Boonsboro

History: Confederate General Robert E. Lee headquartered here during the Battle of South Mountain, after which churches and public buildings became makeshift hospitals. The town also received wounded soldiers following the Battle of Antietam. "The Heart of Maryland," a popular 19th-century play set in Boonsboro during the Civil War, became a successful silent movie in 1927.

Right after the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart was assigned to locate the Union cavalry and prevent them from severing General Robert E. Lee's avenue of retreat south to Williamsport and the Potomac River. When General Stuart found the Union cavalry, the result was the largest and most sustained cavalry battle in Maryland during the campaign-the Battle of Boonsboro-which occurred here along the National Road on Wednesday, July 8, 1863. General Stuart advanced from the direction of Funkstown and Williamsport and encountered Federal resistance at Beaver Creek Bridge. The terrain was muddy, and fighting on horseback became nearly impossible, forcing Stuart's troopers, Union General H. Judson Kilpatrick and John Buford's Union cavalry to dismount and slug it out like infantry. General Stuart eventually withdrew north to Funkstown, but he had gained another day for Lee's retreating army.

More to Explore: The Boonsboro Museum of History features historical objects spanning 5,000 years including displays of china, glassware, weapons, Civil War artifacts, and John Brown memorabilia. Head underground in the Crystal Grottoes Caverns, discovered during quarrying for limestone in the 1920s. Use this town as a base to explore Crampton's, Fox's and Turner's gaps, where fierce fighting occurred, and check in with a local outfitter about white-water rafting, tubing, kayaking and cycling excursions in the Harpers Ferry area. Bed and breakfasts are located near shops that include a bookstore operated by the husband of best-selling author Nora Roberts. Among several annual events is May's three-day National Pike Festival, which highlights a 20-mile wagon train journey between Clear Spring and Boonsboro, along the original route of the National Pike.

Photo Credits:

1. "Boonsboro." Photo courtesy of Hagerstown-Washington County CVB.
2. “East Main Street, Boonsboro, Maryland.” Photo courtesy of Acroterion Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0; http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Boonsboro,_Maryland.jpg