Germantown, Maryland - Where I'm going this week

NH Civil War Gal

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Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
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Feb 5, 2017

My niece lives down there and I've been a number of times. Today, nothing remains of the rural part of Germantown. It is high-density housing and spreading fast. But it makes a nice base to visit Civil War sites. This is a very interesting link about life in Germantown during the Civil War. Not mentioned in the article is something @Pat Young once mentioned to me is one of the Lincoln conspirators came from Germantown.

As usual, the toughs and rowdies come out when the law starts to break down.

"Even those who tried to remain neutral or stay out of the conflict were affected. Innocent people were also sometimes arrested, by mistake or on purpose to prevent future action. Gangs of criminals roamed the countryside stealing horses and robbing institutions, taking advantage of the situation to try to place the blame on Confederate raiders. Mr. Adler's General Store in Germantown was robbed twice. One of those times the perpetrators unsuccessfully tried to burn the store down.

Because this was a rural area with many small farms, and most people, even in town, had chickens and kitchen gardens, the people of Germantown always had flour, milk and fresh vegetables and fruit in season during the War. But they suffered the same privation as others when it came to such things as sugar, coffee, medicines and meat."
 

My niece lives down there and I've been a number of times. Today, nothing remains of the rural part of Germantown. It is high-density housing and spreading fast. But it makes a nice base to visit Civil War sites. This is a very interesting link about life in Germantown during the Civil War. Not mentioned in the article is something @Pat Young once mentioned to me is one of the Lincoln conspirators came from Germantown.

As usual, the toughs and rowdies come out when the law starts to break down.

"Even those who tried to remain neutral or stay out of the conflict were affected. Innocent people were also sometimes arrested, by mistake or on purpose to prevent future action. Gangs of criminals roamed the countryside stealing horses and robbing institutions, taking advantage of the situation to try to place the blame on Confederate raiders. Mr. Adler's General Store in Germantown was robbed twice. One of those times the perpetrators unsuccessfully tried to burn the store down.

Because this was a rural area with many small farms, and most people, even in town, had chickens and kitchen gardens, the people of Germantown always had flour, milk and fresh vegetables and fruit in season during the War. But they suffered the same privation as others when it came to such things as sugar, coffee, medicines and meat."
Conspirator George Andrew Atzerodt was captured at his cousin’s home in Germantown. Atzerodt was originally from Germany.
 
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