In October 1864, approximately twenty-one Rebel soldiers took over St. Albans, Vermont, proclaiming that it was now under Confederate government control. This northernmost land action of the Civil War ignited wartime fear and anger in every Northern state. The raiders fired on townspeople as they stole horses and robbed the local banks. St. Albans men organized under recently discharged Union captain George Conger, F. Stewart Stranahan and John W. Newton to chase the Rebels out of town. The complex network of the Confederate Secret Service was entangled with the raid and conspired to unravel the North throughout the war. The perpetrators later stood trial in Canada, causing international ramifications for years to come. Michelle Arnosky Sherburne leads readers through the drama, triumph and legacy of the Confederate raid on St. Albans.
Michelle Sherburne has been researching the Underground Railroad and Civil War for 20 years, lecturing at schools, organizations and conferences. She wrote A Vermont Hill Town in the Civil War, Peacham's Story and has transcribed many Civil War documents. She is a member of the Peacham Historical Association and the Green Mountain Civil War Round Table.