South Mountain shielded General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army as it moved north through Washington County, allowing seventy-five thousand men and two hundred seventy-two pieces of artillery to advance without the U.S. Army commander knowing Lee’s whereabouts. With many Confederates already well into Pennsylvania while the Federal army was still crossing the Potomac nearly fifty miles to the east, Lee believed he had outmaneuvered General Joseph Hooker and hoped these advantages would help bring a decisive result and end the war if Providence favored him. Once the invasion became apparent, the Lincoln administration called for one hundred thousand militiamen from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The mountains also became a refuge for frightened local citizens during “The Great Skedaddle,” as wagon trains of civilians fled west to North Mountain and beyond with livestock and personal property, while African-Americans ran for the hills fearing capture and enslavement. Confederate accounts recalled both the rich, beautiful countryside and the punishing hardship of the long march under a scorching sun.
