Existing comment:
Retribution:
Throughout his campaign in Maryland, Early had threatened destruction of civilian property in retaliation for Union depredations in Virginia. In the end, the Confederates destroyed little, instead reaping a windfall in ransom from communities like Hagerstown, Middletown, and Frederick.
On the outskirts of Washington, however, Early finally took retribution. On July 12, his army ransacked the Blair family farms and destroyed the home of one of Washington's most prominent politicians, abolitionist Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. |