Civil War History of Frederick MD

Frederick Maryland Civil War History

Frederick played a pivotal part in the War Between the States.


Both the City of Frederick and Frederick County MD is rich with Civil War history.


Civil War Facts about Maryland:

62,000 Marylanders fought for the North and 22,000 fought for the South.

More casualties occurred in Sharpsburg in a single day then in the entire history of the US Military... this includes D Day in WW2!

Since then, the long march of Irish, German, Hungarian, Scandinavian and Russian immigrants through the Port of Baltimore and steady flow of African-Americans from Southern States has made Maryland a state where stereotypes and assumptions are as fragile as a steamed crab's shell.



Facts about The Battle of the Monacacy

When you cross the bridge going South on MD 355 leaving Frederick and going towards Urbana right there is where the battle was fought on July 9, 1864

From the official US Park Service website:

Monocacy National Battlefield
If judged by its consequences rather than its size, the Battle of Monocacy ranks among the important battles of the American Civil War. Here, July 9, 1864, on a checkerboard of gold wheatfields and green cornfields just outside Frederick, Maryland, Confederate forces under General Jubal Early defeated Union forces under General Lew Wallace. The battle cost Early a day's march and his chance to capture Washington, DC. Thwarted in the attempt to take the capital, the Confederates turned back to Virginia, ending their last campaign to carry the war into the North.

Even more impressive is Wikipedia's account of The Battle of the Monacacy:

The Federals fought fiercely to hold position, but it was only a matter of time before the superior force—about 14,000 Confederates—gained control.

By late afternoon the Federals were retreating toward Baltimore, leaving behind over 1,294 dead, wounded, and captured.[1] Later, General Wallace gave orders to collect the bodies of the dead in a burial ground on the battlefield where he proposed a monument to read: "These men died to save the National Capital, and they did save it."
Monocacy cost Early a day's march and his chance to capture Washington. Thwarted in the attempt to take the capital, the Confederates turned back to Virginia, ending their last campaign to carry the war into the North.

So the North lost 1300 men and the South lost 900 men...

I never knew this all the times I crossed that bridge or when I fished under that bridge.

Issue #10

October 13, 2008

Life in Frederick Maryland

Email David Bruce @ davidbrucejr@frederickwebpromotions.com