South
Hermitage
Best Farm
South Hermitage Farm, located three miles south of Frederick City along the Georgetown Pike (today's Rt. 355), was owned as an investment property for many years in the nineteenth century by Colonel Charles E. Trail. The Monocacy River and the B&O Railroad bordered the property to the south which made it a valuable piece of real estate. Charles Trail never lived on the property himself. He chose instead to lease the farm in exchange for half of the crop production.- For many years during Trail's ownership, the farm was leased by members of the Best family.
Throughout the years of the Civil War, South Hermitage was witness to many troops, both Union and Confederate, passing through Frederick. Often, the troops camped at South Hermitage. During the 1862 Maryland Campaign, Lee's lost order No. 191 (which outlined the army's movements) was found in a grove of trees on the property at a recently abandoned Confederate camp. The order, wrapped around cigars, was found by Corporal Barton Mitchell of the 27th Indiana. Union General George McClellan chose not to use the orders to his advantage in planning his strategy against Lee in what would become known as the Battle of Antietam.
In 1864, John T. Best took over the operation of the farm from his father David. This first year of farming on his own looked promising, but soon proved disastrous. During the Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864, Confederate artillery set up on the farm and hammered away at Union troops posted to guard the wooden covered bridge over the Monocacy on the Georgetown Pike one-half mile distant. In defense of their troops, Union artillery opened up and returned this fire. A blaze soon ignited in Best's barn, effectively destroying the building, stored grain, hay, tools, and farming implements. Confederate infantry, using South Hermitage as a staging area soon destroyed any crops left standing in the fields.
