Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 30.djvu/227

 Johnson 9 s Ride Around Baltimore in 1864- 219

nine o'clock Sunday, July loth, and burned the bridges there. Here I detached Colonel Harry Gilmor, under Early' s instructions, with a part of the First and Second Maryland Battalions, to strike the railroad at Gunpowder river, on the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore railroad, and destroy communication between Baltimore and the North. Gilmor accomplished this the next morning, Mon- day, the nth of July, capturing several trains going north from Baltimore, and took prisoner Major General Franklin, of the United States army. That night General Franklin escaped from the guard who had him in charge, and who were utterly broken down by sixty hours' continuous ride.

I was occupied several hours at Cockeysville, and while there dis- patched a faithful friend, Colonel James C. Clarke, into Baltimore to ascertain the condition of the troop? and forces available for the defence of Washington.

Early had defeated Wallace at Monocacy the day before and I knew that he was going to push into the capital, if practicable. After getting an agreeable lunch at Hayfields, the seat of John Merryman, Esq., I left two young gentlemen there to get the report of my Bal- timore scout and bring it to me as soon as possible. The charming society, the lovely girls, the balmy July air and the luxuriant verdure of Hayfields, all combined to make the scene enchanting to soldiers who have been for months campaigning on the battle-scarred plains and valleys of Virginia.

From there I moved across the Green Spring Valley, in Baltimore county, and passing near the country residence of the then gover- nor of Maryland, Augustus W. Bradford, I detailed Lieutenant Blackstone, of the Maryland cavalry, to burn it, in retaliation for the burning of the home of Governor Letcher of Virginia, which had been destroyed by General Hunter, at Lexington.

I bivouacked that night at "The Caves," the place of John N. Carroll, Esq. About midnight I received a message by the two couriers left at Hayfields, from Colonel Clarke, whom I had sent into Baltimore. He informed me that all the available transportation of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was concentrated at Locust Point; that the Nineteenth Corps of Grant's army, under General Emory, and part of the Sixth Corps were on transports in the stream await- ing the arrival of General Emory, to disembark and move to Wash- ington. I at once sent this information to General Early by an officer and escort, and moved on.

Passing Owings' Mills early in the morning, we came across