Point of Rocks: Confederates Capture a Train

History: The rail line before you served as an important means of supply and communication during the Civil War. In May 1861, Colonel Thomas J. Jackson (later named "Stonewall") convinced the railroad to consolidate its coal shipments at a specific time. He then captured 56 locomotives and more than 300 rail cars by halting all train traffic east of Point of Rocks. Confederate forces on June 17, 1863 crossed the Potomac River and attack Union cavalry at Catoctin Station, while another unit captured a military train, which carried arms and provisions for the contested Harper’s Ferry garrison. Attacking supply routes was a very effective strategy to bringing the enemy closer to defeat and was utilized by both North and South during the Civil War.

More to Explore: The picturesque landmark train station, perched next to the Potomac River is worth a visit. Near here, the B & O Railroad and C & O Canal builders raced westward in the 1830s to connect with ports and towns in the Cumberland and Ohio River valleys. The two companies competed over rights to the narrow stretch of land adjacent to the river. In the end, the railroad built a tunnel through the mountain and the canal used the property next to the river, but the railroad proved more efficient. Today one can hike or bike on the C & O Canal Towpath Trail, or fish, camp or launch a boat on the Potomac, a few miles upriver at the Brunswick Riverside Park.

Photo Credits:

1. "Photograph of Point of Rocks from the Potomac River."
2. "A Stereograph print of an ordnance depot with rows of cannons awaiting train transport, near Broadway Landing." Photos courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
3. "Modern photograph of the Point of Rocks train station." Courtesy of Amanda Matte.