Introduction to Frederick

47 miles W of Baltimore, 45 miles NW of Washington, D.C., 34 miles S of Gettysburg

Frederick has long been an important crossroads. With the building of the National Pike in the 1700s, it was linked with the port city of Baltimore and became a stop on the road west. Young Francis Scott Key grew up and practiced law in Frederick before writing the poem that would become our national anthem. When Elizabeth Ann Seton sought a place for her new community of religious women, she looked west to Frederick, finally finding a home just north of the city in Emmitsburg.

During the Civil War, thousands of wounded soldiers arrived in Frederick to recover. The first came in August 1862, following the Battle of South Mountain. More arrived the next month after the battle at Antietam, the bloodiest day of battle during the Civil War. So many wounded arrived, they outnumbered Frederick's own citizens.

In 1862, Barbara Fritchie confronted General Stonewall Jackson and was immortalized in poetry: "'Shoot if you must this old grey head/but spare your country's flag,' she said." Two years later, Confederate General Jubal Early demanded ransom that saved the town from destruction. Battles at Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg brought more wounded before the Battle of the Monocacy was waged to the southeast.

Reminders of these sad days remain in the area's historic sites, museums, and four battlefields, maintained by the National Park Service.

Frederick, Maryland's third-largest city, remembers the war with its Barbara Fritchie House and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. The growing town has drawn people to it, with suburbs extending down toward Washington, D.C., and a downtown area that shines as a place to shop, dine, and relax. Outside town are rolling fields and orchards, the foothills of the Catoctin Mountains, and plenty of green space for picnicking and hiking.

The nearby Monocacy site has changed little since the battle in 1864, except for a few monuments and a visitor center. Antietam has added battlefield guides and opened a field hospital museum. Harpers Ferry reminds visitors of its past in a beautiful setting overlooking the Potomac River. And Gettysburg, just north in Pennsylvania, draws the most crowds among these battlefields.

Once a largely agricultural community, Frederick is now Maryland's third-largest city (behind Baltimore and Gaithersburg, a D.C. suburb). Though its downtown district is surrounded by housing developments that have given Frederick a population of 56,000, the 33-block historic area maintains its small-town charm. The 18th- and 19th-century buildings and cluster of church spires that make up Frederick's skyline are still a main attraction. Antiques and crafts shops dominate the downtown shopping area, and there's a vibrant restaurant and bar scene. Those who like scenic drives will be happy to know that Frederick lies at the junction of two national scenic byways, the Historic National Road (Alternate U.S. 40) and the Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway (Rte. 15). North and west of the city, the agricultural community still thrives, with produce stands popping up among the grain fields and meadows.