This is the fifth in a series of posts about the Civil War in Frederick County, Md.
The Occupation of Mt. Airy
Although Maryland remained in the Union, Mount Airy was strongly and openly pro-Confederate. It was not unusual for that area of the Frederick County.
Chris Haugh with the Tourism Council of Frederick County explained that southern and eastern areas of the county had been settled predominantly by English and Scotch families from Southern Maryland who had no major problem with slavery. The northern and western areas of the county were settled heavily by German families who favored family farms.
Mount Airy’s leanings concerned the Union Army because the town was also a stop on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
“The railroad was important to the Union not just for troop transport but for communications,” Haugh said. “The railroad men were the eyes and ears for President Lincoln to know what was happening along the line.”
New Jersey Infantry commanded by Captain Jacob Janeway were stationed in Mount Airy to protect the railroad and National Road from Confederate sympathizers who might want to commit acts of sabotage.
The infantrymen used the Pine Grove Chapel as a barracks and the mess tent was set up in an area that is now the church cemetery. The land would become a cemetery while the soldiers were there.
“A sick and delirious soldier who wandered into Ridgeville and died was the first person given a Christian burial in the land at the back of the church,” according to the Town of Mount Airy web site.
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