The Roarbots’ series of NPS Adventures takes a big-picture view of one location within the National Park Service and highlights some of the best activities that site has to offer. This is usually done through a kid-friendly lens and almost always includes activities and suggestions we can recommend from personal experience. And pictures. There are lots and lots of pictures. Glad to have you aboard!

Welcome to Monocacy National Battlefield!

Stats

• Monocacy National Battlefield
• Location: Maryland
• Established: 1976
• Admission: Free
• Social Sites: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube

When you visit a bunch of battlefields, they all tend to blur together. The National Park Service preserves and protects dozens just from the Civil War, so you’d be forgiven for mixing them up. We sure do.

The battle of Monocacy was fought on July 9, 1864, just outside of Frederick, Maryland. It was part of the third Confederate invasion of the North. Interestingly, the two biggest (and most well-known) nearby Civil War battlefields were part of the first two invasions: Antietam and Gettysburg.

Robert E. Lee sent 15,000 troops with General Jubal Early out from Richmond and up the Shenandoah in June 1864 toward Maryland. Early’s Raid was an effort to divert Union troops from the assault on Lee’s army in Petersburg, Virginia.

In essence, the raid was a circuitous route to Washington, where they hoped to capture the capital. The battle occurred when Union General Lew Wallace attempted to stop Early’s raid, and the two armies met at the crossroads of Monocacy Junction.

After a fierce day of fighting, there were more than 2,000 combined casualties. Wallace ultimately withdrew, and the Confederates slowly resumed their march to Washington. (Monocacy was the northernmost Conderate victory of the war.) Two days later, they arrived, but it was too late. Reinforcements had arrived in the capital, and Early’s attack was a failure.

Despite the Union loss here at Monocacy, it was enough to delay to the Confederates’ arrival in Washington and possibly saved the city.

Visitor Center and Battlefield

The visitor center is small and relatively unremarkable, but it’s where the driving tour (see below) begins. The “battlefield” is actually a series of locations spread out on either side of the Monocacy River. Don’t expect to see a sprawling field full of monuments like you might at Gettysburg. You explore this site best by hiking through the woods, exploring preserved structures, and stopping at the five stops of the driving tour.

(Click on all pictures to embiggen.)

Driving Tour

The driving tour has five stops, all of which are key locations related to the Battle of Monocacy. The route follows public roads and is about six miles round trip. The visitor center has some pamphlets and information about the tour (and each stop has signage, of course), but it’s a good idea to download the audio tour to your device. The Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation (a non-profit partner of the NPS site) created an audio tour you can download and listen to while driving. Highly recommended.

The tour makes stops at Best Farm, Monocacy Junction, Worthington Farm, Thomas Farm, and Gambrill Mill. Three of the five stops (plus the visitor center) also feature trails where you can explore the landscape a bit more intimately.

Hiking Trails

The Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation has produced an excellent booklet for the several walking trails that criss-cross the site. It’s available in the visitor center (but can also be downloaded here). It’s a fantastic resource if you’re planning to head out on any of the trails, and it’s a great place to start planning your exploration of Monocacy National Battlefield. It’s not just a trail guide; it also includes all the history, timelines, and context you’ll want to know about the battle and site.

We set out on a few different trails, and each gives a unique flavor for the site. The Ford Loop Trail is a 1.6-mile loop that circles a chunk of the Worthington Farm and traverses the part of the battlefield where the Confederates crossed the Monocacy River. The Thomas Farm Loop Trail is another easy ramble around a farm. It’s a 1.75-mile loop that covers the ground where the heaviest fighting took place on July 9, 1864.

All of the trails at Monocacy National Battlefield are relatively easy walks over farmland, and each is well worth your time. Make sure you build some time into your schedule to get on the trails!

Junior Ranger

Like most NPS sites, Monocacy NB has a park-centric Junior Ranger program. Kids get an opportunity to learn about the battlefield, the Civil War, and other events that occurred in and around Monocacy. The Junior Ranger program is one of the highlights of any NPS visit for the little Roarbots. It wouldn’t be a visit without a passport stamp and a Junior Ranger badge/pin!