To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, we took a trip to a Civil War site each fall (
last year). The Civil War ended in 1865, and so, our final sesquicentennial trip occurred this fall. And, as luck would have it, in those five years, we have pretty much exhausted all of the really close (and relatively close) Civil War sites.
Perhaps fittingly, for our last Civil War site, we actually went to the site that is closest to our home. Although not one of the most well-known Civil War battlefields,
the battle at Monocacy in 1864 helped block the Confederate army from reaching Washington, D.C..
In a march up the Shenandoah Valley, the Confederate Army attempted to swing around and attack Washington, D.C. and Fort Stevens from the north. The Union soldiers, although outnumbered three to one, fought hard and stalled the Confederates near Frederick, Maryland on the banks of the Monocacy River. Although ultimately the Union forces were forced to retreat, the battle delayed the Confederates on their march and allowed reinforcements to reach Washington in time.
In 1907, 43 years after the Battle of Monocacy, veterans of the 14th New Jersey Regiment dedicated this monument in honor of their fallen comrades. More than 140 members of the regiments had been wounded, captured, or killed at Monocacy.
A key site aspect of the Battle of Monocacy was the railroad junction. (Seen in the above map.) The railroad still runs through the site today.
Our trip to Monocacy occurred on one of those rare days when the kids are the best of friends. The weather was great. There was plenty of room to run around, and they agreed to pose in all the pictures. This was especially nice because Felix was, in general, very anti-picture at the time.
The Best Farm was occupied by both the Union and Confederate armies at various points during the Civil War. On noteworthy event occurred earlier in the war in 1862 when soldiers from the 27th Indiana found on the farm Confederate General Robert E. Lee's lost order No.
191 (which outlined his army's movements). Passed up through the chain of command,
the captured order gave Union General George B. McClellan advance
notice of his enemy's movements. Holding the paper, McClellan exclaimed,
"Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be
willing to go home (
source)."
And the barn that is currently on the site is pretty cool too.
Because the Battle of Monacay took place on the banks of a river and because the battle itself was an attempt to block the Confederates' move toward Washington, bridges played a key role.
In 1894 a wooden covered bridge spanned the Monocacy River. The Confederates hoped to use it to move their troops, horses, cannons, and wagons to Washington. The Union army held back Confederates all morning and eventually were forced to burn down the bridge.
After the wooden bridge was burned, the railroad bridge became the only route of escape for Lieutenant Davis and his men, who were on the other side of the river and separated from the rest of the Union forces. After taking heavy fire, the unit retreated over the railroad bridge. Remarkably, most escaped unharmed.
We took a little walk near the river at the site of the bridges. In typical fashion, Beckett ran most of the way and Felix lay on the ground panting because he was so tired and had no energy.
At the Thomas farm, the household had hosted the Union officers before the battle. That afternoon they were forced to hole up in the cellar for safety. The house was bombarded by artillery and suffered significant damage. When the occupants emerged, they found the farm in shambles with hundreds of dead and wounded soldiers scattered about.
At the Worthington House, six-year-old Glenn Worthington spent the battle in the cellar with this family and their slaves. The windows had been boarded up, but Glenn could see the battle through the gaps. When he grew up he wrote an account of the Battle of Monocacy. His retelling helped persuade Congress to establish Monocacy National Battlefield in 1934.
Beckett is six just like Glenn Worthington was at the time of the battle.
Inside the house.
Felix poses like a statue.
After five years, I think I'm really going to miss this
tradition. There are still quite a few I would like to see, but as they
are farther afield, we may take our time visiting them.
P.S. We visit
Manassas in 2013,
Antietam in 2012, and
Gettysburg in 2011.
