One of the most daring raids of the Civil War was carried out by McNeill’s Rangers then under the leadership of Lieutenant Jessie McNeill. Fifty-four Confederates rode into the town of Cumberland, MD on February 21, 1865, which was guarded by over 7,000 Federal troops, and kidnapped two Union Generals. The Rangers were founded by Jessie’s father, Captain John Hanson (Hanse) McNeill, who was mortally wounded at Meems Bottom near Mount Jackson, Virginia on November 10, 1864. It consisted of men from the eastern panhandle of modern day West Virginia and western Maryland.

Jessie McNeill carried out the raid to avenge an insult to his family and to solidify his hold on the Rangers after his father’s death. General Kelley had seized his mother, and infant brother when they were traveling from Chillicothe, Ohio to Moorefield, West Virginia in August of 1863. Mrs. McNeill had been refused a travel passport by General Kelley to visit her husband and was arrested for traveling without a passport in Maryland and was sent back to Ohio and imprisoned for a short period.

Ranger John Lynn Jr., a Cumberland resident, was granted a furlough to reconnoiter the town but was arrested and imprisoned at Fort McHenry. Jessie McNeill then sent a second Ranger John B. Fay, also a Cumberland resident, on a second reconnaissance mission. Fay made two trips and obtained valuable information including troop and headquarters locations. On February 19, Fay sent Private Cephas Hallam back to meet with Lt. McNeill and his men near the Hampshire County WV Poorhouse shown below. I am not sure if the building is still standing. I found these pictures on the findagrave website for the Poorhouse cemetery.

A map of the raid route is shown below from Steve French’s book in the sources.

The Rangers moved out on February 20 headed toward the Vance Herriot house five miles from Romney where Fay waited for them. Along with them were volunteers from Company F of the 7th VA Cavalry and Company D of the 11th VA cavalry. There the Rangers were informed of the nature of the trip and given the opportunity to go back, none did. They crossed Knobley Mountain to the Ren Seymour home (shown on the marker below), then crossed the Potomac near Brady’s Mill (marker), and stopped at the home of Samuel D. Brady, ten miles outside Cumberland. Here they finalized their plans when they learned that General Crook was also in the city. Sergeant Joseph Vandiver was to capture General Crook and Sergeant Joseph Kuykendall General Kelley. John Arnold and George Cunningham were to raid the stables and secure additional horses including Kelley’s horse Philippi. John Fay and John Cunningham were to destroy the telegraph office. Since only a few hours of darkness remained they changed their route to a shorter one up New Creek Road to Cumberland.

In the early morning hours of February 21 they arrived at Picket Post #1 (marker below). They charged and quickly captured the three Union pickets there and learned the countersign was “Bull’s Gap”. About a mile outside the city they captured another group of pickets. At 3:00 AM approaching the city from the west they went up Greene St, across the iron bridge, and down Baltimore Street to their assigned locations the Revere House, the Barnum House, the stables, and the telegraph office.

Joe Kuykendall and his 10 men went to the Barnum House where General Kelley was sleeping, captured the guard, next captured his Adjutant Major Thayer Melvin, and then the General. Kuykendall had once been a prisoner of Kelley so he could identify him. At the Revere House, Joe Vandiver and his 10-man group had to abduct a sentinel guarding the front of the hotel, get someone to open the locked door, and find General Crook’s room. With Vandiver was Jacob Gassman who had worked as a clerk in the hotel and whose uncle owned it. In both hotels the raiders were so quiet that people in adjoining rooms were not awakened. The telegraph office equipment was destroyed and horses procured at the stable. Just 25 minutes after entering the city the Rangers were riding out of Cumberland.

Markers in the city are shown below.

They headed out of the city along the C&O Canal and crossed the Potomac at Wiley’s Ford (shown below) and headed toward Romney.

Within an hour the alarm was sounded and a cavalry force left the city to try and locate the Confederates. The telegraph was repaired by 6:00 AM and General Sheridan, commander of the Middle Military Division, informed. Reports came in that the raiders were headed toward Romney. A cavalry unit was also dispatched from New Creek (Keyser) to try and intercept them. The Raiders followed the Old Furnace Road to Romney. The painting below by John Paul Strain depicts the Raiders passing through Romney.

Two miles south of Romney, on the Trough Hollow Road along the South Fork of the Potomac, the Union Cavalry from Cumberland caught up to McNeill’s rear guard. Lt. Weston and his rear guard skirmished with the Yankees for an hour while the rest of the group escaped. Continuing south they avoided Moorefield and moved east into the mountains where they stopped about 4:00 PM. Lt. Weston and a small squad of men were selected to escort the Generals the rest of the way to Richmond. On February 22nd they camped near Raleigh Springs 12 miles west of Harrisonburg. They arrived in Harrisonburg for breakfast on the 23rd at Hill’s Hotel (shown below). The hotel was at the corner of Main and Water Streets and was demolished in 1905. Ironically, this was the same location where Captain Hanse McNeill died after he was transported here after his wound at Meems Bottom. The group continued on to Staunton where later that day they had dinner with General Early and spent the night.

On February 24th they boarded a train to Richmond. On the same train was Colonel John Singleton Mosby. The Generals were turned over to Confederate authorities and the Raiders returned home the next day. Two weeks later the Generals were exchanged. Crook was reappointed to his former position as commander of the Department of West Virginia on March 20, 1865, while Kelley resigned from the military.

Sources

Yank and Rebel Rangers Special Operations of the American Civil War by Robert W. Black.

Phantoms of the South Fork Captain McNeill and His Raiders by Steve French.

The Capture of Generals Crook and Kelley From Cumberland by McNeill’s Raiders During the Civil War by Harold L. Scott, Sr. Mountain Discoveries Magazine, Fall 2005.