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Traveler's Impressions of Montgomery County
1861 - 1865
If you were a marching soldier, what would have been your impression of Montgomery County during the Civil War?
While the built environment may not have impressed travelers, the variety of natural resources in this area garnered admiration. Sergeant Henry C. Lyons of the 34th New York Volunteer Infantry, while stationed in Poolesville, sent samples of both paw-paw and persimmon seeds to his home in South Pulteney, New York. Lyons directed his brother to plant seeds in the spring of 1862, "I will be up there by the time they are large enough to make a shade for me to lie under." Sadly, Lyons died at the Battle of Antietam later that year.
Interest in plants went beyond just being a local curiosity. With medical supplies and drugs becoming increasingly scarce as the war progressed, reliance on natural remedies increased. The bark and root of the persimmon, for example, was used as an astringent to clean wounds and to cure kidney problems and diarrhea. For hungry soldiers, the natural environment offered an additional source of food. Trees such as the pawpaw provided seasonal fruit that could be enjoyed on a nice sunny day under a full leaf canopy.
"A ride from Rockville to Great Falls on the Potomac, though passing through an old settled country, is suggestive of the frontier of Iowa or Missouri. Dwellings are scarce and rude in their construction... Within and without the houses there is nothing like taste displayed.... The country is sparsely settled. A ride of ten miles this morning from Rockville to the river did not disclose a dozen houses.... I traveled over a mile before I found anybody who could correct me in the error of my way."
-- New York Times 9 October 1861. |