Confederate Gen. D. H. Hill’s division crossed the Potomac at Point of Rocks on September 4, 1862, marched south to clear Union forces from the area, breached and drained the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal at several places, burned canal boats, damaged the Spinks Ferry Lock south of here, and breached the Little Monocacy Culvert, but lacked enough tools or spare gunpowder to damage the Monocacy Aqueduct. On September 9, Confederate Gen. John G. Walker’s division spent several hours trying to destroy the aqueduct but was thwarted by its extreme solidity and massiveness. The next day the Confederates camped near Licksville and then set off for Point of Rocks in the evening after being surprised by advancing Union forces under Gen. Darius N. Couch, whose Federals deployed artillery nearby to defend the aqueduct and Cheeks Ford. Spinks Ferry lockkeeper Thomas Walter, employed by the canal company since 1839, pleaded with D. H. Hill not to destroy the aqueduct or lock and argued that breaching earthen banks would disable the canal more effectively than attacking masonry structures. Witnesses said Walter became so heated that they feared his arrest. His intervention likely saved the canal company thousands of dollars by diverting destruction to more easily repaired places, and although he was removed from his job for collaborating with the enemy, a petition from his neighbors led to his reinstatement and recognition for protecting key canal structures.
