Monocacy National Battlefield

Description:

• This stretch of farmland was the site of a little-known but important Civil War encounter, the Battle of the Monocacy. General Jubal Early led 15,000 Confederates against a Union force of 5,800 under General Lew Wallace in July 1864. The Confederates won, but their forces were so weakened that Union troops at Fort Stevens could push them back from Washington and save the nation's capital from capture. Today, the battlefield remains virtually unchanged. The visitor center has displays and artifacts. An auto tour is 4 miles round-trip; two other trails offer historic and scenic vistas. From May through August, special events are scheduled on the first weekend of the month; a commemoration of the battle is held on a weekend near July 9.

• © Frommer's 2012