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SIGN: Harford Town, or Bush

What did malaria have to do with the Revolutionary War?

SIGN:  Harford Town, or Bush

This week finds us in Harford Town, as it was once called. Today, we know it as Bush, or Abindgon.

When French troops under the command of Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, the   marched northward on their , this familiar spot was where they made their encampment.

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Although the war was over for all intents and purposes following the surrender of British Gen. Cornwallis at Yorktown in October 1781, Rochambeau and his troops remained in Williamsburg until June 1782 in order to “discourage further invasions,” and to “reduce the burden of securing food farther north,” according to the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route website.  For more information, click here.

On July 1, 1782, the 57-year-old Rochambeau and his troops began their march. Although the sign states that five divisions were involved, the W3R website claims there were two divisions of 2,500 men each and that they were “spaced a day apart so as to reduce the burden on the campsites and on the local provisioners.”

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By July 19, the troops had entered Maryland and on the 24th they had reached Baltimore, where they “rested for a month,” according to the W3R website.  No doubt following a trek of roughly 140 miles in July heat, at least some of those men did need a respite.  And there was another reason why they may have stayed that long.

Correspondence between Rochambeau and Gen. George Washington gives insight into what was on their minds during this time.  The letters reflect that many of the men were not well at all.

This illness among the troops may well have been malaria, which was widespread in America at that time.  In fact, the Continental Congress spent $300 on quinine as one of their first expenditures of the Revolutionary War. Historians have gone as far as to suggest that Cornwallis may have surrendered due to this malady.

On July 30, 1782, Rochambeau wrote to Washington from Baltimore:  “We begin to have sicknesses which as yet are not dangerous, and I hope that a fortnight repose here will restore a great many.”

Washington responded on August 11: “I am very sorry for the appearance of sickness among your troops—but hope, yon, that their repose at Baltimore will be an effective means of its removal.”

Before Rochambeau’s troops left Baltimore, he wrote on August 18 to Washington that “tomorrow, batteux will be sent to the ferry of Susquehannah,” and that he’d “had three fits of a fever and ague” He also mentions 350 men being sick.

Later that month, the French troops encamped at Harford Town.  Rochambeau drew a map of the area, as he did of each of the encampments, including buildings and where the roads led:  Bald Friar’s Ford (near Glen Cove), Lower Ferry (Havre de Grace), and White Marsh. Although his English was excellent and his handwriting far better than that of Washington, Rochambeau did use a few French words on his map, such as “chemin,” for roadway, and “gue,” for ford.  See the map for yourself by clicking here.

Harford Town was little more than a cluster of buildings around an intersection on the Old Post Road, and it served as the Harford County seat from 1773-1782.  A proper courthouse and jail were never built here and instead were rented, according to Our Harford Heritage, by C. Milton Wright.

This town was an important meeting place in the scheme of the American Revolution. It was here in Harford County that the first Declaration of Independence was signed, over a year before the formally accepted version was signed in Philadelphia. (More about that story another week).

When Washington wrote to Rochambeau on September 3, he commented that, “I am glad to find you mention nothing of your fever and ague.  I hope the disorder has ceased its attach upon you.”

Apparently, Harford Town was a good place to recover one’s health on that march. From that encampment, Rochambeau headed through Havre de Grace, for a second time, and took the ferry to cross the Susquehanna and continue northward.

Although no battles were fought on Harford soil during the Revolutionary War, the citizens played a role in securing this country’s freedom. With Harford Town serving as a centralized gathering place for the area, many notable minds of the day, such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, visited there.

The end of the American Revolution would see Harford County begin to evolve into the county we know today.

This sign is on Rte. 7, just south of Rte. 136.  It was erected by the State Roads Commission.

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