The Journey Through Hallowed Ground

“This year is the 150th Anniversary of the Maryland Campaign of 1862, which included the Battles of South Mountain and Antietam,” said Tom Riford, president and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County CVB.  “We are tracking scores of events in our county, and throughout the three-county Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, during the Civil War Sesquicentennial.”

Coming up this summer, there will be a kick-off weekend for Washington County.  During the Civil War, the bugler’s "First Call" was sounded for the troops to assemble. Maryland’s Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, which includes Washington County, Frederick County, and Carroll County, will be presenting a First Call Weekend as an invitation to visitors.

During this June, Hagerstown and Washington County will host a major weekend of public programs for all ages to herald the many commemoration activities planned throughout the area. This initial First Call Weekend is set for June 16 and 17, in Hagerstown’s City Park. "With an emphasis on the 150th Anniversary of the Maryland Campaign, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the north, including the Battle of South Mountain and the Battle of Antietam, we will be welcoming visitors to our community," said Riford.

From venues at the Hager House and the Washington County Fine Arts Museum to an encampment, reenactments, exhibits, and concert stages on park grounds, the event will showcase the area’s rich history and opportunities for visitors to explore Washington County's Civil War cultural, natural, and heritage resources. During First Call Weekend, visitors will find out about upcoming Sesquicentennial commemorations and battle anniversary weekends, while enjoying activities such as living history interpretations, artillery demonstrations, hands-on youth activities, book signings and film previews, musical and dramatic performances, guest speakers, museum exhibits and site displays, and encampment tours, including evening tours by torchlight.

The First Call weekend is sponsored by the Hagerstown-Washington County CVB and the City of Hagerstown. A committee has been working on the First Call Weekend for more than a year. Todd Bolton and Karen Giffin are co-chairs of the event.

There will be several seminars, concerts, reenactments, tours, and other living history events in Washington County throughout the rest of 2012. Special Civil War events began in in the county earlier this month, with the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Hancock. The Newcomer House Exhibit and Visitors Center, at the Antietam National Battlefield, is adding new exhibits, and information. The historic home is managed by the Hagerstown-Washington County CVB and the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, in partnership with the Antietam National Battlefield.

Washington County is home to the Antietam National Battlefield, site of America’s single bloodiest one-day battle, which saw 23,110 casualties on September 17, 1862. Three days before, the Battle of South Mountain saw 6,000 casualties. For more information about Antietam, see: http://www.nps.gov/ancm/index.htm. For more information about South Mountain, see: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southmtbattle.html. Also see a handy guide to the South Mountain Recreation Area here: http://files.dhweb.com/cvb/smra/.

Carroll County, which saw extensive troop movement related to the Gettysburg invasion and retreat in 1863, will host the 2013 First Call Weekend in advance of the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Frederick County will host the 2014 First Call weekend to herald commemorations related to the Battle of the Monocacy, also known as the “battle that saved Washington.”  For more information about the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, see: www.heartofthecivilwar.org.  For more information about the Maryland Campaign of 1862, see: www.marylandcampaign150.org. Several events are also listed there. http://www.marylandcampaign150.org/Calendar.html

To learn more about sites in the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area visit the historic Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield. The center reopens in April. For a list of scheduled events throughout the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, please visit: http://www.heartofthecivilwar.org/calendar/.

Washington County is home to five National Parks, eight State Parks, more than thirty museums, a minor league baseball team, a world-class professional symphony orchestra, more than twenty-one historic stone arch bridges, and is ranked first in Maryland for retail opportunities. For more information, see: www.marylandmemories.com. Many events are also listed there, along with a complete listing of Civil War events in Washington County through 2012.