Franklin County became a Civil War hotspot because its southern border lay on the Mason-Dixon Line and it stood in the middle of the Great Valley stretching through Maryland to Virginia. Before the war reached the area, abolitionist John Brown boarded at Mary Ritner's house on King Street in Chambersburg while planning his 1859 raid on the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry. On October 10, 1862, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's 1,00 cavalrymen rode through Chambersburg, raiding stores, burning railroad shops, and cutting telegraph wires. In June 1863, 75,000 Confederate troops marched into Franklin County, and many people of color fled rather than risk being sent south to slavery. On June 26, Gen. Robert E. Lee met with officers in the town square, then camped one mile east at Shetters Woods and ordered troops east toward Gettysburg. On July 30, 1864, Gen. John McCausland demanded a ransom of $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in greenbacks from Chambersburg, and when residents could not pay, his cavalrymen burned 12 blocks and left more than 2,000 people homeless. Memorial Fountain, dedicated on July 17, 1868, honors the 5,000 Franklin County citizens who served in the Civil War.
