Just south of the
Mason-Dixon line, Frederick,
Maryland, was poised at the crossroads of the Civil War. Here, Confederate troops passed west to the Battles of Antietam and South Monocacy, and Union troops passed north en route to Gettysburg and south to raid the resources of the
Shenandoah Valley. Heroes and villains were made in the spired city, from Dame Barbara Fritchie, who is said to have defied General Jackson, and the local doctors and nurses who cared for thousands of wounded soldiers to General Jubal Early, who threatened to put the town to the torch. Join local historian John Schildt as he recounts the fascinating history of Frederick in the Civil War.
Background Information
The survey line between Maryland and Pennsylvania, the work of two surveyors Mason and Dixon between 1763 and 1767, has come to represent the divide between the free North and the slaveholding South. Maryland was founded as a colony based on religious tolerance, with particular focus on Catholics. The Shanendoah Valley, the scene of much bitter fighting during the Civil War, stretches through Virginia until the Shenandoah River meets the Potomac at Harpers Ferry.
