Allegany County Hanged Washington County’s Sheriff

* Blood on the Badge by James Rada, Jr. is now available at local booksellers and retails for $15.95.

In 1827, George Swearingen was a young man with a promising future. He was a member of a prominent family in Washington County, Maryland; he had a pretty young wife and infant daughter; and he was an elected county sheriff.

Then, he met Rachel Cunningham. She was a prostitute, and he quickly fell in love with her. Their affair became a poorly kept secret in Washington County.

Things came to a head in 1829 when an argument between George and his wife led to her death. He said it was accidental; but he knew he would be convicted, or at the very least, indicted for her murder. He chose to go on the run with Rachel to try to avoid the authorities.

Blood on the Badge: How Washington County’s Sheriff Became Allegany County’s First Hanged Murderer is the story of Swearingen’s fall from grace and the trial where he had to face justice. It is the newest book from bestselling author and Catoctin Banner contributing writer and editor, James Rada, Jr.

“This story was a giant knot that took me a long time to unravel,” said Rada.

Blood on the Badge is a true crime story from another age that deals with the same motives of modern murders, such as love and power.

“This is a story where the murderer was known, but how he committed murder was unknown,” said Rada. “Even during the trial, the prosecution presented multiple ways Swearingen killed his wife, never settling on a single one.”

What intrigued Rada about the story was not only that Swearingen was the Washington County sheriff when he committed the murder, but also that the manhunt took him across the country, all the way to New Orleans, where someone recognized him in 1829.

Although Rada has written many history books about the area, this is his first foray into a historical true crime book.

“The writing process was different, and it didn’t help that I found problems with all the primary sources,” Rada said. “In one, the author seems to have fictionalized some of it. In another, a chunk of pages is missing. Even the confession has issues because George’s version is told to present him in the best light.”

Writing articles and speaking on the topic helped Rada focus on the core story, which then allowed him to build out things for the book.

Blood on the Badge: How Washington County’s Sheriff Became Allegany County’s First Hanged Murderer is now available wherever books are sold. He will also be signing copies of the book at Pippenfest in Fairfield and Colorfest in Thurmont.

James Rada, Jr. is an award-winning writer who Midwest Book Review called “a writer of considerable and deftly expressed storytelling talent.” Leatherneck Magazine called The Last to Fall “a superb book.”

Rada has two dozen writing awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists, Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, Maryland State Teachers Association, and Utah Ad Federation. Most recently, he was a finalist for a Western Writers of America Spur Award.

Rada is the author of 37 books, mostly history and historical fiction. His articles have been published in more than 125 publications, such as History Channel Magazine, USAToday.com, and Boy’s Life.

Blood on the Badge retails for $15.95 and is available at local booksellers. For more information about James Rada’s books, visit his website at jamesrada.com.