Existing comment:
Pry Family Upheaval
A knock on the door on September 16, 1862, forever changed the lives of Philip and Elizabeth Pry. For almost twenty years, the Prys prospered on this 140-acre farm along Antietam Creek while raising their family of six children. With Confederate forces gathering on the other side of the Antietam, Gen. George McClellan positioned the Union Army on this side and selected the Pry home to serve as his headquarters.
Thousands of soldiers and horses descended on this farm. Fences were knocked down, crops trampled, loads of hay confiscated, livestock taken to feed the army, and the house and barn converted into field hospitals.
After the battle, Phillip Pry filed numerous claims with the War Department for damages to his farm. Portions of the claims were paid, other charges were disputed and there was an investigation of overpayment. The financial burden proved too much. In 1874 the Prys sold their home and moved to Tennessee. |