RECOVERED HISTORY: WHITE'S FERRY & FORT STEVENS

Sam Smith - One of my long held unfulfilled ambitions was to become the captain of White's Ferry, which since 1828 has crossed the Potomac River near Leeburg, VA and Poolesville, MD. I was particularly attracted to the overstuffed armchair that sometimes served as the operations center for the barge, which was propelled by a small boat alongside and was one of America's few cable guided ferries. It seemed an great opportunity for reimbursed tranquility.

Unfortunately for my career plans, business proved too good for White's and today the barge is not only much larger, it actually has a place for the crew to avoid the rain and cold.

My excuse for bringing this up is a story the other day reporting that "Authorities say nearly 30 passengers were stranded on White's Ferry in the Potomac River for about three hours when the boat was snagged by a tree floating downstream.. . . Montgomery County fire department spokesman Asst. Chief Scott Graham says a large branch caught the boat about 15 yards from the Maryland side of the river. He says the ferry frequently encounters debris but rarely gets stuck for so long."

Wikipedia reports that "During the 1930's, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes took the ferry to Loudoun on a jaunt from Washington. He was to return that evening and casually asked, 'What would you do if I didn't have a dollar?'

"'If you don't have a dollar, mister, the owner replied, "you don't belong in Maryland.'"

In 2006 "the United States Coast Guard ordered White's Ferry to be shut down because the operator was unlicensed. The ferry continued to operate in spite of the order. The next day the Coast Guard allowed the ferry to resume operations after the owners assured the Coast Guard that there would be licensed individuals on the vessel. For operating without a licensed operator the ferry was fined $8000.

The name of the barge is the Gen. Jubal A, Early, who was indirectly responsible for what is probably the only battle in human history won in part thanks to government bureaucrats.

The July 11, 1864 Battle of Ft. Stevens, was the only time the Confederates directly threatened Washington. In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early pushed his way towards Maryland with 20,000 men. General Wallace, a Union recruit trainer in Baltimore, found himself faced with an invasion but was uncertain whether the target was Washington or Baltimore. Wallace chose Frederick, MD, to make his stand, with the help of troops sent by train from Baltimore. With only 6,000 troops to defend six miles of river, he found himself overwhelmed. On the afternoon of July 9, the Union force left some 1,800 casualties and retreated to Baltimore. The confederates lost 1,300 men.

Though his own force was battered, Early knew the immense coup that capturing Washington would be. Further he probably knew that Washington had only about 9,000 regular troops to guard the whole city, Grant having removed some 14,000 soldiers to help him battle Lee around Richmond and Petersburg. Early sent out sorties on July 11 toward Ft. Stevens, located at the north end of Washington. They found a battlement protected only by home guards, government clerks, and recovering soldiers literally rousted from their hospital beds to help defend the city. a ragtag force of 2,300. This unlikely force initially held off the invaders.

By light of the next day, however, Early found the fort manned by regular troops, reinforcements who had arrived from Virginia and who repulsed Early's sorties. By the end of the day, Early was in full retreat. There had been 874 casualties. Among the spectators for the two days were Abraham Lincoln and his wife. One Ohio soldier would remember, "Lincoln got to the fort ahead of us. He was quiet and grave. He mounted the parapet so he could see better, and I saw him there in full view of the Johnnies, watching them and what went on inside. You can imagine what a target he made with tall form and stovepipe hat."

Lincoln became the only president ever to have come under direct fire and, according to legend, was told by a young soldier named Oliver Wendell Holmes to "get down, you damn fool." Another story has a colonel telling Lincoln, "Please come down to a safe place. If you do not, it will be my duty to call a file of men and make you." Lincoln replied, "And you would be quite right, my boy. You are in command of this fort. I should be the last man to set an example of disobedience." The Union force held and Early gave up his invasion of Maryland and DC and returned to the upper Potomac at a crossing known as White's Ford, which would later become the home-port of White's Ferry. Early admitted to his staff that "We didn't take Washington, but we scared Abe Lincoln like Hell."