A Confederate Raid Upon St. Albans Vermont!
Only 12 Miles From the Canadian Border?
You must be kidding!
But it actually happened. On October 19, 1864, Bennett Henderson Young, a 21-year-old Confederate soldier and 20 accomplices, all Confederate soldiers who had escaped from Union military prison camps and fled to Canada, dressed in civilian clothes, infiltrated St. Albans, Vermont, only 12 mile from the Canadian border. Their mission, approved by President Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America, was to raid a number of undefended towns along the Canadian border, to rob the banks, to terrorize the citizens and to burn the towns. In so doing, they hoped to force the Union Army to pull troops out of the front lines to defend the Canadian border. Also, there was the possibility that by their brazen actions, they might create greater hostility between the United Sates and Canada, possibility even a war. It wasn't as far-fetched as it seems today. Many in Canada favored the Confederate cause. Undefended St. Albans, Vermont, with three banks, was their first choice. The Confederates did succeed in robbing the banks and in creating panic in towns along the border. Union troops were indeed ordered to the border, and an argument opened up between the United States and Canada. Were these raiders really Confederate soldiers? Or were they bank robbers? Cooler heads prevailed in both the United States and Canada. There were no more raids, and hostilities between the two countries did not materialize. But it was a close call!
About the Museum
The Museum building is the former Franklin County Grammar School. The 3-story Renaissance Revival style structure was completed in 1861 and was used for public education until 1969. In 1861 all grades were taught in the eight classrooms, and the third floor, called Academy Hall, was used for school recitations. During the Civil War, as the largest hall in the county, the space was used for signing up men to enlist for service, for the women of the community to roll bandages and put together packages for the men at the battle front and camps and for fundraising events such as levees and afternoon entertainments. Famous speakers of the day, including abolitionists and freed slaves, spoke often in this Hall.
School was in session on October 19, 1864 when Confederate Raiders gathered in the park which the school faces, attached the quiet community, and proceeded to raid three banks. They stole $208,000 for the Rebel cause, and galloped into Canada. After the Civil War, our Academy Hall was the scene of a lecture series organized for the people to hear famous singers, actors, see attractions such as Tom Thumb. Travelers such as Mrs. Anna Leonowens, the governess to the children of the King of Siam, was a guest while on her book promotion tour in 1852.
When there was a call for further education in Saint Albans, the Hall was converted for a high school. Saint Albans High School occupied the building until 1930 when Bellows Free Academy, a new modern facility was completed. Three new neighborhood elementary schools relieved the classrooms crowding in the late 1880's and an intermediate school ready for occupancy in 1905 took the fifth and sixth grades out of the building. The high school could then use the downstairs rooms, and the Hall became a gymnasium, the first in Saint Albans. The building, with a home economics room, was then considered modern. But by the 1960's the building was not up to new standards. The building became vacant after more than 100 years.
