Tourist Sites Along Civil War Rail Trail from North to South
Washington County Sites
First Paved Road in America, Rt 40A, from Funkstown to Boonsboro, 1 mile east on Oakridge Dr
Manor Church Road –Confederate defense line after
Battle of Gettysburg, July 8, 1863
Keedysville – town established 1768, McClellan’s headquarters, churches and homes used as hospitals after Battle of Antietam; both Confederate and Union armies traveled thru town
Keedysville – George Washington came thru on Dog Street Road and Geeting Road in connection with the ongoing French and Indian War, on May 2, 1755. British General Braddock, George Washington, Maryland Governor Sharpe, and several aides set out for
Winchester, Virginia. They started in Frederick and then came thru what would become the Town of Keedysville –where they traveled on present day Dog Street Road and Geeting Road. At this time, these roads were a major route for transporting soldiers and supplies.
Keedysville – In summer of 1775, a Michael Cresap and some yet-to-be determined number of “backwoods riflemen” came from far western Maryland, thru Keedysville, on their epic march north to Boston to join George Washington’s Continental Army. It is reported that these men saved Washington’s army when unfavorable conditions threatened failure of his army. (This topic of Cresap is still being researched.)
B&O Railroad 1830 – first Rail Road in USA to haul
freight; hauled Civil War troops and materials
C&O Canal Towpath – portions used as part of Underground Railroad prior to Civil War
John Brown’s headquarters where he planned his slave rebellion is 4 miles from CWRT
Rockland Plantation – Home of James Pennington, slave, who wrote his auto biography entitled, Fugitive Slave, which portrays the life of slaves in Washington County. Of 4 million slaves in the U.S. in 1860, only two wrote autobiographies, i.e., James Pennington and Frederick Douglas. Pennington’s life and writings provide a unique and astonishing revelation of slavery as it was.
Keedysville -- Red Hill AME Church and Cemetery – Historic African-American slave church, now dismantled, is to be restored together with its graveyard. Work is in progress.
Battle of South Mountain 1862 --Confederates in Pleasant Valley, later Union troops in Valley
Appalachian Trail – Connects to both CWRT and to C&O Towpath Trail
Battle of the Monocacy 1864 – Confederates crossed CWRT in vicinity of Trego/Brownsville area on July 7, 1864, on way to Frederick, Monocacy Battle and next day, Battle at Washington, DC
C&O Canal 1830 – hauled farm produce, troops and coal to fuel Union Navy ships at Washington DC. Canal connects shipping route from fresh water to tidal salt water.
Battle(s) of Harpers Ferry – From Intersection of CWRT and Towpath, Harpers Ferry is 3 miles along Towpath. Harpers Ferry changed hands at least eight times during the Civil War.