Brown's Crossing - Greenback Raid
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This junction at modern day Rt. 9 and Rt. 8 was known as Brown’s
crossing during the war. |
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Greenback Raid
The Greenback Raid took place about 200 yards up this track from
Brown’s crossing. About 2 or 3am on October 14, 1864 Mosby’s men
overturned a train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near Brown's
Crossing near Harper's Ferry and one of the Partisan Rangers captures
Union Majors Moore and Ruggles, paymasters with funds, two captains and
one lieutenant. Mosby empties the train of its passengers and burns it.
$173,000 in US greenbacks is captured from the paymaster. Back home in
Loudoun County, they will be divided to nearly $2100 a person and this
raid will be known as the Greenback Raid. Destroyed are a locomotive and
10 cars, secured 20 prisoners and 15 horses. In retaliation for this
action, federals troops arrest a large number of civilians along the line,
all males suspected of belonging to Mosby's command and send them to the
Old Capitol Prison |