The Church of the Disciples was dedicated on Jan. 1, 1859, by Bishop Glassbrenner, the Rev. Mr. Coursy, and the Rev. Mr. Lowber. The only debt on the church at that time was four hundred and ninety-four dollars, which amount was contributed upon the day of dedication.
The Christian Church. — The youngest religious organization in Hagerstown is the congregation of the Christian Church, which began in 1876, with eighty members. The original officers were John D. Newcomer, J. H. Wagoner, elders, and Abraham Corbett and Alfred Stouffer, deacons. At first worship was conducted in Hoffman Hall, but in a short time the old Presbyterian church on South Potomac Street was purchased. In March, 1877, Elder Louis H. Stein, of Kentucky, was called to the pastorate of the church, being its first regular minister. He remained but a little more than a year, during which time Elder John H. Wagoner resigned his eldership, and Henry S. Eavey was elected in his place. In September, 1878, Elder S. B. Moore, of Iowa, became the second pastor of the church. In the summer and fall of 1879 the old Presbyterian church building, recently purchased, was remodeled and repaired, making it one of the neatest and most comfortable church edifices in the city. The congregation has had an uninterrupted and steady growth, until it now numbers one hundred and sixty-eight communicants, and owns a church property valued at nine thousand dollars, free of debt. The present officers are: Elders, John D. Newcomer, Henry S. Eavey, A. M. Wolfinger; Deacons, Abraham Corbett, Alfred Stouffer, John W. Newcomer, George D. Keller. The pastor is S. B. Moore, and the treasurer Levi Middlekauff. The Sunday-school numbers one hundred, including officers and teachers. Superintendent, J. Irvin Bitner; Assistant Superintendent, Levi Middlekauff. In connection with the church is a " Ladies' Aid Society," the object of which is to raise money by weekly contributions for the aid of the poor in the congregation, and for other purposes.
Rose Hill Cemetery was incorporated March 16, 1866, Governor William T. Hamilton being one of the original incorporators. The others were B. H. Garlinger, W. M. Marshall, David Zeller, Chas. T. Nesbitt, Geo. F. Heyser, William Updegraff, W. H. Protzman, Samuel T. Zeigler, William McKeppler, N. I. Magruder, Chas. Knodle, and Geo. B. Oswald. Governor Hamilton was made president. The cemetery grounds were purchased from the wife of T. H. Norman, and consist of twenty-six acres, beautifully situated on the southern borders of the town, facing the Sharpsburg turnpike and the Washington County Railroad. The cemetery is one of the ornaments of the town. The grounds were laid out by Jno. Wilkenson, of Baltimore, and were dedicated in September, 1867, the Rev. T. T. Titus, of the Lutheran Church, delivering the address.
Washington Cemetery. — In 1870 the Legislature appropriated five thousand dollars to pay the expense of removing the bodies of the Confederate dead from the battle-fields in this section, and the commission appointed selected a portion of Rose Hill as the most suitable place. The removals began in September, 1872. On Feb. 28, 1877, a beautiful monument was erected by the managers of the cemetery and dedicated to the Confederate dead. The body of the monument is of Scotch granite of Aberdeen, of a beautiful brown, dappled with varied hues; the base is a solid, heavy stone of American granite from Richmond; upon the top is a marble figure more than five feet in height, representing Hope leaning upon her anchor, with flowing robes, and upon her brow is set a star (perhaps the " single star of the Confederacy"). Upon the front of the die facing the cemetery is the inscription, " The State of Maryland has provided this cemetery and erected this monument to perpetuate the memory of the Confederate dead who fell in the battles of Antietam and South Mountain." On the right side we read, " The State of Virginia has contributed toward the burial of her dead within this cemetery," and on the left the same of West Virginia.
