Maryland Civil War Trails Series Interpretives (3) - Middletown, MD - U.S. 40 - The National Road on Waymarking.com

These interpretives are similar to the ones not too far away in Gettysburg. They are held horizontally in place by a thick, black, metal frame, about 3-4 feet off of the ground and angled just right for easy viewing. The marker displays three pictures of a modern day living historian wearing standard Confederate field gear of the day.

The left interpretive reads:

Fresh from victory at the Second Battle of Manassas, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River on September 4-6, 1862, to bring the Civil War to Northern soil and to recruit sympathetic Marylanders. Union Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac pursued Lee, who had detached Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's force to capture the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry. After the Federals pushed the remaining Confederates out of the South Mountain gaps, Lee awaited Jackson's return near Sharpsburg and Antietam Creek.

On September 17, at the battle of Antietam, the two armies clashed in the bloodiest single day in American history and suffered some 23,000 casualties. Lee soon retreated across the Potomac, ending his first invasion of the north.

Follow in the footsteps of Gens. Lee and McClellan along Maryland Civil War Trail's Antietam Campaign: Lee Invades Maryland, a 90 mile tour route that allows you to explore the stories of triumph and tragedy at more than 60 Civil War sites. Please travel carefully as you enjoy the beauty and history along the trail.

The interpretive in the center reads:

The Battle of South Mountain erupted on September 14, 1862, when elements of the Union army tried to drive the Confederate rear guard from Crampton’s, Fox’s, and Turner’s Gaps and break through to the western side of the mountain to attack Confederates there. When Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia marched into Maryland earlier in the month, he was looking for supplies and recruits for a possible invasion of Pennsylvania. He hoped while resting men at Frederick that the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry would flee and leave his lines of communication and transportation unhindered. When the garrison stayed put, however, threatening his rear, Lee issued Special Orders No. 191 to divide his army and send Stonewall Jackson with about half of the army to capture Harpers Ferry. Lee marched over South Mountain, using it as a screen to help conceal the remainder of his troops and keep Gen. George B. McClellan’s pursuing Army of the Potomac at bay. But then the Federals found a dropped copy of Special Orders No. 191, and it became especially critical for the outnumbered Confederates to hold South Mountain passes until Jackson completed his mission and rejoined them. The day-long battle, it turned out, gave the Confederates just time enough.

The interpretive on the far right reads:

An unnamed citizen of Frederick City said the following of the Confederates he had beheld marching through his hometown: “I have never seen a mass of such filthy strong-smelling men. Three in a room would make it unbearable, and when marching in column along the street the smell from them was most offensive... The filth that pervades them is most remarkable... They have no uniforms, but are all well armed and equipped, and have become so inured to hardships that they care but little for any of the comforts of civilization... They are the roughest looking set of creatures I ever saw, their features, hair and clothing matted with dirt and filth, and the scratching they kept up gave warrant of vermin in abundance.” Another observer described the Confederates simply as “a lean and hungry set of wolves.”

2. Historical Marker Database

1. Historical Marker Database