With the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam fast approaching, I thought that anyone interested in Civil War history might be interested in another event that took place not too far from Sharpsburg.   In February 1865, McNeill’s Rangers pulled off what has been called the most-daring raid against the Union that the South ever undertook. About 60 rangers were able to ride into the heart of Cumberland, Maryland, which at the time had 8,000 soldiers protecting it (the citizen-to-soldier ratio was said to be 1:1). Once in the city, they kidnapped Gen. Benjamin Kelley and Gen. George Crook and escaped with them back to Richmond.   I recently published a short e-book about the event called, Kidnapping the Generals. Any of you with Kindles will be able to find the book on Amazon.com. It costs only 99 cents Read more…