Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Credit: Craig Fildes via Flickr
NATIONAL
BATTLEFIELD SITES
BY JENNY PETERS
American military history aficionados will find much to see around Washington, D. C., for many key battlefields are just short meanders from the heart of the nation’ s capital. Within a two-hour drive, visitors will find fascinating national parks dedicated to the memory of battles that took place during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War( that deadliest conflict in America’ s history). And of course, the British burned the city itself( including the White House, the Capitol building and the Library of Congress) in the midst of the War of 1812, so taking a tour of D. C. is actually a battlefield visit, too.
ANTIETAM NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK, MARYLAND
Known as the bloodiest one-day conflict of the Civil War, the battle of Antietam was fought about 1.5 hours northwest of the nation’ s capital in Maryland. Considered one of America’ s best-preserved battlefields, Antietam offers ten walking trails that allow visitors to experience the places up and close, where the Union and Confederate armies clashed. Find historic monuments and landmarks on the quarter mile Antietam Remembered Trail; and be sure to walk the Bloody Lane Trail( 1.6 miles) and see the Tidball Trail overlook for a broad view of the battlefield. The U. S. National Parks Service offers trail guides, podcasts, interpretative talks and tours from park rangers, along with driving tours of the battlefield.
BRANDYWINE BATTLEFIELD PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
Revolutionary War buffs will need to travel north for about two hours from D. C. to see Brandywine Battlefield, where the largest fight during the War for Independence took place. September 11, 1777, 30,000 men( 15,000 colonists versus 15,000 British) fought the battle to protect nearby Philadelphia, with General George Washington leading the fight against British General William Howe. Despite having Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette at his side, Washington lost this key battle and retreated toward Philadelphia. This massive battle covered over ten square miles that are now private lands, but Washington’ s headquarters( the Benjamin Ring home) is open for tours from March to December and self-driving maps lead visitors across the much-changed battle landscape.
FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK, VIRGINIA
Drive about an hour south of D. C. into Virginia to find this massive national military park( over 8,000 acres) that preserves the place where four key Civil War battles were fought. Visit the battlefields of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse, where over the course of more than two years, Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas“ Stonewall” Jackson fought Union troops led by generals Grant, Meade, Burnside and
FLYWASHINGTON. COM 62 SPRING 2018