Fort Frederick

As luck would have it, Fort Frederick, a classic 18th century star fort outside of Hagerstown, Maryland, happened to be hosting a three-day Annual Market Fair a few weeks back!

How timely, because we hadn't visited the fort yet, plus our favorite reenactors needed to pick up a few items for their "kit" before the big Revolutionary War weekend down at Mt. Vernon at the end of April.

The weather was absolutely miserable on the day we chose to go up there, so the two reenactors braved the trip on their own, determined to browse the wares of each of the 150+ sutlers until they found exactly what they needed.

Sutler tents as far as the eye can see!

Patriot recruit at the quartermaster trying on a French-supplied Lottery Coat

The boys found almost everything they needed at the sutler shops . . . among the acquisitions were sock garters, whisk and picks, spatter dashers, shoe buckles and similarly obscure 18th century replica items you can't find at your local JoAnn craft store.  With half their mission accomplished, they eagerly headed into the fort itself to check it out!

Fort Frederick has a varied and interesting history spanning over two and a half centuries.  It was originally built by the Maryland colony in the 1750s to protect the area settlers from Indian raids and as a base for supplies during the French and Indian War (the same era as Ft. Ticonderoga and Ft. William Henry, which we visited on our Upstate New York trip last October).  During the Revolutionary War, Ft. Frederick was used as a prison for British soldiers.  During the Civil War, it was used for gun placements intended to guard a nearby canal.  After that, it fell into disuse and disrepair.  The State of Maryland acquired it in the 1920s and began developing the area into a state park.  The two soldiers' barracks inside the fort were reconstructed in the 1970s.

View of one of the bastions

The star forts we've seen during our time on the East Coast have all come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  No two have been alike.  Fort Frederick is a quadrangle with bastions on each of the four corners.  

View from one of the restored garrisons

You can get a better feel for its shape and massive size from the second level of one of the restored garrisons. 

Glimpse of the sutler village just outside the fort walls

Visitors can go inside the barracks and get a glimpse of what a soldier's life would have been like during the French and Indian War.  The soldiers slept as many as three to a bunk!

The boys also enjoyed watching some hardy, rain-soaked French and Indian War-era British soldiers drilling on the parade ground.

Like any of the restored star forts, Fort Frederick is definitely a treasure.  We hope to visit it again at the start of our great trip west, since our likely route will pass directly by it.  Fingers crossed that we can catch it in some nicer weather on our next visit!