The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-04-27
Why Frederick is Famous.

" L. l. CNANA i'm 10 II 6lhOuo
Tne following editorial appeared in
the Baltimore San of the 10Th instant 4:
The city of Frederick is one of the
historic places of America. 1t is located
in valley of great beauty, surrounded
by farming lands Which are like the
"C;arien of the Gods" Thu HORIZON to
the east and west is bounded bN wooded
mountains, which stand around her
like a wall. To the south the mountain S
of Virginia are clothed by distance in
an azure hue, while awaS to the north
extends a magnificent farming country.
For many years Frederick was the ives
tera limit of civilization in the province
OF Mary and. In the French and
Indian war nearly all settlements west
of that town were looted, burned and
desti Dyed, ami the settlers either
murdered aud scaped or driven from
their h, mes, many Of them flying as
far rs Baltimore and Annapolis. Fred
erick was the headquarters of General
Braddock ard of Washing on and of a
pOrti II of the army which marched to
perish near Fort Duquesne. 1t was
here that Benjamin Franklin met with
Brad lock and supplied him with
wagons to move his army stores to the
wilderness. In Frederick there were
many stirring incidents during the
Revolutionary War. The Stamp Act
was repudiated there, and it was the
home OF some of the most active
patriots. Near Frederick an important
bat tie OF the Civil War wa fought, and
through it marched the armies of Lee
and Mcclellan before they met in battle
array on the Antletam.
But none Of these things have gained
FIR the fine little city so wide fame as
did Whittier's beautiful poem, Bar
bara Fritchie" 1t has long been a
question whether the incident really
occurred or not. Percy CIR gig, an
English historian, in his history OF the
United States, speaking of Whittier'S
poem, declared that the Northern
parry spirit invented with strange I'M
consciousness of the true bearing of the
story a Characteristic illustration of
Southern patience and chivalry.
Whittier brings out the more for
cib'y, because unawares, the contrast
between the p-tulant imperline of
Mistress Barbara and the forbearance,
tinged with contempt, of the Confeder-
ate chief and soldiery. Such was the
temper aud such the discipline of the
Southern tro 'ps, with scarcely an ex-
C ption, thr ughout the war"
This quest on, as has ben told in
the news columns of the Sun, was
opened up recently by Senator Chaun-
cey Depew. A delegation went from
Frederick City to Washington to urge
upon Congress repayment of large
sum of money which General Early
had levied upon the town during the
Civil War Senator Depew asked one
of the committee whether Barbara
Fritchie was real person. The con-
mittee at once assured him that she
wa, and not only this, but that the in
cident of Whittier's poem was a real
one. In proof If his one of the COM
mittee declared that he had seen the
flag This proof OF course, was as
conclusive as that offered to an eth
nologist who was told that certain
tribe of savages wrapped their babies
in birch bark and laid them upon the
bottom of a lake during the wiuter,
taking them up IN the spring alive and
well. At first the ethnologist doubted
whether this could be true, but they
finally convinced him by showing him
the lake.
The Frederick Examiner, which is
excellent authority upon the subject,
shows not only that the Barbara Incl
dent did not occur, but that it could
not have occurred because General
Jacks n did not pass Mrs Fritchie's
house The Examiner says:
"As matter of fact, Jackson never
passed Barbsra's house, and, and ii we
are correctly informed, only small
portion of his troops passed her home.
Whittier himself did not believe in the
incident he related; but he did know
that she left no stone unturned to show
her scorn for the Confederate soldiers,
aud he knew that the gallant spirit of
Jackson would naturally show itself in
such reply as he puts in the mouth
Of the brave General. This poem of
Whittier was written, not for the pur-
pose of putting some historical event
in words of grace and beauty, but as a
tribute to the loyalty and courage of
the women of the North and to the
chivalry and gallantry of the sons of
the South.n
But whatever may be the facts in the
case, it is just as useless to contradict
the Barbara Fritchie story is to
attempt to show that no such person
rs William Tell ever lived and that he
never shot the apple off his sons head.
Both incidents are fixed in popular
history and there they will remain.
And why should anyone attempt 10
disprove the Barbara Fritchie incident?
No one has any interest in doing so,
for, as the Frederick Examiner well
says. it is a tribute to the chivalry of
the Southern soldier, no less than to
the pluck and devotion of the aged
Maryland woman, who by the way,
was Southern woman herself
Therefore let the Barbara Fritchie
story remain, as remain it must, along
with the Tell and the apple story and
the Washington and his Ratchet story,
and all the other pleasant myths of his
tory. They are perhaps as true as
many of the more generally accepted
facts.