Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-22
up and the valley crops and mills no long

Ihe campaigns all came and went west
ward. from Johnston's to- Sheridan's, from
McClellan's advance from Ohio to Early's
battle at Monocacy, which, saved Washing
ton. Lee always invaded through that up
per country, after Chantilly. after Chancel-
louisville. The latitude of Washington city
Is that of Strasburg;. in Virginia. where the
accessory army of Lee held its eagles nest
on Fishers Hill and penetrated through
Manassas Gap upon our army flank or by
the upper Potomac, far lin the rear Of
tive.
A thousand million dollars were the cost
OF holding this advanced spicket of Wash
1ngton city upon the open plain. When
partial victory, after year and half of
defeats. enabled President Lincoln to issue
to his army, lying Upon the Conococheague
very was the enemy's war power, he pro-
ceeded there and addressed his soldiery,
and then returned. like Regulus to Car
image, back to the center Of his enemies,
finally to die.
Washington's Base Line the Blue
Ridge.
In the war Of the revolution the armies
which invested Yorktown were fed from
the same upper Potomac country. beef.
flour and rye whisky being wagoned by
Gov. Thomas Sim Lee to Baltimore.
Georgetown and Annapolis, thence down
the bay by boats.
The plan Of treason of Gen. Charles Lee,
when a British prisoner, was to hold strong
attachments from Alexandria to Annapolis
to cut the sections in twain and from that
line raid the upper valleys. burn the sup
plles and discourage the German farmers
from the patriot cause Lee and Gates
lived but mornings trot from the Como
cocheague.
The American Congress in the revolution
ned from Philadelphia to York and stayed
there year in safety; the children of
Arnold and others were placed at school
upon the Antietam, and Congress heard at
YORK or Burgoyne's surrender and the
French alliance. When, therefore, the Po-
tomac was to be made the residence. some
or those confederation congressman yet
alive hoped that the upper Potomac, in
stead OF the estuaries below Georgetown.
"oulo De the situation, and they included both
IN the bill General Gates did not sell out
his Virginia estate near Shepherdstown till
the year 1850, and ten years later. as the
head of the New York legislative ticket. he
turned that state and the government over
to Jefferson. He freed all his slaves be-
fore he left Virginia
After the British, In 1914, burnt the public
buildings, President Madison and wife fled
cabinet and part Of his army fled to Fred
ericktown, where were wagoned the public
money and papers.
Before the revolution Washingtons two
brothers settled in the upper Potomac coun-
try, and he was elected to the Virginia leg
isature first from Winchester. He first
appeared to history as the courier and
picket of that Ohio company his half BROTH
ers headed to settle the west from the
upper Potomac.
Washington Inspects the HagerstOwn
Site.
Did he give that upper country any in
spection under the act Of 1880 with his
commissioner staff?
He did visit Hagerstown in October, three
months after he got this option upon the
river, had a public dinner, and next day
went to Williamsport, then four years old.
The people there had petitioned their leg
islature to lay out the federal district In
that Washington county, but Otho Will
liams did not put in an appearance. and
when his brother wrote to him that WASH
ington talked very favOrably of the place
the prudent collector at Baltimore Endorsed
it ''all humbug'
The following March Washington met his
commissioners at Georgetown to lay out
the city; and SO bad were the roads that
the President, with his eleven horses, five
servants, chariot and baggage wagon, came
down the eastern shore and nearly lost his
life on the bay between Rockhall and An
napolis Sleeping" he says. "in my great
roat and boots in a berth not long enough
for me by the head and much cramped,"
the vessel aground at Annapolis Point, in
wind, thunder and lightning For him had
the proverb builder written: HE that
ruleth his spirit is better than he that
taketh a city"
Returning to PHILADELPHIA in July the
President again evaded the horrible direct
roads and travelled by Frederick and York,
and President Adams family, nine years
later. making the public removal to Wash
ington went out the Frederick road, got
lost in the woods, which were interminable
to 1.-THE new city," and were guided here by
a struggling black man. Nobody would cut
them wood ito secure them against the
Gen. Washington himself had described the
place where the capital might have been
when. just after the revolution. he exam
ined the upper Potomac for a canal and
lobbied for it before the legislatures at An
napolis and Richmond He descended Great
Falls and Seneca Falls. lodged at Gov.
Thomas Johnsons at Frederick and broke
the Sabbath to canoe down the rapids from
Harper's Ferry to Point of Rocks. Moth
ing can well exceed the land from Monoc-
acys mouth TO Frederick for convenient
levelness, fertility of soil and luxuriant
ton. Charles Carroll holds in one tract
II 900 or 1900 acres. From Frederick to
Katoctin mountain the land is similar"
Our Alternate Situation.
So was the land all fertile from the Mo-
nocacy to the Conococheague, with lime
stone fol roads. 1t furnished the blue col
umns In the old Hall of Congress. The
streets of Washington are being paved to-
day with machne-crushed stone from Car
rolls Manor. The free-stone Of Aqua
creek, which Is hardly stone at all, and re-
quires more annual paint than a painters
collie, would never have entered into our
public buildings in that high landscape
upon whose hillock mountains the Alham-
bra and Heidelberg castle could have been
repeated. There milk, butter and beef run
like the mountain springs.
During the war the enemy Travelled those
beautiful roads with the CELEBRITY and lux
ury of picnic, while the Army Of the Po-
tomac. marching everywhere, from no.
where, ate mud pie.
Cities had been founded on the site of
Washington by Jacob Funk and Daniel
Carroll as early as 176S. Funk vent up the
Potomac in despair and founded Funks-
town. two miles from HagerstoWn, while a
part of the CAROLS of Duddingt on had set
tied western New York. GEORGETOWN had
given up the race with Baltimore and was
little else than minor port OF the upper
Potomac when her ne GLIB y. the President
revived her destinies in 1871.
He stretched the District beyond the pre-
scribed limits. across the river Potomac to
embrace Alexandria, his parish town, which
for near forty years had been established
The law specifying the eastern bank of the
Potomac as the eastern limit was ig-
nored, and the act amended to suit