, about 7,500 troops, ‘ which included the 2,500 men under him before he was reinforced by + Ricketts and the 3d Division of the 6th Army Corps. The latter, we are told, was not supposed to report to ‘Wallace, but had orders to report else- where, and hesitated to take instruc- tions from him until made acquainted with the reasons why Wallace would | risk a fight with a knowingly superior force, the exact number of which was | not known and which there could be no prospect of defeating. To Ricketts’ inquiry for reasons, Wallace said: “First, I want to know for sure whether he is on his way to Washington or Baltimore. Second, T want to push aside the curtain of | mystery as to his numbers. Here he has marched all the way from Lynch- burg and no one knows what his forces consist of. Third, if Early's| objective is Washington, I want to “detain him here 36 or 40 hours. That will give Gen. Grant ample time to get a corps or two into Washington end make it safe. Gen. Grant is the only hope and we must give him notice and time.” Whereupon Ricketts agreed to stay and asked for orders. Upn this occasion Early levied a tribute of $200,000 upon Frederick in | retaliation, he said, for the devastation | of the Shenandoah Valley by the Fed- | eral forces, and the money was raised | end turned over within a few hours. | He also exacted $20,000 fram Hagers- | town, and on July 30 Eayy’s cavalry, under Gen. Jphn McCausland, upon | failure to receive $100,000 in gold, burned Chambersburg, Pa. While all this was going on, the people of Washington were quite in . the dark as to the approach of the . Confederates, who were then so close at-hand, and it was not until the Wfirst edition of The Star was publishéd, on July 11, that they realized the _‘imminent danger. This is The Star's ‘@irst brief statement: “Last evening & force of from 1,500 to 2,000 rebels entered Rockville and passed through to & point a few miles this side of that village. Halting there for & brief while, they retraced their steps to the town, where they biv- puscked for the night. +« *“rhis morning they are engaged with s the cavalry force under the sommand of Col. Lowell, thrown out to micertain their strength and character. ‘No information embracing details of - this progressing engagement have yet-been received here. “.*The point where the fight was in progress was in the vieinity of Rabbits Creek Post Office, between Tennally- “Major Gen. Com.” WAS not long before men in all the departments of the Govern- IT sent here by Grant, few were called into action. President Lincoln was particularly anxious to learn all that was going : AN = (QYNEALS ROYAL SECORITY OILY, i GEO.IZYNEAL,JR. town and Rockville. “Maj. Gen. Augur hes been returned from a tour through the defense of ‘Washington, on the north side of the Potomac, made this morning. He found L4 AI8~T-STo NoWe ESTABLISHEO+IB608 “Brig. Gen. P. F. Bacon will per- FourTh WE KNEW, REMEMBER HOW WE "AROOND L THROVGH ON'THE STREETS TOor.THE SHOT AND HALFE-SHOT FIRE wor WE D LOAD BACIK PORCH Wi ForR MOTHER W were not then living, can grasp today | the real significance of this engage- | ment. Only three ouistanding mute reminders are still visible to indicate how close our fair city once came to being captured and destroyed by the Southern Army. One of these is the fort itself, where Lincoln stood under fire, and came near being picked off | by an enemy sharpshooter; the other | is Battle Ground National Cemetery, | where are interred 40 soldiers who died | in defense of the Nation's Capital, and one who died recently; the other, a| | Confederate monument in the church- | {yard of Grace Episcopal Church, | | Woodside, Md., on the old Brookville or Seventh street road, about a mile beyond Silver Spring. It is not an old graveyard, as ceme- teries go, and yet it was probably there | before the Civil War, since there has | been a church on this site from about | 1858, and the burials run back to al- most that time. There is always something attractive | for you are likely to notice the name of a friend or acquaintance cut on a tombstone that will carry your mind sack for many years, and so, the writer ' Of those who attehded the church, Senator Lee recalled his grandparents, | Francis P. Blair, sr., and Mrs. Blair; Montgomery Blair. his uncle, who was a lay reader in the church, and as came across the name of Newton P. by, died May 20, 1883; his record sistant librarian of the Smithsonian | field, England. A very old stone just Institution. He died May 19, says “Ida Plater” and another, “Nan- and the writer did not know that he | cy Jones, died 1873.” was buried in this little God’s acre. | ‘\FTER visiting the churchyard, the stones here which did not record the <™ gritar called on former Senator dates of death of those interred. One = = Silver Spring, since the Senator has ing piace of Eleanora Windham. who ! > BT ne: died at the age of 56; another, Eliza- been & vestryman of this church for burial as taken from the gravestones, | P0dy Who belonged to or attended is that of Sarah B., consort of Thomas | Orace Church and his memory is cember 3, 1861, and her age was 65, | 4ays. The first rector, he said, was a Her husband died September 18, 1862. | Rev. Mr. Wylie: then came in order Other early burials here were those | claihorn, Rev. Baker, Rev. Faulkener, of Charlotte Grace Cousins, Who Was | pey Moody, Rev. Dr. James Magrew, 1797, and died in Montgomery County, Md., February 14, 1871; Adolph Martik | died January 30, 1871, at Independ- ence, Montgomery County; John Gott - 5 . many