Returning home after the battle, Henry Kyd Douglas, junior officer to General "Stonewall" Jackson wrote of his home, ".a beautiful farm was laid waste, its fences disappeared up to the doors of the mansion house, artillery parks filled the wheat fields corn and fodder and hay soon became contraband of war. Turning, I glimpse Ferry Hill Place in the fall of 1862, just after the Battle of Antietam. Looking across the grounds that were long ago planted with wheat, grain and oats, I visualize the free and enslaved laborers harvesting crops or cutting lumber. Soon, a canal boat passes by, stopping briefly at the store at Lock 38. The ferry was operated by Jupe and Ned, two of the plantation's slaves. Looking down the hill toward the C&O Canal, I imagine Blackfords Ferry, crossing the Potomac River to Shepherdstown, in the 1830s. As I walk the grounds and hallways of Ferry Hill Place, the rich history of this site surrounds me.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |