The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1937-05-20
Historic SkirmiSh at Bloomington Bridge Described

Inc hangers knew LndC Lnelr only eS-
cape lay in hasty retreat.
For more than a mile the McNeill
Rangers were exposed to this artillery
fire, which, strange to say, did them
no damage except the killing and the
wounding of a few horses.
Piedmont Residents Killed
But citizens of Hampshire Hill, the
most thickly settled residential sec
ton of Piedmont, were in the direct
line of battle, and several were killed
and injured, among them young lady
and three children.
Up near the top of the hill was a
small house in which a man named
Walsh and his family lived. One of the
balls from the cannon went through
this house, killing little girl four
years old, and injuring a nineteen
months old boy, cutting his arm off
at the shoulder.
This boy was John T. Walsh, of AL
legany county, Maryland, who taught
school in this section for forty-eight
years, becoming Familiarity known as
"the one-arm school teacher"
Mr.. Walsh, who was an enthusiastic
student of history, enjoyed talking of
the period following the war, and up
to his death, about six months ago,
was considered one Of the most inter-
esting and accurate authorities on the
reconstruction period.
News Boys Version
But, perhaps, the most interesting
account of the Bloomington Bridge
Battle" comes to us from Charles E.
Hambright*, an aged citizen of Cum
berland, who was a news boy on the
passenger train captured here by the
McNeill Rangers. Mr.. Hambright
says:
"In May, 1864, was thirteen years
old, too young to be a soldier, but 1
was news boy on the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, and on run from Cum
berland to Grafton. 1 made trip every
night, leaving Cumberland between
400 and 500 p. M, and reaching
Grafton, about 100 miles distant, at
900 p. m.
Zone of the events that stands out
clearest in my mind is when was cap
tured by McNeill's Rangers at Bloom
ington, Maryland. 1t was about $50
on the morning of May 9th, 1864, when
the train on which I was working
reached Bloomington and stopped.
There were a number of McNeill's
Rangers lined up on both sides of our
train. Each one of them had a revolver
in each hand. We had few Union SOL
diers on our train, all asleep. No shots
were fired. The passengers and SOL
diers were ordered out Of the train and
marched down the tracks across the
bridge over the Potomac River, up
along the slope of Hampshire Hill. The
train was run down on the bridge and
set on fire. The names of the soldiers
with their regiment and company were
taken, and they, with all the other
passengers, were released.
eve all walked down to Piedmont,
where we were taken by train to Cum
berland. Before these Rangers came
to Bloomington they had been in Pied
mont where they ran all the engines
out of the round house to a point
about one-half mile below Piedmont
and wrecked them all. After doing all
the damage they could to the place,
they went up to Bloomington and
waited for our train.
"In the meantime, information was
sent to New Creek (now Keyser), six
miles distant, where General Kelley
was stationed with 5000 or 5000 SOL
diers and Mulligan's Jackass Battery
camped.
"After we were released and were on
the track, on our way to Piedmont
just about opposite the Hampshire
dump (where coal was dumped into
cars), we saw Mulligan's Jackass Bat
terry going up Westernport Hill, on the
Maryland side of the river. They OPEN
ed fire on the Rangers who had started
up the hill on the West Virginia side of
the river. This battery had small
cannon on the neck Of each horse. The
Rangers did not return the fire as they
seemed to have nothing but their re-
volvers. The fire from the Union SOL
diers seemed to be directed more par
ticularly to a Ranger who was riding
on white horse. We were standing
down on the tracks while the shooting
was going on. The white horse, re-
member, was the most prominent. One
of the bullets from the cannon went
through the Walsh house on top of the
hill and killed a little girl four years
old and cut small boys arm off at
the shoulder. This boy was John T..
Walsh, 10 months old.
Zone of these Rangers was John
Lynn, Of Cumberland, Maryland, who
died about three years ago. He gave
me some mail taken from the mail