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Battle of Shepherdstown

1862 in Virginia1862 in the American Civil WarBattles of the American Civil War in West VirginiaBattles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil WarConfederate victories of the American Civil War
Jefferson County, West Virginia in the American Civil WarMaryland campaignSeptember 1862 events
Battle of Shepherdstown
Battle of Shepherdstown

The Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September 19–20, 1862, at Boteler's Ford along the Potomac River, during the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. After the Battle of Antietam on September 17, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia withdrew across the Potomac. Lee left a rear guard commanded by Brigadier General William N. Pendleton at Boteler's Ford. On September 19, elements of the Union V Corps dueled with Pendleton's artillery before pushing a short distance across the river at dusk. Pendleton inaccurately informed Lee that all of the artillery of the rear guard had been captured. On the morning of September 20, the Confederates counterattacked with A. P. Hill's Light Division, forcing the Union units back across the Potomac. One Union unit, the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, did not withdraw at the same time as the others and suffered heavy losses. Lee's army continued its retreat into the Shenandoah Valley after the battle.

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Battle of Shepherdstown
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N 39.4279 ° E -77.7786 °
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River Road 3799
25443
West Virginia, United States
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Battle of Shepherdstown
Battle of Shepherdstown
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James Rumsey Monument
James Rumsey Monument

The James Rumsey Monument, also known as Rumsey Monument Park, is a municipal park and former West Virginia state park in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The park overlooks the Potomac River. It commemorates local inventor James Rumsey and his successful public demonstration of his steamboat invention on the Potomac in 1787. The monument consists of a 75 ft (23 m) column of Woodstock granite, which is capped with a globe and stands atop a tall, concrete plinth consisting of a 40 sq ft (3.7 m2) plaza. Interest in building a monument to Rumsey at Shepherdstown, and to the first successful public demonstration of his steamboat, began in the 19th-century. In 1888, Congressman Alexander Boteler sought to raise money for a monument to Rumsey. In 1903, state senator William Campbell introduced bills to fund a monument and in 1905, the West Virginia Legislature provisioned an initial $1,750 for the monument (equivalent to $56,998 in 2022). The Rumseian Society was incorporated in 1906 to facilitate the monument's construction. The Society acquired land from Norfolk and Western Railway in 1907, and commenced construction in 1915 following a contract with Forbes Granite Company of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The monument was completed in 1916 and became a state park in 1956, when the legislature transferred its operation to the state Conservation Commission's Division of State Parks. The commission was succeeded by the Department of Natural Resources, and in 1971, the legislature authorized the department to acquire the monument from the Rumseian Society. However, negotiations between the department and the society were unsuccessful. The department ceased operating the state park in 1978, and transferred its adjacent property to the corporation of Shepherdstown for use as a public park. The society retained ownership of the monument. In 1987, the monument and the four-acre park were added as a contributing property to the Shepherdstown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rumsey Hall (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)
Rumsey Hall (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)

Rumsey Hall, also known as the Entler Hotel, is an historic building in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The building is located in the center of the Shepherdstown Historic District and is a composite of six separate phases of construction. The earliest portion was built in 1786, and was the home belonging to Christian Cookus. This section burned in 1912. This section was separated by a narrow passage from the core of the hotel property, first started in the 1790s by owner Daniel Bedinger. This Federal style structure was expanded to the corner sometime before 1809, with a further addition along Princess Street by 1815. A kitchen and a carriage house completed the complex. Significant interior features remain. In 1809 a store was opened in the corner building, operated by James Brown. At about the same time, the Globe Tavern opened, offering overnight accommodations. In 1815, Bedinger sold the property to James Brown and Edward Lucas for $6,000. In 1820 it was again sold, to Thomas Crown of Washington, D.C., for $4000. By this time the tavern was managed by Thomas James and the hotel by Daniel Entler. In 1823, Daniel Entler became the manager of the entire property. The Entlers managed the properties until 1873, when they moved to Piedmont, West Virginia, while retaining ownership of the hotel.The Entler Hotel was one of two in Shepherdstown run by Entlers. Daniel Entler's brother Joseph ran the Great Western Hotel, and both were the sons of a German immigrant butcher and innkeeper from York, Pennsylvania. The Entler Hotel was the chief venue in Shepherdstown for social events. After the Battle of Antietam, three miles away, Shepherdstown became a field hospital for the wounded, with many severely wounded brought to the Entler. On December 14, 1898, the Entler received one of the first two telephones installed in Jefferson County. Several fires occurred between 1899 and 1912, with a fire in 1910 killing the manager's daughter, who was playing with matches. In 1912 a conflagration burned several buildings on the north side of German Street, including the original Entler property. The hotel closed in 1917 and in 1921 it was sold to the State of West Virginia and became the first men's dormitory at Shepherd College, at which time its name was changed to Rumsey Hall. In the 1950s the building was used as faculty apartments, then as storage.The Town of Shepherdstown bought the Entler from the State in 1978 after a bill was passed by the West Virginia Legislature that mandated that Shepherd College sell the building to the Town after a campaign to prevent the building's demolition, and began restoration work in 1982. The college was going to demolish the building and turn the property into a parking lot. The bill was sponsored by Delegates Clarence E Martin, III and Joseph Caudle. It is now used to house the Historic Shepherdstown Museum, office space for non-profit groups and for town meetings.

Hagerstown Valley

Hagerstown Valley is located in Maryland in the United States. It is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, which continues northward as Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania, and southward as Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia and Virginia. Hagerstown Valley is bounded on the east by South Mountain, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. On the west the valley is bounded by the Bear Pond Mountains — a range of mountains linking Blue Mountain and North Mountain. The valley is bounded on the south by the Potomac River and on the north by the drainage divide between Conococheague Creek, which flows south to the Potomac River, and Conodoguinet Creek, which flows northeast to the Susquehanna River. Sometimes the boundary between Hagerstown Valley and Cumberland Valley is defined politically, as the state line between Maryland and Pennsylvania. The political definition restricts Hagerstown Valley to Washington County, Maryland, while the larger definition includes part of Franklin County, Pennsylvania as well. Sometimes Cumberland Valley is defined so as to include Hagerstown Valley entirely, extending south all the way to the Potomac River. Antietam Creek flows through Hagerstown Valley to the Potomac River. Antietam National Battlefield is also in the valley, where the Battle of Antietam was fought during the American Civil War. The main cities are Hagerstown, Maryland and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. The water divide between Hagerstown and Cumberland valleys occurs near the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.