Middletonians played an active role in the American Civil War. General Joseph K. Mansfield was a Union general at the Battle of Antietam, where he died in action in 1862. Another casualty at Antietam was Brigadier General George Taylor, who had been educated at a private military academy in Middletown. The popular Civil War marching song "Marching Through Georgia" was written by Henry Clay Work, a Middletown resident. Some residents were active in the abolitionism movement, and the city was a hub along the underground railway.