On Tuesday, the 15th of June, 1877, the Washington Confederate Cemetery, near Hagerstown, was dedicated and decorated for the first time. The weather was very fine, and there was an immense concourse of people within the grounds. The arrangements were under the direction of Col. H. Kyd Douglas, president of the board of trustees of the cemetery, seconded by Mr. P. A. Witmer. The first arrival occurred about eight o'clock in the morning, when a train from Martinsburg, via the Cumberland Valley road, reached Hagerstown with over six hundred excursionists. Among these was Capt. Charles J. Faulkner's company of the Berkeley Light Infantry, numbering eighty men. About the same time the two regular trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad came in, bringing about two hundred people from the lower districts of the county. At half-past eight o'clock a delegation from Shepherdstown, headed by Col. W. A. Morgan, trustee of the cemetery on behalf of West Virginia, and accompanied by the Shepherdstown Cornet Band, arrived on the scene, and shortly before noon a special car of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bearing Gen. Fitzhugh Lee reached Hagerstown, and was met by Maj. George Freaner, Col. H. Kyd Douglas, and Dr. A. S. Mason, who conducted Gen. Lee to Maj. Freaner's residence, where he was entertained. Maj. Freaner had been a member of Gen. Lee's staff during the war. At noon a train arrived from Baltimore, via the Western Maryland Railroad, and soon after two trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad came in, one of them from Washington, and the other from Baltimore. The excursionists from Frederick returned home on learning of a railroad accident which had occurred at Point of Rocks. Among them was James Gambrill, one of the trustees of the cemetery. In Hagerstown the day was universally given up to the celebration. Many of the citizens kept open house and invited persons to lunch or dine with them. Although it was Tuesday, the county " public day," very little business was transacted. It is thought that at least six thousand people visited the cemetery during the day, and that there were five thousand present at one time.
At two o'clock P.M. the procession formed in the public square at Hagerstown. with Col. R. E. Cook, chief marshal, assisted by Marshals A. J. Schindle, A. K. Syester, Jr., Edwin Schindle, George M. Stonebraker, Frank Emmert, and Upton Brumbaugh. In half an hour the different organizations had taken their proper places and the march to the cemetery was commenced. At the head of the column, preceded by the Martinsburg Band and Drum Corps, were the Berkeley Light Infantry, Capt. Charles J. Faulkner, who were followed by the mayor and City Council of Hagerstown, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, Hon. D. B. Lucas, Gen. I. R. Trimble, and others in carriages. After these came the delegation from the Society of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States and other citizens of Baltimore, accompanied by the Fifth Regiment Band, and commanded by Capt. McHenry Howard, president of the society. Next in order came the Fire Department of Hagerstown, their engines handsomely decorated with flowers, and accompanied by the Keedysville Band. These companies were followed by the delegation from Shepherdstown, W. Va., commanded by Col. W. A. Morgan, assisted by Capts. J. S. Melvin and Lee H. Moler, and led by Criswell's Cornet Band. After the Shepherdstown delegation came various other delegations from Washington County and elsewhere. Those from Williamsport, Funkstown, and Sharpsburg were noticeably large, and carried masses of beautiful flowers. On the route from Hagerstown to the cemetery the different bands played lively and spirited airs, but when the enclosure was reached they were succeeded by solemn marches and dirges.
At the cemetery the light infantry were drawn up in line facing; the graves and near the speaker's stand. The bands were stationed at various points. The mayor and Council, the speakers, and the guests were then conducted to the stand by the trustees of the cemetery. A choir of sixty persons, with an organ, were placed in front of the stand, and the engines of the Fire Department were stationed along the main drives, upon a conspicuous eminence.
The exercises began with prayer, which was offered by the Rev. Levi Keller, of Funkstown. He thanked Almighty God for the restoration of love and unity between the late contending armies, and offered an earnest supplication for the President and other civil functionaries of the United States. After music by the Fifth Regiment Band, Maj. George Freaner, secretary and treasurer of the cemetery association, delivered a historical sketch of the cemetery. The burial of the Confederate dead who fell in the battles of Antietam and South Mountain in an appropriate place was, he said, the result of a series of efforts made by the State of Maryland. Less than eighteen months after the battles were fought the Legislature passed an act organizing the Antietam National Cemetery. This act, which was amended and re-enacted at the succeeding session of 1865, provided for the purchase of ten acres of land, " a part of the battlefield of Antietam," as a burial-place for the soldiers who fell