The Washington herald., 1911-06-04
STORY or: POTOMAC RIVER

The first great crossing OF the Potomac
was made by the Union troops assem-
bling upon the unfriendIy soil of Virginia
Just previous to the first battle of Bull
Run, in June, 1851: the second on the
night following that miserable fasco
when the thousands of panic-stricken
'blue-bellies,'' as the enemy called them.
hastened back to the friendly shelter Of
the guns Of the outlying forts.
From Bull Run to Appomattox the
crossing was continuous. Thousands, tens
of thousands. hundreds of thousands,
Back and forth. a constant, winding rib
bon Of blue.
Three times in the course Of the civil
war the complexion of the ribbon chang
ed. Near Frederick, Md. in 1862 the rib
bon was gray. With Robert E. Lee and
Stonewall Jackson at the heads Of the
two columns, the soIdiery OF the Army
Of Northern Virginia poured over into
Maryland. $4,000 strong. only to be check
ed, but not defeated. by George B. Nc
Clellan at Antietam.
Again, during the last week OF June
1858, the gray ribbon. this time In three
bands and nearly 100, 900 strong crossed
the Potomac at the various fords above
Harpers Ferry. This time they marched
on and on across Maryland and into
Pennsylvania, only to be thrown back.
overwhelmed. by the avalanche Of blue
at Gettysburg.
On each CT these occasions the blue
ribbon swung back across the river.
singing and biting at the heels OF the
retreating Confederates-
Last Crossing OF Confederates.
The third and last crossing of the gray
came in the autumn of 1854. This time.
led by gallant old Jubal A. Early. 5000
Of the selected fighters of Lees army
made a dash across the Potomac tust
below Harpers Ferry. Washington was
their object. The foray was in the na-
ture of surprise. Washington was III
defended. Only battalion of New York
cavalry and a green regiment of Michi-
ganders were interposed between the Con-
federates and their goal. They fought
to within three miles OF Washington, to
Forts Stevens and Bunker Hill, Just
north Of the Soldiers Home. They were
held in check by the handful Of men; but
here again the Potomac played iIs part.
Up the Potomac, scurrtng as fast as a
horde Of steam vessels could bring them.
came the fighting Sixth Army Corps OF
the ARM OF the Potomac. "wright's
Devils" They disembarked at the Sew
enth street wharves. Up Seventh street
and W Ninth street they dashed at the
double-quick- The hurriedly assembled
home guards stood by TO watch the
swing Of the veterans. and they fell on
Early Just at the height OF his triumph
and wiped the devoted 5000 Of the map.
The Potomac had its part in the con-
Guiding tragedy Of the civil war period.
Following the assassination Of Lincoln in
the old theater, John Wilkes Booth. his
murderer. had made his escape across
the Eastern Branch. through Cniontown.
now Anacostia, to the home of Dr. Mudd.
on the Maryland side. Booth had frac-
tured his leg in jumping from the theater
box after shooting Lincoln and Dr. Mudd
set the broken bones for him, a profess
sional ac. which cost the doctor a life
sentence to the Dry Tortugas. Leaving
the Mudd residence. Booth. accompanied
by his accomplice. David Herold. was
ferried across the Potomac. only to re-
ceive his death wound from the rifle Of
Sergt Boston Corbett in a farmers barn
on the Virginia side OF the river.
This. then, Is some part of the story
that the broad current OF the Potomac
sings to the little brooks and creeks as
1t gathers them to its bosom and sweeps
them onward to the sea. It is a story
that should be familiar to all Washing
tonians. and II It adds interest to the
summer trips down the river to Colonial
Beach or other pleasure resorts The
Washington Herald will feel that it has
done something worth while In presenting
1t to its readers.