In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Lee ordered his troops to march towards Washington DC which was lightly defended because the bulk of the Union forces were engaged in the siege of Petersburg and Richmond. However agents of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad noticed signs of General Early's movements and tipped off the Union commanders giving them time to assemble 6,000 Federal troops under General Lew Wallace at Frederick, Maryland. The armies met on July 9 and the ensuing battle which only lasted from 8:30 to 5:00 resulted in victory for the Confederate Army. The Union was forced to retreat but the battle delayed the Confederates long enough for Union troops to arrive in Washington and prevent the capture of the Union capitol.
The visitor center has a short video, exhibits, and a fiber optic battle map which makes it easy to follow the movements of the troops. A brochure is available for a five stop self guided auto tour. Short trails branch out from the parking spaces at each stop.
The visitor center is accessible. The interpretive signs at the first stop, the Best House, are accessible but the trails are not. The trails at stop 2 and 3 are not accessible. We did not stop at 4 or 5 however a short portion of the trail at stop 5 is designated as accessible. It's possible to see the battlefield and understand the action by reading the information on the brochure at each stop.
The visitor center parking lot is large enough for RVs. The auto tour lots parking areas are large enough for short RVs. One section of the tour road is gravel in fairly good condition. Route 355 which cuts through the middle of the battlefield is busy making left turns onto it from the tour route difficult.
Battlefield 39.37739, -77.39496
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