As we were researching places to visit during our stay here in Western Maryland, the city of Fredrick quickly made it's way onto the list. There were nice reviews on TripAdvisor and previous guests to the Lock Keepers Cottage had mentioned it in the guest book. I was also able to get a thumbs up from a lifelong friend who had lived fairly close to this area for a number of years. Thanks Kim, you've never steered me wrong yet.
Fredrick, Maryland is a city of approximately 70,000 people, located along I-70. According to Google Maps it is 49 miles from both Baltimore (via I-70) and Washington, DC (via I-270). Even though it's population is less than 100,000, it is the second largest incorporated city in Maryland. If you're keeping score, Baltimore is the largest city, with a population of around 600,000. There are also five unincorporated cities in Maryland with populations slightly larger than Fredrick.
We knew that Fredrick had an interesting looking downtown that we wanted to explore. We had also planned on eating somewhere in the downtown area and depending on the weather possibly taking in a few innings at the Fredrick Keys baseball game before heading back to Sharpsburg. But first on the agenda was a visit to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.
As we have toured the battlefields of Antietam and Gettysburg, as well as the small towns nearby, we've learned a lot about the care of those wounded in battle, as well as the challenges that troops faced from diseases due to poor sanitation and living conditions. The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is dedicated to preserving the legacy of care and caregivers as well as the surprising humanitarian efforts shown in caring for all the injured regardless of if their uniforms were blue or gray.
National Museum of Civil War Medicine
The two story museum is located in the Fredrick Historic District near the intersection of Patrick and Market Streets. Currently the museum is open Thursday-Sunday. However, you can request a time to visit the museum on other days and the staff will try to accommodate you. We requested a mid-afternoon time on Wednesday that ended up being available.
When we arrived we were greeted by two enthusiastic staff members who gave us a quick overview of the museum layout and told us that they would be closing in an hour. The exhibits and information displayed throughout the museum were outstanding. The themed exhibit rooms were Medical School Education, Recruiting and Enlisting, Camp Life, Evacuation of the Wounded, Field Dressing Stations, Field Hospital, Pavilion Hospital, Embalming and finishing with Modern Military Medicine.
Keep in mind that this was in the 1860's and that much had yet to be discovered about the complexities of the human body, surgical/sterile techniques (no gloves, mask or sterilizing instruments between cases), anesthesia (thankfully chloroform had been discovered a few years earlier), pain management (whiskey or morphine) and most importantly the lack of an understanding of infection control. Two thirds of those who died in the Civil War died not from battle wounds but from disease. Surprisingly, for as archaic and barbaric as the medical care seemed to be, there were numerous success stories and practices such as triage, evacuation of injured, centralized care (hospitals) and levels of care that are now common practice. One of the success stories that is told throughout the museum are the letters from a Union Private named Peleg Bradford. His letters home documented everything from his induction into the army, his training, combat, injury and recovery. As with many of those injured by bullets, his injury resulted in an amputation. His leg was amputated at the hip. However, as documented in his letters, he received compassionate care, therapy and a prothesis. After the war he returned home, he was employed, and he and his wife raised eight children before he passed away in his seventies.
We used up our full hour in the museum and while we didn't feel that was too little time, we both agreed that we could have easily spent another 20-30 minutes or so enjoying learning more about this part of the Civil War.
On our way out, the friendly staff gave us a couple of suggestions of local restaurants. Among their favorite were a Thai and a Cuban Restaurant. They both sounded good, but we set our sites on the Thai place that was just a few doors from the museum. Unfortunately when we arrived they were not yet open for dinner. The Cuban Restaurant happened to be right across the street so we quickly adjusted our taste buds and made our way to Sabor de Cuba. As Floridians we may think that we have a monopoly of great Cuban food, but we really don't! While we may have more options, great Cuban food can be found in many places around the US and it certainly can be found at the Sabor de Cuba in Fredrick!
After the early dinner we strolled 8-10 blocks up Market Street past local shops, restaurants and galleries and then along the very impressive Carrol Creek Linear Park. As with Market Street, there were more local businesses as well as old homes and warehouses that have been renovated for urban living. After a while I told Beth that I must be sounding like a broken record because I kept saying "this is really nice"! She quickly agreed with my assessment of both myself and Historic Downtown Fredrick.
A brief rain had cooled down what had been a very hot afternoon, so we decided to finish off our time in Fredrick with a little baseball. The Fredrick Keys (named after Fredrick native Francis Scott Key) had been a minor league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles since 1989. Unfortunately, when baseball reduced the number of minor league teams last year Fredrick was one of the teams on the chopping block. Thankfully, they were awarded a collegiate summer league team so the team lives on, just in the form of younger, draft eligible players.
It was a beautiful night for baseball and when we left in the sixth inning the Keys were in control. Our afternoon/evening in Fredrick was done. Krumpe's Donuts was calling our name and was only a short detour off our route back to the Lock Keepers Cottage in Sharpsburg.
Even though we knew Fredrick was going to be nice, we didn't know how nice. It was another unexpected and pleasant surprise, one of the many that we have found during our time here.
