Best Farm

Due to the location os this farm, units of both the Union and Confederate armies camped here throughout the Civil War. On 13 September 1862, during the Maryland Campaign, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's lost order No. 191 (which outlined his army's movements) was found here by soldiers from the 27th Indiana. Passed up through the chain of command, the captured order gave Union General George B. McClellan advance notice of his enemy's movements.
During the Battle of Monocacy on 9 July 1864, Confederate artillery set up on his farm and sharpshooters took positions in the barn. They fired at Union troops guarding the covered bridge over the Monocacy River on the Georgetown Pike. The Union returned fire, destroying the Best's barn.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries
• Photos: Michael Noirot – BattlefieldPortraits.com (1), Michael Noirot – BattlefieldPortraits.com (2), Michael Noirot – BattlefieldPortraits.com (3)