Civil War Campgrounds

For more than three years, from May 1862 through July 1865, Union soldiers lived, worked, and played on Maryland Heights, building numerous campgrounds on an inhospitable mountain that lacked water, level ground, and adequate sanitation. Stone walls visible across the plateau may have marked a camp boundary or may be rock mounds piled by soldiers while clearing a campsite, and other traces of encampments included stone foundations and ground depressions. Soldiers' quarters varied widely, from primitive canopies and tents to elaborate log cabins, but all were built to protect men from severe weather that made life on the Heights especially difficult. Heavy artillery units assigned to specific fortifications lived in huts or cabins built to withstand harsh winters, while infantry regiments often used Sibley tents modified with logs and plastered cracks for warmth.

Maryland · United States