On July 3, 1864, John H. Patterson wrote a long letter to his mother reporting on a variety of events. The first was a raid by Confederate forces under General Jubal Early into Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area. John reported that the raid had “Rebs around here say the Genl Ewell will be knocking for admittance into the city of Balt. in 24 hours. They are delighted at the prospect.” John also reports that they have their knapsacks packed and ready to go. Rumor has it that they will be relieved and that they will march after Early. John goes on to observe that Early has 17,000 troops and they can muster only 3000. They “can hold the forts very easy, but not the town,” and he doesn’t think they will march after Early. The last portion of the letter discusses 4th of July activities in Baltimore and, in particular, some fun they had during the firing of a salute by the forts. (Transcript of John H. Patterson letter, July 3, 1864)
