The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-02-24

Thy young beauty's one delight;
There it dwells and dwells forever.
Forever bright!
For The Cecil Wing.
RECOLLECTIONS OF MY BOYHOOD.
MUNC1E, DEL. COUNTY. IND,
January Goth, 1872. :
s:There comes voice that awakes my
soul. 1t is the voice of years that are past:
they roll before me with all their deeds"
OSsidn.
was born in Cecil county, Maryland,
Nov 4, 1900. My earliest recollections are
connected with the farm of Tobias Rudolph,
where my father Capt. John Sample, then
lived. 1t was on the Glasgow road, oppo-
site the Cowden farm (now owned by Rev.
James McIntirej. From there l used to
60 to school over Ginn's Hill-where the
residence of Postmaster General Creswell
row stands-to Elkton, about mile and
half Then we lived about three years at
the Landing, moving to Elkton about 1911,
| think.
l remember many of the scenes and Incl
dents of the war 1912; and particularly
how the redco beat up our quarters so
often in Elkton, while they blockaded the
Chesapeake. Often we (the women and
children-and sonae mem took what we
could conveniently carry and fled for safety.
One afternoon after the battery las We
called it, was erected at the Landing, and
the good men and brave were there to meet
the foe, very many of the women and chill
dren were collected at the creek north of
the town, awaiting the result of an ap-
proach of barges, two men came sneaking
by-John and Jim Anderson-and the
women opened on them a fire of ridicule,
which was very severe, but they kept on,
observing the adage, "He that runs away,
may live to fight some other day" My
mother and the younger children went to
the residence of Mr.. John Thompson, near
Newark, in Delaware, and remained for
some time. The prominent men who stood
foremost in the defence of our homes then
were Col. James Sewell, Major Andrew
Whann, (of the cavalry Capt. Sample and
Ensign Thomas Howard-I have forgotten
the Lieutenant. A part of the time there
was company from Lancaster. Pa, quar-
tered in Whann's house, near the mill
The British fleet lay in the bay, down about
POOLS island and Spesutia island, and from
thence they sent marauding parties in
barges up Sassafras, Susquehanna and Elk
rivers, robbing hen-roosts, firing private
property, and turning up Jack generally.
They thus destroyed ware houses and
schooners at Frenchtown, where we had an
unfinished fort. They also destroyed Havre
de Grace. saw the smoke at Elkton of
the burning property. They essayed to
reach Elkton, but finding Cheaaur-de-
.frise across the river, and the little battery
at the Landing ready to receive them, they
retreated, remembering that discretion was
the better part of valor. They were a
wretched, cowardly set of marauders, going
only to those points which were unpro-
tected. A large body of Pennsylvania
Militia was collected and encamped at Ken
nett Square, in Pennsylvania, contiguous
to the heads of the Chesapeake and Della
ware bays, ready to succor any post where
most needed: from thence was a chain of
videttes leading down through Elkton to
Bulls Mountain, at the head of the Chesa-
peake, and by that means constant watch
was kept over the movements of the British
fleet in our bay. Their headquarters, in
Elkton, were at the Fountain Inn, kept
then by Joshua Richardson. They each
rode about ten miles, and have often seen
them coming on gallop, the horse covered
with foam.
We could distin city hear the booming of
the cannon, during the bombardment of
Fort McHenry, at Baltimore. In February,
1915, when the news of peace was received,
all of our citizens repaired to the Landing
to fire salute from the battery. Ezekiel
+. Chambers, then 4 sprightly, slender,
sharp. faced young lawyer think from
Kent county-was at Elkton, perhaps
Court was in session. think he was
States Attorney at the time, and took
charge of nine or twelve-pounder canon.
1t was at the north end of the battery, near
the stone house, where a tavern was kept
in the early days. In loading the gun,
some imprudent person, after the ball was
rammed home, stuck frozen clod in the
muzzle they were firing at barrel on the
ice, some half mile below,) Chambers
touched the gun off, and 1t busted. l was
standing on the rampant, near him, watch
ing the effect of the shot, when, on looking
down, ! saw Chambers lying against the
bank, bleeding, and the debris of the gun
lying on him. He was hardly hurt, but no
bones were broken, although there were
some narrow escapes. A large piece of the
gun vas thrown into One of the garnet
windows of the stone house which stood
near, aud little girl was looking out of
the window at the time. Tobias Rudolph
stood upon a barrel to see the effect of the
shot, right i'll the rear of the gun, the
breecll Of which knocked the barrel to
pieces under him. | met Chambers, in
August, 1859, at Newport, Rhode Island.
He became one of the Judges of the Court
of Appeals for Maryland.
In those days, Earl, Worrall and Purnell
composed tie Circuit Court for Cecil
county Vim. Alexander, Jere Cosden,
John Partridge, Tobias Rudolph, VIM. Ii.
Ward We're the prominent resident attor-
tnrneys; James Sewah, Clark, and perhaps
iseoast C. Lusby, Sheriff. Henry Stump
W - perhaps student at law, and perhaps
Geor,. 3. Cosden. Henry d. Miller, Regis
ter of wills, &C,
In my early days. in Elkto", there we're
no lines of steamboats,, and all travel WAS
by MEAS of stages between b. '''hi''e anu
Philadelphia, There were three lines -'ne
L. s. Mail, Pisct. and Expedition. West