Did a Civil War skirmish in Howard County impact the outcome of the Civil War?

    

     On my recent visit to the new Miller Library I happened to stop into the new office of the Howard County Historical Society which is now located in the Library.  I bet more people visit this current location for the Society in a week than visited the old location in downtown Ellicott City in a year.  You should definitely check it out when you visit the new Miller Library.

     I enjoyed learning a great deal about Howard County that I never knew.  We have so much history that impacted our newly created Country.  One of the most interesting facts I learned about was a Civil War skirmish at the intersected of Route 97 and 144.  This is the "downtown" section of Cooksville.  I have gone through that intersection many times when visiting the new Gary Arthur Community Center.  It seems that Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart was delayed in arriving at Gettysburg because of a skirmish with Maryland Militia in Cooksville.  As the story goes if Stuart's troops had arrived at Gettysburg a day earlier it might have turned the battle into a Confederate victory.