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Though the mountains of Western Maryland were not the site of any major battles during the Civil War, the area did have its share of activity and minor skirmishes. One of the most-daring raids of the war occurred in Cumberland in 1865 when McNeill's Rangers kidnapped two Union generals from their hotels beds and carried them off to Richmond, Va. Also, because of its location on the B&O Railroad, the county was also the site of many temporary hospitals to care for wounded soldiers. Echoes of War Drums is a collection of three dozen stories and more than 50 pictures of the Civil War in Mountain Maryland. From spies to generals, from battles to healing, James Rada, Jr. looks at the Civil War in the region from all angles with attention-getting stories.

50 YEARS AFTER THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, ANOTHER ARMY INVADED THE TOWN In 1863, more than 165,000 soldiers fought and tens of thousands died on the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pa. Many historians consider this the turning point of the Civil War. As the years passed, the surviving veterans grew older and passed away. By the turn of the century, the remaining veterans were in their 70s. As the 50th anniversary of the Civil War approached, it became apparent that if the country intended to honor its veterans, this would be the last chance to thank many of them. In the early years of the 20th century, plans began forming for a Grand Reunion in Gettysburg for the 50th anniversary of the battle. More than 54,000 Civil War veterans plus tens of thousands of spactators, family, visitors, and journalists descended on Gettysburg in 1913. The veterans stayed in a tent city on the battlefield as they remembered the great battle fought there. No North, No South... is the story of the reunion and the Union and Confederate veterans who came together there to remember their service to country and to celebrate renewed friendships. It contains more than 100 photographs from the 1913 Grand Reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg that will give you a sense of what it was like to be part of the greatest gather of Civil War veterans ever held. James Rada, Jr. is an award-winning writer who Midwest Book Review called "a writer of considerable and deftly expressed storytelling talent." He writes history and historical fiction books.

In fall turned to winter in 1949, the residents of Shallmar, Maryland, were starving. The town's only business, the Wolf Den Coal Corp. had closed down, unemployment benefits had ended and few coal miners had cars to drive to other jobs. When children started fainting in school, Principal J. Paul Andrick realized the dire situation the town was in and set out to help. He worked to get the story of the town's troubles out and get help for the town's residents and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams just in time for Christmas.

"The country had only 600 trained nurses at the start of the Civil War. All were Catholic nuns. This is one of the best-kept secrets in our nation's history," Father William Barnaby Faherty once wrote. When the Civil War broke out, the Union and the Confederacy were prepared to fight, but they weren't prepared to care for the wounded that their fighting created. While many people volunteered to care for the soldiers, the only ones with any experience were Catholics sisters. Among the sisters, the most-experienced were the Daughters of Charity based in Emmitsburg, MD. When war broke out, they had already been caring for the sick for decades. However, the brutality of the war would test even their abilities as they ran hospitals, served on troop transports and provided care in battlefield hospitals and ambulances. They even had their own Central House occupied by armies from both sides of the war. The Daughters of Charity had such a high level of trust among the government officials that they were allowed in the early part of the war to move back and forth across the border between the two warring countries. Nor did they betray that trust as they served officers and soldiers, Union and Confederate, with the same level of care. With their wide, white cornettes looking almost like wings, the Daughters of Charity did resemble battlefield angels. The sight of those wing-like cornettes told soldiers that relief was on the way; someone who cared for them was coming.

From the unsolved to the unusual. From the historical to the hysterical. From the famous to the friendly. This is life in the Maryland mountains. Did you know that a Russian prince once worked as a priest in Cumberland? Have you heard the story about the German POW camp near Flintstone during WWII? Do you know about the mining wars that were fought to try and unionize the coal mines in the Georges Creek region? Do you know the story behind Cumberland's only lynching? Have you heard the story about the baseball game played between the Cumberland Colts and the New York Yankees? These are the stories of Allegany and Garrett counties in Maryland found in old newspapers, history books and other places. It's the stories of people who tamed the mountains, established cities, raised families and lived their lives. Journey back in time and look beyond the photos that so well document the region's history. This collection of 40 stories spans 220 years of life in Western Maryland. Originally published in the Cumberland Times-News and Allegany Magazine, some of these stories have been expanded as new information has been uncovered and new photos accompany some of the stories.

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the great American writers, died a mysterious death in 1849. Found delirious on the streets of Baltimore and wearing clothes that were not his own, Edgar was admitted to Washington Medical Center where he died without explaining what had happened to himself. Even his medical records and death certificate have been lost to history. This is the story of the two men whose blood feud brought about Edgar's death. Alexander Reynolds and Matthew Cromwell have both lived many lives under many names. They are men of biblical renown, resurrected men who, having died once, can no longer die until the foretold Second Coming. Eternal life has its cost, though, whether or not Alexander and Matthew want to pay it. Alexander has already seen Matthew kill Edgar's mother and he is determined to keep the same fate from befalling Edgar. From the time of Christ to the modern days of the Poe Toaster, The Man Who Killed Edgar Allan Poe is a sweeping novel of love, terror, and mystery that could have come from the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe himself.

