The following article is transcribed from Harper's Ferry Journal of Civilization, dated September 20, 1862:
The Invasion of Maryland
Frederick City, the capital of Frederick County, Maryland, was occupied by the enemy between ten and eleven o'clock on Saturday morning. Part of the force turned off at Ruckeyetown, as if intending to proceed either to the Washington road or the Baltimore pike. The crossing of the Potomac was effected at three points, of which Nolan's Ford was one. Fugitives who left Frederick Saturday night report that General Hill is in command of a force of five thousand men, cavalry, infantry, and artillery. He had issued a proclamation promising protection to private property, and appointed a provost-guard. Private accounts state that the enemy crossed the Potomac Friday night and early Saturday morning, and thence marched to White Oak Springs, withing three miles of Frederick. They crossed both above and below Point of Rocks, and did so in as speedy and quiet a manner as possible. They then sent a force to cut the telegraph wire, and seize this bridge of the Monocacy, which was done. The regiment guarding this point evacuated the position on Friday. Refugees were leaving Frederick in great numbers both on Saturday and Sunday. A dispatch from Harrisburg announces that the rebel pickets are extended seven miles toward Hagerstown. They took possession of all the shoes, clothing, etc., in the stores at Frederick, and paid for them in United States Treasury Notes.
The following article is transcribed from Harper's Ferry Journal of Civilization, dated September 27, 1862:
The Rebel Invasion of Maryland
For detail of the rebel invasion of Maryland we refer the reader to page 618. Here we may briefly say that the rebels under Jackson, Lee, Longstreet, and other Generals crossed the lower fords of the Upper Potomac near Leesburg on the 4th, 5th, and 6th September, and moved directly on Frederick, Maryland, which place they occupied in force. On 7th, General McClellan at the head of a large army, with Burnside, Hooker, Sigel, and other Generals, marched to meet them. On the 8th he reached Rockville: on the 10th and 11th he wedged his army between the rebels and fords of the Potomac by which they had crossed, thus cutting them off from retreat in that direction: on the 10th or 11th the invaders, perceiving his drift, moved on Hagerstown and occupied the place; on 12th General McClellan's advance, under General Pleasonton, entered Frederick and drove a portion of the rebel cavalry, who were protecting the rear, from that city, after a brief skirmish in the streets. Our troops were wildly welcomed; but when General Burnside passed through on 13th, and General McClellan arrived the same day, the enthusiasm of the citizens knew no bounds. They turned out en masse to greet, and it was with difficulty that McClellan could reach his headquarters through the surging crowd of excited people. General Burnside at once pushed on after the rebels with his whole force, occupying every road, and even crossing the fields to come up with them. The three stone bridges across the Monocacy were found uninjured, though the fine iron railroad bridge was destroyed. The rebels devoured almost all the provisions in Frederick before they left, and even robbed the hospital of all medical stores, although they left four hundred and fifty of their won sick behind them. General Franklin has captured a rebel train of a hundred ammunition and subsistence wagons, and sent back on hundred and fifty prisoners to Frederick. On 14th, early in the morning, our advance, under Hooker and Reno, attacked the enemy, who was on the heights near Hagerstown. The battle lasted all day, and ended in a Union victory, the rebels being driven from the heights with great lose. Simultaneously General Franklin, on our left -- i.e. near the river -- was engaged, and equally successful. On the morning of the 15th the enemy commenced a retreat toward the Potomac, in the direction of Williamsport, and General McClellan pushed on toward Hagerstown and Sharpsburg. But General White having surrendered Harper's Ferry, Jackson's army recrossed the Potomac into Maryland, effected a junction with Lee, and prepared for a general battle. Rumor states that it is probably going on now (17th).