Antietam Campaign Byway

In September 1862, General Robert E. Lee moved his Confederate army into Maryland, hoping that a military victory on Union soil would gain foreign support for the Southern cause. Lee’s ensuing campaign came to a head with the Battle of Antietam.

Confederate soldiers forded the Potomac River and entered Maryland near White’s Ferry. Cavalries then clashed in Poolesville, which was no stranger to Civil War action: In 1861, Union troops assembled here before being ferried into Virginia for the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, and in 1863, Confederate horsemen stormed through on their way to Gettysburg, Pa. Civil War exhibits are found inside the circa-1793 John Poole House .

You’ll encounter several options to enjoy the outdoors early on this Byway. Take a slight detour on Route 28 (Dickerson Road) to stretch your legs in Monocacy River National Resources Management Area , which has 1,800 acres of natural areas and farmlands along the Monocacy River open for hiking, fishing and horseback riding. Or follow Route 85 (Buckeystown Pike) to tackle the 1282 foot Sugarloaf Mountain and stop for a bite at The Comus Inn . Just off MD 355, Little Bennett Regional Park has a campground, a playground, more than a dozen historic sites and 25 miles of scenic natural surface trails.

Back on the Byway, travel north to the Monocacy National Battlefield . Well known as the site of the July 1864 conflict dubbed “The Battle that Saved Washington,” Monocacy also played a key role during the Campaign of 1862. Ask at the battlefield visitor center for details about Lee’s “Lost Orders,” which were found in this area by a Federal private and given to Union Gen. George McClellan prior to the battle at Antietam. You can download an audio driving tour of the site in advance of your visit.

Within the battlefield, Best Farm comprises the southern 274 acres of what was originally a 748-acre plantation known as L'Hermitage . The plantation was once home to the Vincendière family, one of the largest slaveholding families in Frederick County. Information about the battle and about slavery at the site can be found on wayside panels and in the visitor center.

Frederick — the site of a 50-block historic, cultural and commercial district — has both the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and the Barbara Fritchie House . Fritchie was a 95-year-old widow who, as poet John Greenleaf Whittier proclaimed, defiantly waved an American flag from her window as Confederate troops moved through town.