Frontier Fortification
This is a view of the outer defences of Fort Frederick, MD., from the tip of the south-western bastion north along the western curtain wall towards the north-western bastion in the distance.
Fort Frederick was built in 1756-57 when a £6,000 appropriation (equivalent to £1.1 million in 2012) was authorised by the Maryland Legislature at the request of Governor Horatio Sharpe to build a fortification on the frontier. The fort, named after Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, was completed the following year. The large stone fort was designed primarily as a place of refuge for area settlers. Between 1757 and 1758, small raids by Indians in nearby settlements, caused settlers in the surrounding countryside to flee eastward. At the same time, men of the 60th Regiment of Foot and local militia soldiers garrisoned the fort. Ranging parties were sent from the fort to patrol the area and to deter if not prevent Indian raids.
The fort was not designed to resist artillery, as it was correctly assumed that the French would not be able to transport artillery to the remote location from the west. The fort served its purpose in 1763 during Pontiac's Rebellion; however, the fort was never directly attacked. From 1777 to 1783 during the American Revolutionary War, the fort was used as a prisoner of war camp for as many as 1,000 captured British and German soldiers.
Fort Frederick was sold at auction in 1791 and lay abandoned until the American Civil War. The fort was garrisoned at the outbreak of war and was used as a gun emplacement to protect the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which parallelled the canal. The 1st Maryland Infantry (US) occupied the area in December 1861 and Company H fought in a skirmish at the fort against Confederate raiders on Christmas Day, 1861. The regiment left in February 1862. In October 1862 a picket from the 12th Illinois Cavalry briefly occupied the area. The military usefulness of the fort ended by 1862.
In 1922 the property was acquired by the State of Maryland for use as Maryland's first state park. The walls had deteriorated, but were standing up to 2.4m in places. Archaeological investigations and the discovery of the original plans allowed a complete reconstruction, with much of the restoration work done in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The fort is a large stone quadrangle with bastions at each corner. Each face of the curtain wall is about 55m long, 5.3m high and 0.91m thick at the base. The bastions project diagonally about 30m, are 1.4m thick at the base, and were filled with earth to provide a platform. The main gate is located in the centre of the south curtain wall. Two of the three barracks buildings have been restored. The west barrack is reconstructed to its 1758 appearance, while the east barrack contains displays regarding the history of the fort. The north barrack, known as the Governor's House, has not been reconstructed.
The fort was designated a Historic National Landmark in 1973.
Frontier Fortification
This is a view of the outer defences of Fort Frederick, MD., from the tip of the south-western bastion north along the western curtain wall towards the north-western bastion in the distance.
Fort Frederick was built in 1756-57 when a £6,000 appropriation (equivalent to £1.1 million in 2012) was authorised by the Maryland Legislature at the request of Governor Horatio Sharpe to build a fortification on the frontier. The fort, named after Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, was completed the following year. The large stone fort was designed primarily as a place of refuge for area settlers. Between 1757 and 1758, small raids by Indians in nearby settlements, caused settlers in the surrounding countryside to flee eastward. At the same time, men of the 60th Regiment of Foot and local militia soldiers garrisoned the fort. Ranging parties were sent from the fort to patrol the area and to deter if not prevent Indian raids.
The fort was not designed to resist artillery, as it was correctly assumed that the French would not be able to transport artillery to the remote location from the west. The fort served its purpose in 1763 during Pontiac's Rebellion; however, the fort was never directly attacked. From 1777 to 1783 during the American Revolutionary War, the fort was used as a prisoner of war camp for as many as 1,000 captured British and German soldiers.
Fort Frederick was sold at auction in 1791 and lay abandoned until the American Civil War. The fort was garrisoned at the outbreak of war and was used as a gun emplacement to protect the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which parallelled the canal. The 1st Maryland Infantry (US) occupied the area in December 1861 and Company H fought in a skirmish at the fort against Confederate raiders on Christmas Day, 1861. The regiment left in February 1862. In October 1862 a picket from the 12th Illinois Cavalry briefly occupied the area. The military usefulness of the fort ended by 1862.
In 1922 the property was acquired by the State of Maryland for use as Maryland's first state park. The walls had deteriorated, but were standing up to 2.4m in places. Archaeological investigations and the discovery of the original plans allowed a complete reconstruction, with much of the restoration work done in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The fort is a large stone quadrangle with bastions at each corner. Each face of the curtain wall is about 55m long, 5.3m high and 0.91m thick at the base. The bastions project diagonally about 30m, are 1.4m thick at the base, and were filled with earth to provide a platform. The main gate is located in the centre of the south curtain wall. Two of the three barracks buildings have been restored. The west barrack is reconstructed to its 1758 appearance, while the east barrack contains displays regarding the history of the fort. The north barrack, known as the Governor's House, has not been reconstructed.
The fort was designated a Historic National Landmark in 1973.