Project 365: Day 46 - Thurs. July 2nd, 2009

Who knew that a trip to get a book at a Barnes & Noble in Frederick MD would turn into a trip through history?! Did you know there was a Civil War Battlefield 2 minutes from the Francis Scott Key Mall?! I love that, in Maryland, the present and past are forever neighbors. Today we learned all about the battle for time at the Monacacy Battlefield. The timing was perfect because a park ranger was going to give a presentation at 2:00 and we arrived at 1:45. So we bought some souvenirs and waited. The ranger asked us where we were from and then informed us that he lived in Owings Mills, MD. Small world. He lives blocks away from New Town High! Cody was of course picked to be a part of the demonstration and is proving to be quite dramatic in front of an audience. He had everyone laughing as he pretended to be a Confederate and a wounded Colonel. Cody was filling out a Jr. Ranger activity book and had to list four things he learned. This is what I learned from the Ranger's presentation:

• Robert E. Lee encamped here and wrote many of his orders at this headquarters around September of 1862. On September 13, 1862, Union soldiers found an enveope containing several cigars and a copy of Robert E. Lee's Special Order No. 191, which detailed specific movements of his Maryland Campaign. Union Gen. George B. McClellan was ecstatic but failed to capitalize on the information and lead his men into the bloodiest day of the war at Antietam just a few days later.


• Under the command of Lt. Gen. Early, the Confederates attacked Maj. Gen. Wallace and his Union troops here on July 9th, 1864.


• The Confederates held the town of Frederick up for ransom. If the city didn't pay $200,000 it would be burned. The citizens came up with the money.


• A 6 year old by the name of Glenn Worthington took cover with his family while the war was fought on his farm. He witnessed the action through a boarded up window and later wrote a book called Fighting for Time which encouraged Congress to establish the Monocacy Battlefield as a "National Military Park".

We plan on returning to Monocacy next weekend when they are planning an anniversary reenactment for this battle. Cody can't wait .... should be another great day to live and learn history.