will recall was Postmaster Gen- 23, 1823, “fell asleep” March 1, 1874 | 151"y, "president Lincoln's cabinet; Mr. Fidler was the village blak- Rear Admiral and Mrs. S. P. Lee, ever, he had the reputation of settling | Mrs, Josiah Harding; members of the all the contenticns in and about his | family of Crosby S. Noyes, when the Scudder, who for many years was as- | states that he was born at Huddles- 1925, There were some very old tomb- o thiess was erectediGver the lasbTeith| s oo st Iistorle oid home I beth Windham, age 37. The earliest | 3 years and has known nearly every- N. Wilson, whose death occurred De- | V€Y clear, even back to his childhood | Rev. Jones Battle Avirett, Rev. R. R. . in London, England, April 11,| ey’ pr. Nelms and Rev. Norris. Wilhelm Birgfeld, born July 10, 1848, | Fidler, born in Slessing, Prussia, April smith, and a reliable, quiet man. How- | parents of Senator Blair Lee; Dr. and neighborhood in a decisive and stern | family was living at Alton farm; the | ment were drilling and preparing to about a cemetery, especially if you way; in other words, he was the judge | family of Col. Charles Newbold, when go to the aid of Fort Stevens, but, | have lived in the general locality in|and jury to all the people thereabout, | living at Sligo; Mr. and Mrs. Charles through the timely arrival of those | which it is located for a long while, | and all accepted his decisions. His son, | Bachelor and Gen. and Mrs. Getty. Frank Fidler, now about 82 years old, [ It was Gen. Getty who led the troops is one of the two oldest vestrymen of ! that drove Early north on the Sev- the church. g enth street pike and liked the neigh- Edward Pilling, who is interred near- | borhood so well that he returned after CONFEDERATE DEAD 'WHO FELL IN FRONT OF WASKINGTON,D.C. JULY 12, 1864. — DY THEIR COMRADES B T — Confederate monument in Grace Episcopal Church grave yard, Woodside, Md., to 17 of its soldiers killed in the battle of Fort Stevens the war and bought a farm about 2 miles north of the church, where he made his home. | Mr. and Mrs. Smith Thompson were members of the church, as were Mrs William Thompson, the Clagett fal ily, early landowners of this vicinity; Greenbury Walking, who owned a large section of land, now a part of Chevy Chase; Richard and Alfred Ray, Maj. Lawrence and several mem- bers of the Jones family. The Confederate monument is the largest stone in the cemetery and Senator Lee says that it was erected by the enterprise of Rev. James Bat- tle Avirett, before mentioned., who was the rector of Silver Spring Par- ish. He was an old Stonewall Jackson soldier and a wholly unreconstructed | Southerner. In financing the erec- tion of the memorial, he was assisted, it is said, by Dr. Alexander Y. P. | | Garnett, Leigh Robinson, Mills Dean | ;and others. The monument is inscribed: l “To the memory of ] Seventeen Unknown l Confederate dead Who fell in front of Washington, D, C, July 12, 1864, | by their Cemrades.” At the bottom, in large letters, is the word “Confederate.” WHW the writer visited Senator Lee's home, he could not help but recall the part the Blair mansion WOMEN OF AMERICA Those of the Desert Have Their Old Loyalty to the Land, But it Takes a Modern Form in These Days. Note: This is the third of a series o©f articles on the women of Amer- ica, their manners and customs, their thoughts and ideas . . . based on interviews and the observations of the author in leading cities throughout the country. By Mathilda Bahar. PHOENIX, ARIZ. about the desert woman and her courageous isolation on the arid range. Life is different these days on the old homestead. Why it is almost revolutionary how these women who dwell in the desert have | combined all phases of modern living with their barren surroundings. They still love the dry, open spaces of their cactus country. But they are taking full advantage of the changes afforded by the new State highways, the radio, the electric refrigerator and the fire- less cooker. A few years ago the women of the desert gave no thought to seeking em- | ployment in the Phoenix shops and of- fices. Woman's place was working on the ranch. Today, however, hundreds are employed there and are an amaz- ing force in integrating life between the ranch and the city. But through all the changes the woman of Sun Valley strongly upholds the law of the desert—the survival of the fittest. One must get on or get out, they insist. And this atiitude is evident in the present political crisis. Families, heretofore, have held poli- | tical views as a unit, the woman vot- ing side by side with her man. Now you find a growing rift in this arrange- | ment. The man may want a New Deal but his wife insists that the law of the desert must be the strongest factor in her vote. These women, struggling with the elements, doing without the taken-for-granted-things a woman has | these days, so that father can have a few dollars to put back in the ranch, are actively bitter about the new so- cial trends. “Our men can get along | without all that Government help,” they tell you over and over again. “We do not want such things as old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and other panaceas for the slacker and the shirker. It just means that the few dollars cash we have accumulated by the end of the year will go into taxes to help those who have not the grit and stamina we have.” played in the notable invasion of, the District of Columbia, and par- ticularly of an incident related of it, (Continued on Fourth Page.) 