The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-08-30
LOCAL HISTORY.
[coersoHrso 1873 GEORGE JOHNSTON
HISTORICAL RESEARCHES
THAT QUILP MADE AS A BOHEMIAN
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

Hospital at Brick Meeting House Robbery at Elk
ton-Ppbc Wheat-Ewing's Mill-Interesting
Letters-Lafayctte's Expedition to York
| town-Its Failure-Returns to Head of
Elk-Encamps at Brick M. House.
| Claude Blanchards description
of the Head of Elk-Gen-
eral Dear5ourn.
Though the pacific principles ofthe Friends
! forbade them to engage in hoStilities they
| had no objections to takin. care of the sick
and wounded soldiers, and probably with n
view of afiordins them an opportunity of
| showing their patriotism, a detachment of
| General Snallroad's division of the Ameri-
can army took possession of the Brick Meet
ing House, in April, 117s, and converted it
into Il hospital for the Use of the sick and
wounded soldier. who were disabled in the
campaign of that year in northern New Jer
Sey. The old meeting house was used for a
hospital for about three rnonthS-the Friends
meanwhile worshiping in Il Friends barn.
The Friends treated the soldiers in the hos
pital with much kindness, and furnished
them with blankets and other things that
contributed to their comfort, and washed
and nended their clothes. During the time
the meeting house was used for an hospital,
many of its inmates died and We're buried
in the grave yard that surroundsit. y we'll
defined depression in the earth's surface is
all that marks the site of their sepulchre.
Except the hardSllips incident to u state
of war, which were greatly aggravated by
the depreciation of the currency, which had
become of such little value that, in 1880, the
price fixed by the county commissioners for
!. good hot dinner was six pounds fifteen
Sliliings, there is little Of interest to record
in the history of the county in the interval
between the years 1.1I and 1871. During
this period the inhabitants of the county
were often put to great inconvenience for
want of salt and sugar. but were able to
supply themselves with the fabrics used for
clothing from their own rnanufactores-the
oid-f;lshioned spinning wheels and hand
looms that were 10 be found in every thrifty
farm house,-and had 4 surplus left to dis
pose of outside of the county. In July,
1880, the captain OF a small bay craft came
to Head of Elk and lay in the river for sew
eral days till favorable opportunity oc-
Cured one night during a heavy thunder
storm, when he entered the warehouse Of
Zebulou Hoilingsworth, which stood on the
wharf in the "Hollow," and stole there
from about forty pieces of CHECK which
he took to Baltimore and sold, except three
pieces, which he gave to one of his crew,
vino sold them for five hundred dollars each.
This person, whose name was Green jim
met became dissatisfied with his share Of
the plumber and informed the officers of the
law, who arrested him and sent copy of
his confession to the authorities nf this coun
ty. Nothing more is known of the case, but
it serves TO show that there were some thieves
i'll those days and that checks were very
high priced.
I Ill, Nv fNr,1-
part in the campaign under Washington,
previo to and after the battle of brandy
wine, probably thinking lie could serve his
county better by doing so, returned home
some time previous to March, 117S, and from
that time to the close of the war acted As
general agent for the authorities of Mary
land and the Continental Congress. He not
only purchased supplies OF all kinds for the
Use of the army when in the field, but was
frequently called upon to provide supplies
for large detachmentS of troops that were
passing through the county at short notice.
The great thoroughflre between the North
and South at that time led from ChriStlana
Bridge to Elkton, and, when it was practi-
cable this route was followed. At other
times The armies were obliged to march, in
which case they crossed the SuSquehanna
river, and upon one occasion at least reqll-
sition was made upon him for all the boats
y
detachment over that river from Perryvile
to Havre de Grace. Such was the eXigency
of the case, and the scarcity of boats, that
he was instructed to procure boards with
which RATS We're to be constructed and at
tached to the gunwales of the boats he was
able to procure, in order that a speedy pas
sage of the river might be safely effected
Owing to the scarcity of money, the Leg
islatuTe enacted that taxes might be paid in
wheat, beef cattle and other things needed
by the army. Colonel IIolingSworth had
charge of the manufacture of much Of this
wheat, and supervised Il large extent OF
country, including much of the northern
part of the Peninsula and Hartford county.
The bran and other otf;.l derived from the
wheat was fed to the beef cattle. Patrick
Ewing WAS one of the receivers of public
wheat in the county, and much of it was
grour.d at his mill, on Conowingo creek i'll
the northwestern part of the county. We
select the two following letters from i large
number in our possession, and publish them
in order to illustrate the multitorrn duties
imposed upon the gentleman to whom they
were addressed:
WILLIAMSBURG, April 10, 1919.
Sir:-I send fifteen highlanderS prisoners
Of war; taken here three years ago. to your
care, requesting you to forward them on to
Congress, whom have apprised of it.
l am, sir, your most humble servant,
T. HENRY.
Colonel IIolltngS,cofh.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10Th, 1913.
Mr. HENRY NGSwoHTH-Sir:-l
am mach obliged by your expedition i'll
sending forward my letter from Mr.. Smith,
OF Portsmouth, and by the return of the
express | transmit herewith sundry dis
patches from His Excellency, the Chew.
De la Luzernc. and Mons. Holker. Adiutant-
General of the Royal Marine of France,
which l beg the favor of you TO send for
ward by a fast sailing boat, which, if posi-
BILE, you will hire for the purpose of carry
ING them on board the fleet ut Portsmouth,
or any OF her part of the bay, wherever the
said French fleet may be. l think it proha-
BILE that there may he Virginia or Maryland
boats a: your place that will undertake this
business for a moderate compensation, as
they may probably be on the point of re
| turning. l must pray of you to procure the
| best boat you can for this service on the
| most reasonable terms i'll your power, tax
| ing care that the skipper is man OF conf
| dence well attached to the American cause,
| and whom you are assured Will faithfully
deliver the dispatches. | will pay your or
der for the amount of all expenses arising
| on this occasion, and as there Will he occa-
| sion for constant communication with the
heel WililSt
| ures will be Immediately taken for that pur
| pose. in which conceive your assistance
will be necessary. Should Mons Holker
| add any thing to this letter, beg it may
| have Your full attention, and you will much
| oblige, sir,
| Your obed., humble servant,
| ROBERT MORRIS
The expedition of Cen Lafayette, which
| Washington detached from his army, then
| in the vicinity of New York, which WIS de
| signed to cooperate with a fore" already
| there against the traitor, Benedict Arnold
who at that time was ravaging the country
| along the James river and the lower part of
| Chesapeake bay, passed through the county
| The troops which composed this expedition
numbered 200. They came from Trenton
down the Delaware river and up the Chris
tiana creek to Christiana Bridge, from
whence they marched to the Head of Elk,
where they arrived OH or about the 9th OF
March The following letter, which we be
| | eve has never before been published, we
copy from the original, now in the posses
sion of the Misses Partridge, of Eikton:
ELKToN, eth March, 1881.
| SRI return the authority of Governor,
| inclosed in yours of this date. | do not
| think YOU will be able TO collect the guam
tity of meat specified in it by tomorrow.
You may, however, use your utmost endeav-
ors with the civil power with which you are
| vested, to collect as much as possible to-day,
| which we shall take with lis. The rest you
| will form into n magazine, and wait nv