Perryville

On April 18-19, 1861, a week after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Confederate sympathizers attacked U.S. Army forces en route to Washington in Baltimore, 35 miles southwest of Perryville. On the second day shots were fired and soldiers died. Telegraph service was cut off, railroad bridges south of the Susquehanna River were burned, and Washington was in danger of isolation in Confederate territory. In response, Cecil County Unionists guarded the rail lines, hoisting U.S. flags along the way, and Fort Dare was quickly established in Perryville. The town and port, previously a small place with few residents, three shops, two inns, and a post office, suddenly became vitally important to the survival of the U.S. government as a Federal staging area. The army turned the train depot into soldiers' barracks, the ticket office into a headquarters, and the storage houses into supply centers, establishing a hub of military activity. The steamboat Maryland was commandeered as a transport vessel carrying supplies and soldiers north and south.

Perryville, Maryland · United States