Inscription
Clear Springs in the Civil War
This was a lively Unionist community on the important National Road during the war. In nearby Four Locks on January 31, 1861, local residents raised a 113-foot-high "Union Pole" with a streamer proclaiming the "Union Forever."Many local men enlisted in the Federal 1st Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry and Co. B, Cole's Cavalry, but several joined the Confederate units. A Federal detachment occupied Clear Spring and maintained a signal station on nearby Fairview Mountain. On May 23, the Clear Spring Guard drove off Confederates attempting to capture the boat at McCoy's Ferry on the Potomac River, south of here. Confederate Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's troops attacked the nearby Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in December.
After the Confederate retreat to western Virginia after the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, Gen Robert E. Lee sent Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and more than 1,000 cavalrymen on a raid around the Union army. Stuart's force crossed at McCoy's Ferry on October 10 and rode through the Clear Spring community to Mercersburg and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, seizing prisoners, horses, and supplies before escaping through Maryland.
During the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg in 1863, on July 10 a large cavalry rearguard action began in Clear Spring and continued toward Williamsport. More than 1,500 cavalrymen were involved.
In 1864, Confederate cavalry Gens. John McCausland and Bradley Johnson crossed into Maryland at McCoy's Ferry on July 29. After driving a 400-man Union force from Clear Spring. McCausland rode to Chambersburg and burned it the next day.
Details
| HM Number | HM1554 |
|---|---|
| Series | This marker is part of the Maryland Civil War Trails series |
| Tags | |
| Placed By | Maryland Civil War Trails |
| Marker Condition |  10 out of 10 (1 reports) |
| Date Added | Thursday, October 16th, 2014 at 2:55am PDT -07:00 |
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Locationbig map
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 248147 N 4393797 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 39.65690000, -77.93560000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 39° 39.414', W 77° 56.136' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 39° 39' 24.84" N, 77° 56' 8.16" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 301 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 12624 Broadfording Rd, Clear Spring MD 21722, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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Show me all markers in: Clear Spring, MD | Washington County | 21722 | Maryland | United States of America
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