On Hagerstown Pike, a chance meeting with 'Dud' and his horse

"Dud" and his horse, reportedly named Eve.

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As I pedaled on Saturday down Antietam’s fabulous Smoketown Road — sheesh, I love that name — I spotted a man on a horse on Hagerstown Pike. Furiously cycling, I finally caught up to him and his slow-moving ride.

"Are you a re-enactor?" I asked. 

"I'm a living historian," good-natured Mark Dudrow told me almost indignantly. I suppose the alternative would be, ah, suboptimal.

Dudrow's ancestor served in a Pennsylvania cavalry unit, fought at New Market and elsewhere, and was captured and sent to Belle Isle in Richmond. Mark even has a photo of him. (Yikes! I didn’t get the name of the horse. Must turn in West Virginia University journalism degree.) 

Mark told me he has been known as “Dud” since he was a kid. Love that name, too. He also told me he reads my blog. I’d give him a hug if it weren’t for the $&&$&&@@@! pandemic.

Let's keep history alive, Dud!