Admin/Biog History	THE ST. ALBANS RAID October 19, 1864 Twenty cavalrymen, organized by Confederate agent George Sanders and led by Lieutenant Bennett Young, swooped down out of Canada and took over St. Albans, Vermont in what was to go down in history as the northernmost engagement of the Civil War. With his gun drawn, Young mounted the steps of a hotel and shouted: "This city is now in the possession of the Confederate States of America." The battlefields of the Civil War suddenly didn't seem so far from this village about 15 miles south of the Canadian border. Shock and confusion followed as gun-toting horsemen galloped down Main Street, herding terror-stricken townfolk onto the Village Green. The raiders then turned their attention to robbing the three local banks. Even though the Confederates dropped much of their loot in the confusion of escape, they still managed to make off with over $200,000. By the time residents could organize a pursuit, the marauders were well on their way back to the border. As they left, they tried to burn down the town, but managed to destroy only a woodshed. They had evidently planned to burn the mansion of Governor J. Gregory Smith, who was in Montpelier at the time. Soon after the raid began, a maid from a neighbor's house rushed to Mrs. Smith, crying: "Rebels are in the town, robbing the banks, burning the houses, and killing people. They are on the way up the hill to burn your house!" Mrs. Smith drew the shades and bolted the doors, all but the front entrance. Her first impulse had been to run up the flag. Instead looking for weapons, she found only a large horse pistol, but no ammunition. With this in hand she took her stand in front of the house. She could hear a horse galloping up the hill; it turned out to be not one of the raiders, but her brother-in-law, a member of General Custer's staff, home on leave. Later that night, soldiers were stationed at the governor's house. One of the raiders was wounded and died shortly thereafter. The survivors were arrested in Montreal and tried, but never extradited despite energetic efforts by Washington. Lieutenant Young rose to the rank of General. When he again visited Montreal in 1911, a group of St. Albans dignitaries paid him a courtesy call at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Category	8: Communication Artifact
Classification	Archives
Collection	Civil War Small Collections
Dates of Accumulation	October 19, 1864
Abstract	Two (2) telegrams from Montpelier, Vermont to Burlington, Vermont concerning the Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont from Canada. Messages are to the arming of the Militia under Colonel Redfield Proctor and Invalid Corps to halt the invasion. One is from Governor J. Gregory Smith, the other from Adjutant & Inspector General Peter T. Washburn. Both are addressed to Carolis(?) Noyes.
Event	Civil War
Legal Status	Oshkosh Public Museum
Object ID	SC411.5.76
Object Name	Telegram
People	Smith, J. Gregory Washburn, Peter T. Proctor, Redfield
Subjects	Civil War Secession Confederate States of America Secret service Invasions Guerrillas Robberies Banks Arson
Title	Telegram

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Last modified on: July 22, 2007