CHAPTER X
 

^^HB people of Washington County warmly
supported President Jefferson" in his re¬
sentment of the outrages upon American
\'essels and the impressment of naturalized
American citizens, which brought on the AVar of
1813. Their representatives in Congress, Roger
Nelson and his successor, Samuel Ringgold, were
strong Republicans and voted to sustain the Admin¬
istration. In Hagerstown public sentiment express¬
ed itself in the usual way-—namely, by holding
public meetings. One of these meetings was
called to be held in the Court House, July 14,
1807, to adopt resolutions "upon the das¬
tardly outrages committed by the British Sc|uad-
ron stationed on our coast on the flag and
citizens of the United States." Over this
meeting Dr. Richard Pindell was called
to preside. This distinguished gentleman had
served his country as a surgeon in the Revolution¬
ary army, and he was among the first to raise his
voice for resistence to the encroachments of Eng¬
land. Strong resolutions were adopted, and it
was ordered that copies of them should be sent
by Upton Lawrence, the secretary, to the Presi¬
dent of the United States and the Governor of
Maryland. An estimate may be made of the char¬
acter of the leading citizens of Washington County
in those days by a consideration of the men who
composed the committee which drafted these reso¬
lutions. They were Nathaniel Rochester, Gen.
Thomas Sprigg, Samuel Hughes, Jr., Dr. Richard
Pindell, Col. William Fitzhugh, Major Charles
Carroll, Dr. Frisby Tilghman, Col. George Nigh,
Dr. Christian Boerstler, Upton Lawrence, Dr.
Jacob Schnebley, Col. Daniel Hughes, Col. Adam
 

■Ott, William Keyser and Alexander Neill. It is
doubtful whether any- County in Maryland could
at this time furnish such an array of men.

On the 17th of July a call was published in
the newspapers for a meeting at Smith's tavern
to form a company of volunteers in response to
the President's desire. The meeting was held
and the "Hagerstown Volunteer Rifie Company"
was formed. John Ragan, Jr., was elected Cap¬
tain, Thomas Post and William B. Rochester,
Lieutenants. Although this company was mustered
in and out of the regular army before the begin¬
ning of the w-ar and saw no active service, each
one of the comnussioned officers afterwards took
an honorable part in the war. Ragan entered
the army and commanded a company at New
Orleans and a regiment at Bladensburg. In the
latter battle he was injured by his horse and
taken prisoner. He died in Hagerstown in 1816
at the early age of thirty-four years. Post also
commanded a company during the war and was
Sheriff of the county afterwards. Of Rochester
we have already spoken. He removed to New
York with his father, Nathaniel Rochester before
the war began, but he was there elected captain
of a company and served in the campaigns along
the Canadian frontier. Besides this company
there were a great many others in the county then
or shortly afterwards. Ragan's company, along
with those of Captains Henry Lewis, Joseph
Chaplain of Sharpsburg, John Harry, Daniel
Hughes, Jr., and others composed the Eighth Reg¬
iment of Maryland Militia which was under the
command of old Colonel John Carr, the veteran
of two wars.    This regiment along with those of