David Purcell was on his way to meet his girlfriend when he fell into a cave. When he next comes aware of things, he is in a hospital recovering. He has been missing for five weeks and has no memory of his time in the cave. He is also mysteriously free of any signs of starvation, injury or cave blindness. Adam Maho is an elderly Hopi who has seen visions of Kuskurza, the Third World of Hopi creation stories. It is a world that is supposed to have been destroyed when the Hopi came to this world through a hole in the ground. Adam's visions show him that those ancient evils that had been long-believed dead were imprisoned and not destroyed. Their prison is weakening, though. When it fails, the dark kachinas will be free to once again bring death and devastation to the world. Adam's visions also show the Hopi that David is somehow the key to keeping the dark kachinas imprisoned. The dark kachinas realize this as well and have sent two of their servants, men of the Bow Clan, to the surface on a suicide mission to kill David Purcell. David is unsure of what to believe. He has flashes of memory from his time in the caverns, but he can't go so far as to believe what Adam tries to explain to him. That is, until the Bow Clan attacks him and kills his girlfriend. When David becomes a suspect in the murder, he flees to the Hopi settlement of Oraibi. The Bow Clan is not finished with David. They pursue him and capture Adam's granddaughter, though David escapes them. He turns the tables on the Bow Clan and decides to take the fight to them as he remembers more of his time in the caverns. He makes the journey to Kuskurza on a rescue mission and to try and find a way to stop the dark kachinas.

The lure of Catoctin Mountain is the lore of Catoctin MountainCatoctin Mountain lore tells of monsters like the snallygaster and dwayyo, creatures that haunt the dreams of children and adults alike. However, there are other tales of Catoctin Mountain. These nightmares are on and around the central Maryland mountain, incorporating its places and people into its legend.In "The Anger of Innocence", millions of birds flocked to the small town of Graceham in 1972, destroying crops and annoying the residents. But what brought them to the town and for what purpose?In "Cast from the Gods," the U.S. government is building Site R or the Underground Pentagon deep beneath Raven Rock Mountain during the 1950s. When the complex was being built, workers found something else in the ground. It had been there for centuries. Its discovery released a danger that the U.S. Army nearly failed in controlling.In "Set in Stone," a stone carver in Thurmont finds blank headstones suddenly inscribed with the death information of murder victims, he becomes the suspect in their murders. He discovers that the truth is far more fantastic and horrific and dates back through generations of his family.These are just a few of the stories found in Shades & Shadows, a collection of serial stories that appeared in monthly installments in The Catoctin Banner. The collection also includes some previously unpublished serials. Catoctin Mountain's most frightening stories have yet to be told.

More than 200 years ago, a British general and his men left Fort Cumberland heading toward Fort Duquesne. They were massacred en route and somewhere before that point, their payroll in gold was buried.The election of President James Garfield was nearly upset because of a forgery conspiracy undertaken by a group of Democratic Party operatives in Cumberland, Md.During the late 1800's and early 1900's, coal mining was a major industry in the mountains of Mineral, Allegany and Garrett counties. As those companies closed up and left the area, they left behind their company towns, which have now become ghost towns. Some of these small towns are no longer even accessible by car.Now you can enjoy more of these stories of Mountain Maryland in this follow-up to James Rada, Jr.'s popular Looking Back collection. Looking Back II is a collection of 47 history articles gathered from Rada's Looking Back columns, Allegany Magazine and other publications. Some of them have been updated with new information that Rada uncovered since their initial publication.So come take a step back in history and discover the rich history that mountains hold as told by the man whom the Midwest Book Review calls "a writer of considerable and deftly expressed storytelling talent."

Chris Alten was a 13-year-old athlete until a car accident kills his father and leaves Chris confined to a wheelchair. His world has suddenly shrunk in size and he cannot adjust to the changes. He takes his frustration out on his mother and his friends.  Then he meets a new friend who seems to know everything about Chris. Although Harvey is mysterious, Chris begins to open up and once again be happy.  Then he and another friend, Ashlyn Jacobsen, discover Harvey is an artificial intelligence program created by Chris's dead father. Alive or not, Harvey still proves himself a friend to both Chris and Ashlyn.  Chris learns that cyber-terrorists killed his father searching for Harvey, and they are still searching for the program. Their hunt begins in cyberspace. There, Harvey is near all powerful and Chris can walk, but when the hunt moves into the real world, Harvey is powerless and Chris is crippled.  Chris and Ashlyn must decide whether preserving a computer program is worth the risk against cyber-terrorists who have show they are willing to kill. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal runs along the north side of the Potomac River from Cumberland, Md., to Georgetown in the District of Columbia. It is a 184.5-mile-long engineering marvel that has 11 aqueducts, 74 lift locks, 160 culverts, 12 river feeder locks and guard locks, and one tunnel through a mountain. Its history spans the 19th century and is filled with mishaps, crimes, secrets, and drama. · Discover the original destination of the C&O Canal and how far short it stopped. · Find out how building the canal led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution. · Learn how the Johnstown flood helped kill the canal. · Solve the legendary murders on the canal that never actually happened. · Discover the connection between the C&O Canal and the JFK assassination. Secrets of the C&O Canal: Little-Known Stories & Hidden History Along the Potomac River tells stories the great rivalry between the B&O Railroad and the canal, the Civil War, and man's inventiveness. Small Press Bookwatch calls Rada's writing, "Original, unique, profusely illustrated throughout, exceptionally well researched, informed, informative, and a bit iconoclastic..." He has written about the canal in his novels Canawlers, Between Rail and River, and Lock Ready. It has also been the subject of dozens of his newspaper and magazine articles.