, 1876-10-26
FRANCIS 2. BLAIR.
His Sitver.Spring Home, and Its
Romantic Origin.
Senator Gordon's Rebel Battle North
Of Washington.
How Ncnr lie Came to Burning the IN.
tional Capital.

sr"a. VII r. '|-. 'o,1 ~, s|'1" seo r,,.
n,atr e. a.s hur,.a ro,t or1og fron ii. mr..
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4, ,1,t.,h frnn, ,x1,tl, l., ws. h,,rt.1 In ,,,,
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-n,,ior. fa1 oxt,,,aa, ,toir ,,o,,n.r ro.,ar,,,as
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I,rnTont 1,.,1 ro,n,ncnce1 tl,o III, ~ n1,,ntnv
W,.,,n.-t,, 1.t.. .tI,n, ~ ,isrvs
,,na Fr,,co,u,tsna nrcc4.1 MI. tnis.
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"" ',",'. Ho ~. =" s,'.,' .1,.. .,.s.t.1 H. s,s
Hu""t o'a e""sei., a''''os' unn"'"G. :" 'h'
prlnletai naks OF that wooded lill, all HAT re-
P. Uta,r. VIVA hurled. Ills Tic reached buck a
1o,v tyov into thc ner,o,l a, which that church
.'"s WY n.y. ."s =" ".~" 1'"" ~''3'N4
II representative MI n'alr was
ALMOST cENTENARfAN.
ue died few DAYS ago, at the age OF 81.
nurn,. 1ote vc,rs. Mr. 1,iair ,ml lem llttIc
t,n,w,, Il, no,tfr.i ina ,1,t IN ,rax wall l,n,,wn
SHOWN ~ po't'eal 1"e w. ae "ae , Hsi ".'o"n
led them /" the suburbs Of Washington.
Very tnauy Years ago-far enough. hack in
trmc fnr m n]d man o s7 II, hare Lad lfs boyts],
ra,nnor. -,,s ,,,.,r .nr,.n, honc ~ The I,lofr
family at Silver Springs was founded, MIR.
az account of editorial which had written him
t,to no,,,,,aritv IN rhtr,, ho ,,i s,,acL~1 Multi
J tp,",xrIr ~ viii ,srca, cner'v @ NJ, HI, news
paper, tho Oil 0toae. Ills health Began 10
break. Washington City was not then tho
hc,)lhv n1nce It now Ia. nrass nrcv be-
twccn tbc co],hlr,stonc.. t,,r Sewerage
was on tho surface; s1nhcalth
av.tem lad , not reacne cd Il, present m perfection.
III, vo,,nr win 10 rrew NJ: out1 he then de-
termtucd ter to OH ind is, some G. place la IN tho suburbs
wlerc e could write his editorial uGuanclatons tls
ot Notification, aud, at tho same tine, Teoa!!a
his lcaltll by devotion to pastoral pursuit.: ne
w'as further determined to this by The warning
OF Ills .pEys!cnn, Wlln had gIYci! hltn ahont q
yGar's lrnse Of lite unless his work 'as changed.
Glance brought Mr.. Blair to
r., .,,. s1l;vE'; "; SPRING; ri, e.; .,,,. popo o.,
tss ss ?;iS x sss Sss ss IT,
when, by 6onc accilent to tho satlale, Mrs.
Blair was thrown. She Was too good horse
woman to be Injured, anu the horse Was TOO
fisky 70 be fhd reality saus r 1r r hsH[ It
caught him drinking at st}Eint eight miles
north Of the city in PING grove. The spring
was remarkable unc. The water blnB'ed up
irom the sparkling sann, clear and tmp!d, quito
Hike . fountain. Tie, farming country
around aluut WIS then quito arabic.
Tho location WIS good. II was elevated
somc hoo feet aboye washington, int ili,n
view Of the Potomac country, and was easily
soil would never allow to become rcry bad:
LAnd was cllcap-$t0 dollars per ncrc,-and
Frahcls Blair, with!n short tttnc afterwards,
bought at that spot 200 acres, including the
spring, which he nan,e1 the Silver Spring. Fsou,
tlnt 1ay to this, he as lived fru,n six to eight
mouths Of every year at this rural
home. There his huyA llnye grown up
to manhood; and fills spn, Montgomery,
now, owne more ,mulcrn ho'iss AND ii 2
emaler plantation adiaccMt 10 tho original gil.
vcr-SptInE tract. It was Muntgomcry'e hume,
built upon tho site OF the present one, that tho
Rebels under Gen. (nuw Senatorl Gordon and
Gen. EARLY destroyed BY fire On the night wl'on
thcy catnpel about Silver Spring,
ON THEIR WAT r<> utrl.s wAsirlHGT1x,
Tic baecllaHoian rinta of TINT night, and tho
mistake Of their commander III storptng, Prt-
vented the march Of the Rebels Oh
| Washington; for, IN the night. the ta-
nous Fighting Sixth Corps - Of tue
| Potomac Army hal arrived from the janIcs-
1svcr Country, Ind marched from thu Potomac
lantllng at double-ouiek TO with's, mile OF
drawn Up Up III i.nr of battle, awaiting Early's
4 little cemetery, it, which thcro are Aiiy
tombstoncs, is all tlcrc IS to 'ndtcato tho
siss! Of that 1orning, which M resulted a in to
ae,.in so rear The Capital City, an, they never
ntasn hn.l 50 glnnd ail opportunity Of burning
thu Capital Ut cohntsy which they were
for a day and u night, when they were within
seven miles Of Washington, but low home,
guards a1ll some cosvalcsu:nt4 from tho llospt
tals, witn could have made but sorry resiatnrce
andoal, Valley. 4 bottle of vino bciprc nov
l,as upsct tln plans Of better Geucrals thar
Early ind Gordon.
When old Francis r, Blair selected hts home,
he scarcely Thought that The war against Nullt'lca
tlonwcli ]lc was then wag1ng, would result In
| strife onu Of whose historic bnttlcs wo:,ld he
fought upon the outskirts Of his owl. Silver
Spring lurns. 1tayIng bought HIS rouutry.l,omc
he Immediately commenced TO cnjuy II to tht
fullest pxtcnt. IIc Ind always luScd the out
lilo OF u i,ousc better tllan The inside. III com
An ENalrsi cousrRf-oENrLKMAN:
Turing MS Curly heninKy liic, no q, n'ast l1! naSS