065_TurnersGap_092124065_TurnersGap_092124

Turner's Gap, The Battle for South Mountain

September 24, 2024  •  Leave a Comment

September 14th 1862

Lee's goal was to sever rail lines north of Washinton and secure supplies for his men.  Dividing his army, he sent Jackson to capture Harper's Ferry while Longstreet occupied Hagerstown.  A copy of Lee's order, left at D.H. Hill's campsite, was found by union soldiers wrapped in an envelope with three cigars. The little details are always interesting for me. After learning of Lee's plans, McClellan quickly set to pursue Lee while his forces were divided.  Lee sent enforcements to South Mountain to deter the Union advance until Jackson and Longstreet could join Lee.  By dusk, Crampton's Gap was lost and positions at Fox's and Turner's Gaps were precarious. McClellan's inactivity during the 15th gave Jackson the needed time to capture the garrison at Harper's Ferry and for Lee to unite the scattered divisions before the Battle of Antietam on the 17th.


Battle of South Mountain (Boonesboro) Statistics

Side Total Men Killed Wounded Missing
Union 28,000 443 1,807 75
Confederate 18,000 325 1,560 800

Lee's Divided Army Map 061_TurnersGap_092424South Mountain Battle MapColquitt's Brigade

Henry Caneega, under Colquitt's command, was at Turner's Gap near the Mountain House.  Photo of house is below. 

063_TurnersGap_092124Battle of South Mountain Placards 064_TurnersGap_092124Facing South 065_TurnersGap_092124Eastview 066_TurnersGap_092124Northview

 

 

 

 

 

Views from Turner's Gap Historical Site just south of the Mountain House.

067_TurnersGap_092124Appalachian Trail 067_TurnersGap_092124Appalachian Trail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The confederates probably used these parts of the Appalachian Trail to travel between Hill and Jones' locations. 062_TurnersGap_092124The Mountain House 069_TurnersGap_092124Dahlgren's Chapel 070_TurnersGap_092124Dahgren's Chapel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mountain House, now known as the Old South Mountain Inn, was founded as early as 1732. I thought it ironic that Henry was in Washington County, MD.  By the late 1700s, pioneers used the inn as a stopping point when traveling west. John Brown, the abolitionist, in 1859 used the tavern as a staging point to overthrow federally sanctioned slavery. D.H. Hill used the inn as his headquarters during the Battle of South Mountain.  After the civil war, visitors to the tavern declined, due in large to the railway system. Madeline Vinton Dahlgren purchased the inn as her private residence.  In 1881, Mrs Dahlgren had the chapel built. It's still used today as a wedding venue.  She passed away in May of 1898 and is interred in the family crypt inside the church.


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I'm son, brother, husband, daddy-boo and poppy.  Life is good and I take pictures.

Recording the history of our Caneega ancestors. 

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