Maryland Monument / Centennial Monument

The Maryland Monument was installed on the centennial of the Battle of Monocacy.

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

Frederick, Maryland

Significance:

Civil War Centennial Monument

Designation:

National Battlefield, National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Landmark

Amenities

3 listed

Audio Description, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The Maryland Monument was dedicated on July 9, 1964, to commemorate the centennial of the Battle of Monocacy. Frederick County Civil War Centennial, Inc. sponsored the event in cooperation with the Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission.

During the centennial of the Civil War, Monocacy National Battlefield existed only as an idea. While it had been authorized for commemoration in the 1930s, Congress did not provide any funding to acquire land until the 1970s. In the 1960s, the land of the battlefield was all privately owned, except for the four small patches of land where the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), and Vermont monuments were located.

The Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission placed their monument next to one installed by the UDC in 1914. Both monuments were placed on the edge of a farm field beside the main road to Washington, DC, the Georgetown Pike. In addition to sharing a location, the Maryland and UDC monuments differed from the other three monuments on the battlefield in that both honored Confederate soldiers who fought at Monocacy. The UDC monument was dedicated solely to Confederate soldiers, while the Maryland Monument honored both Confederate and Union soldiers from Maryland.

The tablet on the Maryland Monument reads: 

The Battle of Monocacy

The Battle that Saved Washington 

Here along the Monocacy River on July 9, 1864, was fought the battle between Union forces under General Lew Wallace and Confederate forces under General Jubal A. Early. 

The battle, although a temporary victory for the Confederates, delayed their march on Washington one day, thereby enabling General Grant to send veteran reinforcements from Petersburg, Virginia to the defences of Washington in time to forestall the attack by the Confederates and thus save the Capital from capture. 

Dedicated on July 9, 1964 to honor the Maryland soldiers who fought here for the Union and the Confederacy. 

J. Millard Tawes, Governor of Maryland 

Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission, George L. Radcliffe, Chairman 

In 2005, the National Park Service completed restoration work that reestablished the post and chain fence surrounding the monument.