Monocacy National Battlefield, Frederick, Maryland
On an undeveloped plot of land outside of Frederick, Maryland, sits a collection of old farmhouses and a scattered collection of monuments: the New Jersey 14th; the Pennsylvania 67th, 87th, 138th; and the Vermont 10th. This National Park Service site commemorates the Battle of Monocacy, the northernmost Confederate victory of the war. Jubal Early wanted to divert the Union army from the siege at Petersburg by attacking Washington itself, but the forces of these northern regiments, in their defeat, managed to delay Early’s march for a day. This gave the Union needed time to reinforce the capital, and forced the Confederates to retreat back to Virginia.
I visited Monocacy during a grand tour of Civil War sites. During that road trip, I visited the major battlefields of Antietam, Gettysburg, Manassas, and Fredericksburg. Those are famed, well-known, and oft-visited, but it was Monocacy that moved me the most. The day was drizzly, the gloomiest of the entire trip. The tourists who thronged the famous battlefield parks were missing, mine was the only car in the lot. I headed out into the mist, and along the path, took my favorite picture of any of the various Civil War sites. There’s no monument, no cannon, no building, no plaque, nothing but the weeping grass, heads bowed, reflecting a nation grateful for the sacrifices of our forebears.
Monocacy is quiet now
But once its banks ran red
With blood of men from North and South
Which poured out from the dead
To save the city, Lew would take
Those under his command
And track down Jubal Early’s match
To stop and take a stand
They held the bridges for a while
Then burned a wooden one
While soldiers held the second path
Til they were overrun
But though the Yankees called “retreat”
The day had turned to night
Confederates would halt the march
DC delayed its fight
Allowed the reinforcements time
Defenses to be manned
Instead of Early in gates
The capital would stand
Patrick Foos, 2026 https://patricksdailypoem.substack.com/p/monocacy
[AI was not used to research or write any part of this essay. Pictures are mine and thusly copyrighted].
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