Monocacy National Battlefield, Frederick, Maryland, An Administrative History

Reed, Paula; Organization of American Historians

In February of 2016, Paula S. Reed and Associates, Inc. contracted with the Organization of American Historians to prepare an administrative history for Monocacy National Battlefield, at Frederick, Maryland. Monocacy National Battlefield preserves and interprets the Civil War Battle of Monocacy that occurred on July 9, 1864. Yet the battlefield also has a very rich history of settlement and development of plantations and transportation systems along the Monocacy River from the early 1700s forward. While the National Park Service’s primary role is to interpret the Civil War battle, the earlier history is important in its own right and provides essential context to the Civil War history in west central Maryland. The fundamental goal of the National Park Service’s administrative history program is to obtain an accurate, thorough, and well-written account of the origin and evolution of each unit of the National Park System. A park administrative history explains how the park was conceived and established, and how it has been administered up to the present. It focuses on the history of the park as a park, to include the development of various park programs and activities.1 The primary audience for park administrative histories is current and future park managers and staff. The more familiar managers and staff are with the problems their predecessors faced and their responses, the better prepared they will be to make thoughtful, informed decisions about ongoing or recurring issues. Administrative histories provide valuable context and inform superintendents about why and how their predecessors made certain decisions. They help superintendents understand past controversies and prepare for future ones and are a critical tool for park managers who seek greater understanding of why and how certain practices and policies evolved.2 The following report is organized into seven chapters with appendices and a bibliography. It begins with the historical context and history of the establishment of the battlefield, followed by the National Park Service’s growing role in establishing, nurturing, and managing the battlefield.

Monocacy National Battlefield, Frederick, Maryland, An Administrative History

Series

Collections