Across the Potomac with General Jubal A. Early

From Whites Ferry

Last weekend my wife and I hit the road for some random sightseeing around Frederick, Maryland. We had driven around Sugarloaf, an small mountain south of Frederick, once before. Sugarloaf served as a signal station for both sides during the Antietam campaign (more on that later).

With plenty of time to spare, I plugged Lucketts, VA, into Google Maps on my BlackBerry. I have always loved the drive along Route 15 through the Loudon Valley. This is also a part of the Mosby Heritage Area. I must confess I know very little of Mosby’s operations, though Wert’s history of Mosby’s Rangers is on my reading list.

Anyway, after fortifying ourselves with some Kettle Korn and Bavarian Style Cinnamon Roasted Almonds, we detoured onto the Whites Ferry Road in hopes that one of the ferries across the Potomac still existed. Whites Ferry is indeed still in operation.

We crossed the Potomac in a few minutes aboard the General Jubal A. Early. The town of Whites Ferry, on the Maryland side of the Potomac, includes a general store and café, a few other buildings, and a Civil War Trails site we saved for another day.

Lee’s troops actually used White’s Ford and Edwards Ferry (northwest of Whites) to cross into Maryland in 1862, but we enjoyed this interesting diversion from the standard trip along Maryland’s highways.