The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1880-07-31
"REMINISCENCES.
MEN AND THINGS OF LONG AGO.

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MEN AND THINGS OF LONG AGO.
was too young when the war 1872 occurred
to perform military duty, but | contributed
toad and comfort our brave boys who served.
The Chesapeake bay was, at an early period
of the war, blockaded 10y the British navy,
and their marauding parties infested all of
our navigahe rivers and streams. Elk river
came III for Il full share: also SassatraS and
all other accessible rivers and streams. They
burnt Havre de Grace. i saw distinctly the
smoke ascending from that burning. 1t is
about sixteen miles, nearly due west, from
Elkton. Elkton would have been burnt,
only for the measures taken by our authori-
ties TO prevent it. They had, early in the
war; erected at the Landing an earth-worl
Just below the two-story stone house stand
ing yet, suppose, ut the lower wharf. 1t
was manned part of the time. There were,
l think, six guns i'll it-siN-pounders,- tx
cept the one ut the north port-hole, which
was 4 twelve-pounder. More Of that gun
anon. There was Il barrier thrown across
from the point, | think called Thomas's
Point, for Theodore Thomas owned the land
there, and II tirst-rate man he was, for he
contributed often to supply my wants for
good apples when | lived at the Landing.
He had fine orchard, and knew all about
the wants of good boys for good fruit. This
barrier thrown across the river from that
point, which think was called Cedar Point,
had its fastening on the other shore, was
of tlattened logs, and we'll secured with iron
bars, and was not two hundred yards from
the battery. The enemy eSsayed more than
once, | think, to pass that barrier and get to
the battery, but were always repulsed. They
We're cowardly dogs. That barrier and that
battery saved Elkton from the fate of IIavre
de Grace. | remember doing one days
work for my country at FrenchtOwn, help
ing to build :; log battery on the wharf ut
that place by cutting and floating large trees
from below there. The piratical bands from
their fleet afterward burnt several of Mr..
Henderson S line of packets ut Frenchtown.
Finding they could not reach Elkton by
water by way of the Landing, they would
beat up our quarters by lnarauding parties
at night Often in the dead of night we
would be aroused by the cry
"THE BRITISH ARE COMING"
and then we would have to seek shelter in
the country. Our sanctuary was usually at
Mr.. John ThompSon'S, near Newark, in the
edge of Delaware. None knew but those
who We're driven to it by these civilized
savages the British, what we had to en-
counter These British troops acted the
part of freebooters or pirates. They used
to land on gentlemen'S estates and rob
and ravage and burn stacks of grain and
farm houses, and they called this civil
lied warfare. 1t was of Il piece with burn
ing and pilaging the city of Washington.
Let them try it now, if they dare Eng
land furnished her fair fame by the course
thus pursued, and got badly licked to boot
EElboldened by these successes in these
maraudingS and robbings of hen roosts and |
burning unprotected villages, they thought
that after their scandaous success ut unde- |
Tended places they would sack and burn |
Baltimore: but first they had to subdue |
Fort McHenry, which stood between them
and success. They signally failed. An in
cidcnt connected with that attempt on Fort |
McHenry gave birth and Immortality to
that patriotic song, The Star Spangled /
Banner" y gentleman of Baltimore, Mr.. |
Key by name, owned Il trading sloOp, which |
he ran out of the city of Baltimore down the |
bay, rs our folks do trading wagons. Com |
ing in one evening, when Fort Mcl1enry |.
being bombarded, they took him and !
his sloop. He (Mr Key) assured them that !
sured him of good treatment, but detained ,
him a prisoner and caused him TO witness ,
the fight. 1t was the next morning that his /
poetic genius prompted him to write that
immortal song:
"Oh say can you by the .lawn's early |
light, etc.
1t will carry the name Of the author down /
with it to immortality. Well, there was
the first repulse combined with that. They .
landed large body of troops to march from
North Point and cooperate with the naval /
forces in capturing and s;lcking the city of
Baltimore: but they did not calculate cor
rectly, for Col. Dick Heath, with the i'm
mortal Fifth Regiment of Maryland militia
were there ready to receive them and to
cover the name of Maryland troops all over
with imperishable glory. l had the pleas
ure of seeing Col. Dick Heath, who was from
one of the counties below Cecil, and the
Fifth Regiment i'll 1871, on the occasion of
the anniversary of that battle, which was
September 10th. That battle put an end,
however, to the blockade of the Chesapeake
bay.
/ must 20 back to that old mud fort at
Elk Landing. The war with England ter
minated by treaty of peace concluded at
Client, which was in December. But the
news did not reach lis until February fol-
lowing When the news reached ElktOn,
every thing was frozen up and court i'll ses-
sion. AS soon as the news came, court adj
journed in hurry and everybody hurried
TO the Landing to fire IL salute. Ezekiel F.
Chambers was one of the foremost. The
river was solid ice. y barrel was located
some distance down the river on the ice.
The guns were loaded. The l2-pounder ut
the north portfolio of the battery was man
aged by Chambers. The battery made
turn to the right there. ! stood on the bank
not ten feet from where Chambers stood. In
the rear of that gun Tobias Rudolph was
located on an empty barrel while the gun
was being Unanswered. Mr.. Rudolph was
sitting. When it was about being fired, |
Mr.. Rudolph got on his feet, So that he could
the better see where the ball would strike. |
About Il hundred feet from the gun was
the old stone house. There were in the ga
BILE two windows, in the garnet small aper-
lures. In each of these windows was a lit
tie girl looking down the river to see the
ball strike. | stood upon the parapet look
ing down the river. The two men, who had
loaded the gun, had stuck into its muZZle a
frozen clod. When the gun was fired by
Chambers, it bursted. looked down: there
was the bursted gun, the carriage torn to
pieces, and
CHAMBERS LYING HLEEpISG
among the ruins, The hreeuh of the gun
had knocked the barrel to pieces on which
Mr.. Rudolph was standing, and a large
piece Of the gun, | suppose weighing fifty
pounds, was driven through one of those
gable windows where the little girls stood.
Not person was killed or even badly hurt.
Chambers was bruised little. The hand
of God was plainly manifested then. Many
years afterwards | met Col. Chambers at
Newport, Rhode Island. He was Il gentle
man, but Il high-toned Southerner.
Will Cosden, the second son of Jere Cos
den, of Elllton, was young man of very
exalted ideas Of right, very Sensitive-too
much So, as the sequel viii show: He was
attending Il grammar school at Newark,
Del, about six miles from Elkton. His
father had bought him fine rifle with
which he passed much of his time along the
river, much to his qualification. When he
went to the school at Newark he took his
rifle with him. One morning, sometime
after he went to the school, the teacher,
while the class was reciting, became, per-
haps, impatient, and remarked, "Ioung
gentlemen, some Qf you are not well vGrsed
i'll your grammar FWlas: Mr.: cuSheE. re-
fer to you" Cosden, as soon as the class
was dismissed, Went to his room and loaded
his rifle After writing this note" Death
from dishonor; please deliver my rifle to
Rudolph Bennett, which was left on his
table, he blew his brains out. He was about
fifteen ar SiStaau years old If pauSa1