Fellow blogger and historical marker hunter Craig Swain chastised me for having no photos of Monocacy National Battlefield in this post about some of the sites I visited in Frederick, Md, in June. I shot plenty, and decided to present them here in this separate post.
The new visitor’s center at the park is very airy and modern, but I gotta tell ya, the old VC had a lot more charm. I find the new one a little, umm…, sterile? Austere? The first floor houses what you might call a book store, but really it’s all one big room featuring the ranger desk. The second floor has artifacts and placards arranged in a circular pattern, with an observation deck at the end opposite the entrance. I don’t know, it just didn’t appeal to me. I may have been expecting too much after having seen the new Corinth Interpretive Center. Anyway, here are some photos I took that hot, hot Saturday morning. Click the thumbs for larger images, click those images for even larger ones.
The entrance sign and the new, barnlike VC – the old VC was in a real barn
The second floor displays, including a room encircling time-line and the frock coat of a New Jersey officer (I think)
A tactile display and Jubal Early’s campaign desk
A cavalry display and an appropriately larger artillery display
Time-line detail and battle map with bells and whistles
General Lew Wallace’s uniform coat and vest and the observation deck
A small closet which the visitor opens to reveal the battleflag of Co F, 17th VA Cavalry, Nighthawk Rangers
Harry Smeltzer
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