The Struggle of Fountain Dale
John Miller
Six miles north of the Mason and
Dixon Line is a little town called Fountain Dale. Fountain Dale is
located between Jack’s Mountain, Beards Hill, and is connected to
two major mountain gaps along the Old Waynesboro Pike. Many locals
tell me Fountain Dale received its name from an actual fountain
that belonged to Mr. Frederick McIntire. There is a old church at
Fountain Dale that bears the inscription of 1857, possibly the
founding year of the western end of town. With a only a few houses
and stone fences there really isn't much to this small town, or is
there?
Although being a small town today, Fountain Dale has a very
fascinating Civil War heritage. During the Gettysburg Campaign,
both Union and Confederate soldiers scouted and picketed the area
of Fountain Dale to observe the movements of troops that were
coming from the direction of
Emmitsburg,
Fairfield and Waynesboro.
During the Gettysburg Campaign
Cole’s Cavalry
separated and each company was to act as an independent
organization. On June 27th, Lieutenant William A. Horner asked
permission to take a dozen men and go through the Confederate
lines to see what was going on. After a some debate
Captain Albert
Hunter, commanding Company C of Cole's Cavalry allowed a
dozen of his troopers to go on scout. They came out at Boonsboro
and traveled to Waynesboro then to Fountain Dale.
Pegram's Artillery reached Maryland late in the evening on June
25th, crossing the Potomac River at Boteler's Ford. From there
they traveled the roads that led into Hagerstown. Private John C.
Goolsby who was a member of Crenshaw's Artillery recorded "We had
the pleasure of seeing numerous Confederate flags displayed, which
the boys greeted with loud bursts of applause. After camping
awhile near the town, we broke camp and soon struck the Little
Antietam stream, crossed it, and were soon in the land of milk and
applebutter--Pennsylvania. What a sight greeted our eyes! This is
a beautiful country, and we reached it at a season of the year
when the whole earth was wrapped in nature's best attire--the
velvet green. The roads were fine."
The next day the artillerist would be in Pennsylvania. Private
Goolsby continued: "We pushed on and soon struck the village of
Waynesboro, where United States flags were displayed in great
numbers, which, of course, we greeted pleasantly. Another day's
journey brought us to the foot of Cash Mountain, where we had
several men captured. "
By the time that parts of Pegram's Artillery Battalion had
encamped at Fayetteville they had lost several horses. Because of
the concerned state the horses were in, Lieutenant John Hampden
(Ham) Chamberlayne led a small detail soldiers from Purcell,
Crenshaw, and Lecture’s Batteries and made their way through
Franklin County into Adams County where they came to Fairfield.
From Fairfield, Chamberlayne's men traveled toward
Monterey when they
came across a small church at Fountain Dale on June 28th. A small
Lutheran Church, located on Old Waynesboro Pike near present day
Jacks Mountain Road is where the encounter of Fountain Dale took
place. It was Sunday and church services were underway. Ham
Chamberlayne saw about 20 horses tied to a post and decided that
these horses were are exactly what his battery needed.
Lieutenant Chamberlayne opened the door of the church and
rushed in with his pistol drawn and demanded that each person give
up their horse and that they would be paid in full by means of a
treaty between the Confederate States Government and the United
States Government. No dispute was made and Chamberlayne then
walked back outside and untied the horses.
As Chamberlayne's men started for their camp, a detachment of
General Buford's Cavalry was spotted coming down Waynesboro Pike.
This was a small squad of horsemen under the command of Lt.
William A. Horner. Seeing rebel horsemen near the church Lt.
Horner, order his squad to halt near a brick school house near the
Lutheran Church and try to intercept them.
It was at this time that Ham Chamberlayne hand-selected 6 men
who had revolvers to turn and make a stand with him, while the
others made their escape. Chamberlayne led his men directly toward
Horner’s men and charged. A clash erupted between these two
forces. Private Goolsby mentions the small detail fell back to
it's main party. After the charge, Chamberlayne and his six men
were taken prisoner. The prisoners were Lieutenant John H. (Ham)
Chamberlayne, Sergeant R. H. Malloy, Sergeant Alpheus Newman,
Sergeant Hugh Davis Smith, and John Alexander Estes. Lieutenant
Chamberlayne was later exchanged and rejoined his unit.
After the skirmish, Horner's Keystone Rangers retired with
their prisoners to Emmitsburg. The other 19 men of the detail made
it safely back to Fayetteville. Sometime after the Skirmish, local
residents were encouraged to take inventory of their livestock and
to report any missing animals to the local sheriff. However
according to the family history of the Turle family, an incident
occurred not far from Fountain Dale. Henry Turle who served as a
private in Cole's Cavalry was a resident of Fountain Dale. After
the skirmish, he a few companions traveled after the retreating
Confederates. At a small church near Fairfield, Henry Turle single
handedly captured 10 unarmed Confederate Soldiers. These are
soldiers were describe as being the same ones that had gotten away
after the first shots were fired.
Oliver Horner who was a Sergeant during the engagement of
Fountain Dale later recalled: "The Confederate Raiders were
captured and the horses were recovered". Sergeant Horner was later
promoted to Lieutenant for his actions during the battle of
Fountain Dale.
During the evening of June 28th the Federal Cavalry under
General John Buford came into Fountain Dale moving toward
Fairfield, investigating the rebel forces in the area.
Although being a small town today, Fountain Dale, just as many
of these small towns along Waynesboro Pike, impacted the Civil War
in it’s own unique way. There is still a lot to be learned about
the battle of Fountain Dale. The battlefield itself still remains
intact but is now in private ownership. The history of the
Emmitsburg and Waynesboro vicinity is only a footnote in history.
When asked about these events, visitors are surprised to see that
not much information are in the town’s records about the movements
of troops and the actions they fought so bravely in.
Read
other articles by John Miller
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