'HEY give vent to this feeling in the social relationships of their com- | munity life, One complains that Mrs. SUMPIN FORYoU , A FLOWER PO AND 175 STILL GOOD, NOW DONT SAY, | NEVER GAVE You ANYTHING (ELLA ), GLORIOLS 2 OOKING A\ AND HOW THE S, DGO | . THe DEBRIS “The Glorious Fourth” (= o= e ~LL BETCHR™, SoL FOOND Y m’\ BESSIE OITERBACKS' YARD, THEY HAD 50! MANY THEY S0SYT EORGOT TO LIGHT L7 QEMEMBERS How CHINRTOWN ON PALAVE. ) = X0 LOOK HE \. S DAY AFTER TH. EOUETH 2 @ A 9 0 ‘._))/a 2 gy D —a THEM = 0 CLEAN AWAY © —By ik Mansfield (s 73 2= % 5;_\—5:% = AN 7 O SaRE WITHOOT A RONAWAY WAS ZWKE A CICNIC WITHOUT ANTS . WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER * WER TOLAST WEE!fj‘ QUESTION, = 3 ~4~ CA.AVE. Now., NAME 1T P ANSWER., ANCOCK?S OLO CO! R_IKITY SHOP, FAMOUS FOR MINT JULEPS. U COMAN e an WEEKS URC RTACHIE cauecy ” ACK up your romantic notions | X.'s little girl is better-dressed than hers because Mrs. X. gets a check from the Government each week. Another | worries that the people on relief can wear good shoes, for they have the cash | to buy them. Here, for the first time | during my travels through the cities | attempting to learn what the women | are thinking about today, women have | said to me that the disgrace of those | families who have taken relief from the Government will be passed unto | the second and third generation, that | desert women have long memories and | these things will never be forgotten. Love of the desert is a minor reason why families Temain to struggle wi homesteading. The high, dry climate keeps them here, for most famili have an ailing member. This health- | building climate has also made Phoe- | nix a prosperous resort city with | thousands of visitors spending money | thereby tempting many women to | commute from the ranches to earn a weekly pay check out of the city's commercial life. For the male Ari- zonian is not interested in taking a city job. He«prefers to build from the ground up and homesteads to make a permanent place for his fam- ily. When this is not possible he hire out as a tenant, provided they git him an adequate house for his folk until he can begin to homestead. H is therefore glad when his womenfo:i: work. It means more cash in th home and the ranch can be built up quicker. This change in family habits wa brought clearly home to me when questioned a stenographer in a la i yer's office. She is the wife of a stru, |gling rancher and has two you | daughters in elementary school. | “What about the children?” I asked ‘nner she explained that her case was not unusual. “Who gets their meals and attends to them in general?” “My husband and I have worked it |all out,” she explained. “Of course, | without his help I could not manage it. We always work together. When the ranch got too large for him to take care of himself we had to hire a ten- ant farmer. The man helps in the fields. And since his wife has small babies and cannot do much oustide of her own work, she is glad to-come in every morning and clean up for us. It leaves me free to take a job.” NOT satisfied, I persisted. “But what about the food problem?” | She laughed. “Why, that is easy these days, even on the ranch, if you are lucky enough tc have an electric refrigerator and a plugged-in cooker.” Many of the women on the ranches look to seasonal agricultural jobs. They hire out for date packing and grape boxing. However, they have some competition among the Mexican women, for there is a large Mexican | population here. And between the groups social lines are tightly drawn. | They have never forgotten the an- cient war with Mexico in the early | days of Mexican aggression, when the | feud between the greaser and gringo was violent. But it is the Indian woman who is the skilled worker in the crafts. Her native weaving is one of the important | industries here, for she makes the rugs and woven articles purchased by the tourist trade. However, these women still maintain the habits of their tribe. They are meek, self-effacing and un- obtrusive and take no interest in the life of the community. On the whole, the social life is a democratic one. Families realize the struggle to take hold. A ranch woman does not judge her neighbors from the exterior of her house. She knows that often it will start with one room, with additions from time to time, until it ends as a substantial home. She realizes that the money needed to give it a fresh coat of paint must be spent in irrigating another field. But she is a severe critic when it comes to judg- ing the interior of the home. She tells you frankly that if a woman isn't interested in giving her family proper living quarters they are inferiar neoe ple. che adds that she and her neighbors cannot be bothered with them. -'Rmmmm. because of our cli- mate,” she explains, “we get the backwash of the other States.” You see these squatters in many places along the desert. The women and children look so forlorn and emaciated. How different was the silent tread of those mothers who crossed the desert In the covered wagon, walking so as not to overburden the horses. Some too tired to go on, with little ones sick and weary, remaining to create a com- fortable family life even in the desert. The desire to give her family com- fort rests closest to the desert woman's heart. She studies every phase of homemaking, and her motto is “I can do anything you can do.” One of the most interesting things she has devised is the air-cooling system for her house, for in that dry cactus, sun-beaten valley it gets mighty hot. It is & |dmpls homemade device. She has (Continued on Eighth Page.) L3