News Release

Monocacy National Battlefield Commemorates 400 Years of African American History

U.S. Colored Troops from Company E photographed at Fort Lincoln. A recruiting station for U.S. Colored Troops opened at Monocacy Junction in 1863.

W.M. Smith. Library of Congress

News Release Date: August 19, 2019

Contact: Jana Friesen McCabe, 301-471-0322

FREDERICK, Md.: Join the National Park Service and community partners in honoring the first Africans to land in English-occupied America and in remembering 400 years of African American history. On Saturday, August 24 at 10:00 a.m. at the Best Farm, Monocacy National Battlefield will host an event titled Enslavement in the Free State: The Story of L'Hermitage. On Sunday, August 25 at 3:00 p.m. the public may join park rangers at the Visitor Center to participate in ringing a bell and reading the names of the enslaved people who lived and worked on the six historic properties of Monocacy National Battlefield, as well as the U.S. Colored Troops who enlisted at Monocacy Junction. Both programs are free.

The events are part of a nationwide commemoration of the landing of the first enslaved Africans at Virginia’s Point Comfort, now part of Fort Monroe National Monument, in August 1619. Monocacy National Battlefield will join Fort Monroe National Monument and other organizations across the country in simultaneously ringing bells on August 25 at 3 p.m. for four minutes—one minute to honor each century of African Amercian history. Visitors to Monocacy may also join in reading the names of African Americans who lived and worked on historic farms that form the battlefield.

Slavery was legal in Maryland until November 1864, when voters passed a new Maryland Constitution. During the Battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864, both the Thomas and the Worthington families took refuge in their cellars with some of their enslaved workforce. Researchers have documented the presence of enslaved laborers at all five of the historic farms of the battlefield. The average slaveowner in Frederick held 5-7 people. In 1863 a U.S. Colored Troops recruiting station was opened at Monocacy Junction.

Scholars and volunteers continue to research the lives of African Americans associated with Monocacy National Battlefield. Historic documents like censuses and wills frequently only recorded gender and ages of enslaved individuals. Advertisements for runaways often included names and physical descriptions. Historians must piece together information to identify individuals.

Join Monocacy National Battlefield in comemmorating 400 years of African American history on August 24 and 25.  Enslavement in the Free State: The Story of L'Hermitage is at the Best Farm on Saturday, August 24 at 10:00 a.m. The bell ringing and reading of the names is at the Visitor Center on Sunday, August 25 at 3:00 p.m. Both programs are free.
 

www.nps.gov

Monocacy National Battlefield preserves, protects and commemorates the landscape, historic structures, archeological sites and monuments that contribute to the national significance of the Battle of Monocacy. The park also provides opportunities for visitors to understand and appreciate the significance of the Battle of Monocacy within the full context of the Civil War and American History. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/mono.