Point Lookout State Park - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

At the start of the Civil War, Point Lookout was a popular resort with hotel, cottages, and a lighthouse. In 1862, the United States government leased the Point Lookout area to build a hospital for its Union troops. It was built like the spokes of a wheel and named Hammond General Hospital for Surgeon General William A. Hammond.

In 1863, a prison camp for Confederate prisoners of war was also built at Point Lookout. It was designed to hold 10,000, but it grew to 20,000 prisoners.

Because Point Lookout sits on a peninsula surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River in an area that was pro-Southern, there was always a threat of Confederate attack. Three forts, a series of rifle pits, and a gun battery were built for defense.

At the end of the Civil War, John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln in a theater in Washington, D.C. and used the help of southern Maryland's Confederate underground to escape. Booth traveled through Maryland and crossed the Potomac River into Virginia where he was found and killed.

Today, the original structures of the hospital, POW camp, and forts are gone. Nature eventually reclaimed the land after the War. Only the earthen walls at Fort Lincoln which was the main defensive fortification on the peninsula, survive. But Fort Lincoln has been reconstructed through research to look much the same as it did during the War. A memorial to those who died in the prison camp stands at Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery and an impressive POW Memorial complete with prisoners' stories is at the Confederate Memorial Park at Point Lookout. At the campgrounds, there is a Civil War Museum and Nature Center.

The posted coordinates mark the location of the two Civil War Discovery Trail interpretive signs at Point Lookout. They are Point Lookout State Park - Hammond General Hospital and John Wilkes Booth - Escape of an Assassin.

Civil War Discovery Trail Websites:

• Maryland's Civil War: Chesapeake Bay Area>
• Point Lookout State Park and Civil War Museum

Type of site: Other Address: 11175 Point Lookout Road Scotland, MD USA 20687 Phone Number: (301) 872-5688 Admission Charged: $5 or less Website: [Web Link] Driving Directions: Directions from Baltimore: From Rt. 695 Follow to Rt. 97 south to Rt. 3 south (Rt. 3 will turn into Rt. 301. Follow Rt. 301 south. From Rt. 301 south continue to Rt. 4 south in Upper Marlboro. Follow Rt. 4 south all the way across the Solomons Island Bridge. After the Solomons Island Bridge the first traffic light you come to will be Rt. 235. Turn left onto Rt. 235 south. Follow Rt. 235 south into a town called Ridge (there will be a blinking red light). Turn left onto Rt. 5 south. Follow Rt. 5 south as far as it will go (approximately 7 miles) and you will be in Point Lookout. After the entrance sign, the second road on the right will be the campground. When you arrive in the campground, park at the left and register at the Ranger Station. Directions from Washington, D.C.: From Rt. 495 Follow to Rt. 4/Pennsylvania Avenue south to Upper Marlboro. Continue on Rt. 4 south until you cross the Solomons Island Bridge. After the Solomons Island Bridge the first traffic light you come to will be Rt. 235. Turn left onto Rt. 235 south. Follow Rt. 235 south into a town called Ridge (there will be a blinking red light). Turn left onto Rt. 5 south. Follow Rt. 5 south as far as it will go (approximately 7 miles) and you will be in Point Lookout. After the entrance sign, the second road on the right will be the campground. When you arrive in the campground park at the left and register at the Ranger Station.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/16/2022 Don.Morfe visited it 09/20/2015 Searcher28 visited it 03/31/2011 Six Little Spookies visited it

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