Civil War Delaware by Michael Morgan

Author:Michael Morgan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2012-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

WILMINGTON THREATENED

People of Wilmington, Arouse! The enemy is upon us.

—Delaware State Journal and Statesman

The Confederate prisoners at Fort Delaware were more restless than usual, and in June 1863, the Union authorities smelled mutiny in the area. The Fifth Delaware Regiment, along with the two militia companies under Captains Lammot du Pont and Hugh Stirling, were relieved of their duty of guarding the Du Pont powder mills, where an accidental explosion on February 25 had killed thirteen men, and dispatched to the fort.208 Not only did the departure of the militia companies leave the powder mills virtually defenseless, but the troop transfer also slowed production at the mills. Many of the millworkers were members of the militia companies, and some literally dropped their tools and hurried off to Fort Delaware. Mrs. Samuel. F. Du Pont wrote to her husband on June 22, “You can have no idea of the state into which the departure of the 5th Del. has thrown our settlement. The men were hurried off without any time—One who was driving a powder wagon left it en route.”209

As members of the du Pont family and other Wilmington residents fretted about stripping the troops from the powder works, news arrived that Lee’s army had crossed the Potomac and was making its way into central Pennsylvania. Some du Ponts worried about the protection of important papers, and other members of the family planned to “drop bottles of wine into the pond less the marauders should increase their appetite for destruction by drinking it.”210

The Susquehanna River was only forty miles from Wilmington, and if Rebel cavalry were able to cross the river, they could easily sweep into the Delaware city and wreak havoc in the powder mills and shipyards. Henry du Pont and Governor Cannon suggested to Major General Robert C. Schenck of the Middle Department that two artillery units that were training in New York be transferred to Wilmington to guard the powder works. On June 29, Schenck agreed with the suggestion and passed it along to Henry W. Halleck, general in chief of the Union army, adding, “I am concerned to provide whatever defense I can for Wilmington and the powder works, in case the enemy push any force beyond the Susquehanna.”211

As orders went out to recall some of the troops from Fort Delaware, a meeting was held to organize the city’s defenses, calling for volunteer organizations for home defense. While the citizens of the city were arming, reports reached Wilmington that the Southerners had already captured York and Confederates were threatening the Pennsylvania capital at Harrisburg. From York, which was only a half dozen miles from the Susquehanna, the Rebels were reportedly attempting to cross the river. The Confederates were not a mere cavalry; they were Major General Rhodes’s division of infantry, cavalry and artillery. If the Confederates crossed the Susquehanna, the forty miles to Wilmington would be an easy march, and there would be no Federal forces to stop them. Some were fearful that the Confederates would appear on the high ground around the Brandywine at any moment.

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