Civil War Sites

Our general area has several Civil War related sites worth visiting.  As the area with some of the best river crossing locations during the war, both armies traveled through our region on multiple occasions.

The following are local sites tourists may be interested in visiting.

Antietam National Battlefield

5831 Dunker Church Road, Sharpsburg, MD (Visitor Center address)

Sharpsburg, about 10 minutes from our museum, was the site of the bloodiest single day in American history, with over 23,000 casualties on September 17, 1862.  The newly renovated National Park Service Visitor Center provides a good introduction to the battle events, and the battlefield locations are accessible as a driving tour.  Some sites require a little walking but nearly all are accessible.  A carload or busload admission fee is required to tour the park.  School groups can request an admission exemption and ranger-led special programs if registered several weeks in advance.

Battle of Boonsboro Site

7704 Old National Pike, Boonsboro, MD(Branded Chophouse Parking Lot, site of information sign)

Confederate cavalry defended their army’s retreat from Gettysburg against the Union cavalry here, pushing back the Union advance first at Roxbury Road and then spreading into a battlefield that extended from this location to Weis and the American Legion over the hill.

Battle of Funkstown Site

132 Old National Pike, Funkstown, MD (Parking lot is site of information sign)

From the fields on either side of I-70 here and curving around to the area of Edgewood Drive and Haywood Circle on the north edge of town, the Confederate cavalry defended their army’s retreat from Gettysburg against the Union cavalry here several days after the Battle of Boonsboro had taken place.

Battle of South Mountain – Crampton’s Gap

900 Arnoldtown Road, Jefferson, MD @ Gapland Road

One of three main locations where battle took place between the Union and Confederate armies on September 14th, 1862, Crampton’s Gap is now part of a State Park known as Gathland.  Aware of the battle here, Civil War Journalist George Alfred Townsend (aks “Gath”) purchased the land and built his estate here.  In the center of the battlefield he erected a stone arch structure to honor the lives of fellow war correspondents.   This was the first battle to take place on Northern soil.

Battle of South Mountain – Reno Monument / North Carolina Monument

21605 Reno Monument Road, Boonsboro, MD

Also known as Fox’s Gap, this was the site of some of the heaviest and longest fighting on September 14, 1862.  Major General Jesse Reno and his men pushed back confederate forces and held the road for the day.  At dusk, Reno was shot in the chest and died soon after.  Also located here are monuments to Confederate Brigadier General Samuel Garland Jr. who also died that day, the 17th Michigan Regiment, and that battle’s Confederate casualties from North Carolina. This was the first battle to take place on Northern soil.

Battle of South Mountain – Turner’s Gap

6132 Old National Pike, Boonsboro, MD (Parking at Old South Mountain Inn)

Located along the Old National Pike at the top of South Mountain, the Confederate troops held the road here for much of the day on September 14, 1862 while the Union advanced from the north and east.  The Confederate army retreated that evening to set up new defenses at Antietam.  Several markers on either side of the street tell the story. This was the first battle to take place on Northern soil.

Frederick, Maryland

The City of Frederick, like Hagerstown, was ransomed by the Confederacy in July of 1864.  Over the course of the war, the City had seen troop movements with both armies marching through downtown.  At the beginning of the war, the Maryland legislators met in Frederick for several months as an acting capital instead of Annapolis, and here voted to remain in the Union rather than joining the Confederacy.  John Greenleaf Whittier wrote the poem “Barbara Frietchie” about an elderly Frederick resident who leaned out her window waving an American flag at Confederate troops.  Though that story is now believe by historians to be misattributed to Mrs. Fritchie, a reconstruction of her home can also be seen along West Patrick Street at Carroll Creek.  After Antietam, President Lincoln rode a carriage from Sharpsburg to Frederick on the National Road, and boarded a train on All Saints Street to return to the White House.

Prior to the Civil War, Frederick was a meeting place for several politicians and famous individuals over the years.  It holds connections to the Revolutionary War, and a site near the current MARC commuter train station was where George Washington and Benjamin Franklin met with General Edward Braddock to plan Braddock’s ill-fated march on the French Fort Duquesne.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

We are about an hour drive from one of the most famous battlefields of the war.  Over 3 days in July of 1863, the Union held off a Confederate invasion of the North.  It resulted in nearly 51,000 casualties with near equal numbers on both sides (about 23,000 Union, 28,000 Confederate), but was a decisive Union victory.

Hagerstown City Park

520-540 Virginia Avenue, Hagerstown, MD

The City of Hagerstown, like Frederick, was ransomed by the Confederacy in July of 1864.  During the war, it was said soldiers drank from the springs that feed the upper lake in what is now the City Park.  Between Virginia Avenue and Summit Avenue, a larger than life sculpture honors Clara Barton for her work following the Battle of Antietam.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Once the site of the United States Armory, where weapons were manufactured and stored, the old town is now a National Historical Park with several Civil War events in its history.  Prior to the war, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the armory which became a well known event.  During the war, it was a contested location with a Confederate attack the day prior to Antietam.  The town and armory site would ultimately change hands 8 times during the war.  Prior to the war, the armory had also supplied equipment for the Lewis and Clark expedition.  Today it also is popular for river access, C&O Canal access, and train watching.

Monocacy National Battlefield

5201 Urbana Pike, Frederick, MD

On July 9, 1864, a smaller force of Union troops held off a Confederate invasion at this site which was intent on capturing Washington D.C.   While the battle was a loss for the Union, it ultimately saved the Union by buying time for reinforcements to defend the Capital from being taken and held ransom.