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Point of Rocks in Frederick County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Point of Rocks

Point of Rocks During the War

 
 
Point of Rocks During the War Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tom Fuchs, November 4, 2006
1. Point of Rocks During the War Marker
Inscription. The rail line immediately before you served as an important means of supply and communication during the Civil War (the station, and tracks to Washington, D.C., on the southern or right side of the station were built later). Here at Point of Rocks, formerly Trammelstown, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached the banks of the Potomac River from Baltimore. This narrow strip of bottomland, which allowed passage beyond the Blue Ridge’s Catoctin and South Mountain ranges, had been the subject of a court fight decades earlier when the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the railroad sought to use it.

In May 1861, Col. Thomas J. (later Gen. “Stonewall”) Jackson convinced the railroad to consolidate its coal shipments at a specific time period. He then captured 56 locomotives and more than 300 rail cars by halting all train traffic east of Point of Rocks. In 1864, Confederate Lt. Col. John S. Mosby, in what became known as the “Calico Raid” or the “Crinoline Raid,” attacked the Union garrison here. Throughout the war, pro-Union families living in Loudoun County, Va., crossed the river here to shop.
 
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This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & StreetcarsWar, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, and the Maryland Civil War Trails series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1861.
 
Location. 39° 16.434′ N, 77° 32.021′ W. Marker is in Point of Rocks, Maryland, in Frederick County. Marker is on Clay Street (Maryland Route 28) east of Catoctin Mountain Road (U.S. 15). It is in the parking lot of the Point of Rocks railroad station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Point of Rocks MD 21777, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A different marker also named Point of Rocks (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Point of Rocks (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Point of Rocks (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different
Point of Rocks Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 6, 2021
2. Point of Rocks Marker
marker also named Point of Rocks (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Point of Rocks (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Point of Rocks.
 
Regarding Point of Rocks. The B&O Railroad met and parallelled the C&O Canal a few hundred feet west of here, separated—by 1832 court order—by a high wall to prevent trains from spooking the mules that towed boats on the canal. Eventually the railroad dug a tunnel through Catoctin Mountain to separate itself from the canal.
 
Also see . . .
1. Impossible Challenge: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Maryland. (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
2. Impossible Challenge II: Baltimore to Washington and Harpers Ferry from 1828 to 1994. (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
3. The Met: A History of the Metropolitan Branch of the B&O Railroad, Its Stations and Towns. (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
4. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (Railroad Color History). (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
5. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the Potomac Valley (Golden Years of Railroading). (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
6. Baltimore and Ohio in the Civil War. (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
7. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (MBI Railroad Color History). (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
8. Baltimore and Ohio's Capitol Limited and National Limited (Great Passenger Trains). (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
9. Route of the Capitol Limited (Baltimore and Ohio Passenger Service Volume 2). (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
10. The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad 1828 - 1853
Point of Rocks Station Today image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tom Fuchs, November 4, 2006
3. Point of Rocks Station Today
This station, designed by E. Francis Baldwin and completed in 1876 by the B&O Railroad, was built at the junction where the Metropolitan Branch from Washington (behind station) joins the Old Main Line from Baltimore (between the markers and the station), which continues west (towards the right). The Metropolitan Branch opened in 1873.
This station continues to serve passengers on the MARC Brunswick Line. Amtrak's Capitol Limited (trains 29 to Chicago and 30 to Washington) pass through here but do not stop.
. (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
11. Route of the National Limited (Baltimore and Ohio Passenger Service Volume 1). (Submitted on May 2, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
12. Chessie System (MBI Railroad Color History). (Submitted on October 14, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
13. CSX (MBI Railroad Color History). (Submitted on October 14, 2008, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.
 
Point of Rocks Junction, Viewed from the Station image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tom Fuchs, November 4, 2006
4. Point of Rocks Junction, Viewed from the Station
During the Civil War the tracks on the left were not present and the station was probably a few blocks west, near the present-day US 15 bridge across the Potomac.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 6, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 8, 2006, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland. This page has been viewed 5,701 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on December 8, 2006, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland.   2. submitted on March 6, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.   3, 4. submitted on December 8, 2006, by Tom Fuchs of Greenbelt, Maryland. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024