The Civil War reached Vermont!

About 5 years or so ago, our family had to travel to Vermont. Its a long, personal story as to why we had to go, but we did. So while we were there, we decided to tour around and see just what was in Vermont. If you have ever been to Vermont, you know that the towns are small and there isn't much in between the towns. Its a very mountainous terrain and the little villages are tucked in here and there. Its a beautiful state and hope that I can get back up there again.

While we were up there, my sister said that she wanted to hit a town on Lake Champlain called St. Albans. Seems one of her hockey heroes was from this little town. Hmmmmm....St. Albans??? Why did that name sound so very familiar???? It took me awhile to figure out why I knew that name but once I realized how I knew the name, I got very excited. So off to St. Albans we went.

Its a lovely little town sitting right on the banks of Lake Champlain. One thing that I noticed immediately when I entered the town was how green everything was. I guess this is why its called the "Green Mountain" state. The houses were old but very well taken care of and the lawns were all meticulously well manicured. This was a wonderful town with some wonderful history.

A raid took place in this town by some Confederates. A raid...in Northern Vermont....far from the battlefields of Virginia....in October of 1864. It seems that some renegade Confederates headed to Canada...they had escaped from their military prison. They decided that they needed cash and they tried to force the Union army to look to the north and take some of their troops away from the Virginia countryside. So they crossed the Canadian border and came to the small town of St. Albans. They arrived a couple at a time but by the time they were ready, there were twenty one fellows. They stood on the steps of one of the banks and announced that they were taking over the town and it was now part of the C.S.A.

Until all was said and done, the Confederates robbed banks, held the town hostage, tried to burn the town, and escaped. The escaping Confederates were able to grab around $200,000. before they escaped back to Canada. The townspeople were held hostage on the Village Green while all of this was taking place in their little town.

The Confederates were arrested in Canada but because of their neutrality, they determined that these men were doing this under orders of the Confederate army and they weren't extradited to the U.S.

The Village Green still stands today. I walked around it and noticed quite a few monuments. Its a beautiful park. But the one monument that stands out more than any other is the Civil War monument. Right on it, printed in large letters, is the Gettysburg Address. Its funny how Mr. Lincoln's speech, although it was written about the Gettysburg Battlefield (and the rest of the Civil War), made its way to this sleepy little town in New England. To stand on that Green and see where all these events took place is to understand how those poor people felt. It was a horrible thing to happen and it had a devastating effect on the people of the town. But it didn't do what the Confederates wanted. They wanted the Union army to take some of their troops away from the battlefields in the south to guard their borders to the north. It didn't work and the United States was able to maintain their fighting in the south.

If I ever get to take another trip to Vermont, this will definitely be a stop on my tour....again.