Say Can You See? – Frederick – First President? – September 1, 2020

 

Stephanie and Stephan invited us to spend a couple of days with them at a town home in Frederick, MD. It’s just a 50 minute ride north from Arlington, and it takes you into the “Crossroads of American History”. To begin with, Frederick County was one of the first to openly defy the British Parliament’s notorious Stamp Act in 1765.

During the American Civil War, Maryland was a pivotal border slave state that ultimately stayed with the Union. As a result, Frederick found itself in the middle of the action during the war. At one point, the local citizens had to pay a $200,000 ‘ransom’ to the Confederate Army in order to prevent the town from being destroyed by the invading army. Abraham Lincoln visited the town during the war and gave a speech. Two of the bloodiest battles of the war, Antietam and Gettysburg, were fought just a few miles away from Frederick. And, the ‘battle that saved Washington, D.C.’ (the Battle of Monocacy) was waged just outside the city limits.

It was a rainy summer day when we rolled into town this morning. First, we took a walk near Carroll Creek, which runs through town.

 

Our town home is in the old town section on 4^th St. It’s a row house that dates back to the Civil War era. Just across the street from our front door is St. John’s Cemetery. Buried there is the author of one of the most infamous court decisions in American jurisprudence. We can stand on our front porch and see where Roger B. Taney, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case, lies in repose. This legal decision gave the country a final push toward Civil War when it was decided in the late 1850’s.

 

We also took a walk through the Mt. Olivet Cemetery on the other side of town. This is where Francis Scott Key is buried. When you push a button on the historical placard at the base of his monument, the National Anthem plays.

 

Other notable Frederickians found here are Barbara Fritchie, who waved a Union flag at the Confederate soldiers (and dared them to shoot her) who marched through town in 1862 on their way to fight in the Battle of Antietam. The poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, was inspired to write and publish a famous poem based on this act. There is also a monument to the first ‘First Family’ of the U.S. - John and Jane Hanson. John was actually the President before George Washington, under the Articles of Confederation from 1781-1782. John was originally buried in a nearby county where, in the 1980's, illegal urban redevelopment destroyed his grave site. His remains were never found, so a monument to our country's little-known first President was erected at Mt. Olivet.

 

After a stimulating day of walking among the dead, we plan to do some hiking tomorrow.

 

Next: Cunningham Falls, Monocacy Battlefield, Covered Bridges