THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN OF 1862

THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN OF 1862: THROUGH ARKANSAS EYES

I don’t know if you have ever been in the two top northern Virginia Counties, but it is quite a revelation.

Nancy and I were traveling south out of Maryland to Leesburg, VA. I took a wrong turn and instead of going southeast I went southwest. I had a detailed map of northern Virginia. So, I talked Nancy into letting me driver over this gravel road that went from the paved highway I was on over to Hwy 15, which was the one I originally want to take.

Well it was about a ten mile drive on this gravel road to get to our rendezvous with Hwy 15. The gravel road was sort of a winding road and it seems after every curve there was a two story brick house with 2 SUVs in the front yard. I have never seen so many mansions on a gravel road before. There is definitely a lot of money in the Horse Country of Northern Virginia.

Finally, we got to Hwy 15 and proceeded south to Leesburg to visit their museum.
We had been there before and saw a display about a family of Duttons in Waterford, VA. They belonged to a sect of Quakers and 3 Dutton daughter, once Union forces had permanently occupied this portion of Northern Virginia, had published a Pro-Union newspaper. Apparently after the War all 3 daughters had married Union Officers and moved north. Their old home was still standing in Waterford and we wanted to get more information about it.

Also, I was able to purchase the most detailed map of the northern part of Virginia form Catoctin Creek in the west to Poolsville, MD in the east. It also listed all the major skirmishes during the Civil War in this area. I called the topographer of the map and asked him if he knew the person that might own the land on the Virginia side of the Potomac where White’s Ford was located. White’s Ford was the major crossing point for the Confederate Army in the 1862 Maryland Campaign. He gave me the name of the person and I called his home. He was an older gentleman and I asked him if we could go on his property to get photos of White’s Ford. He agreed and we thanked him profusely.

What happened is a story for another time.