— Walking Tour Stop 7 —

This stone Arch, the culmination of Townsend's architectural endeavors, was built in 1896 as a permanent memorial to newspaper correspondents, artists, and photographers of the Civil War. Standing 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide, the Arch's unusual design was inspired by two Hagerstown structures: the former B&O Railroad passenger depot which utilized a horseshoe-shaped arch, and the Antietam Fire Co. Station No. 2 which incorporated a crenellated tower.

Names of 157 men from North and South, who documented the Civil War, are inscribed on tablets embedded in the east facade. Biblical and classical references to the skills of the war correspondent are incorporated into the design. The central sculpture bears symbols of war, speed, and storytelling. The Arch's symbolic decoration reflects Townsend's whimsical taste in art, further illustrated buy Townsend's verse:

"The Bookman's art is left behind
and letters only vex.
Write then in stone, ye minds of men!
And live as architects!"

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Show me all markers in:  Jefferson, MD  |  Frederick County  |  21755  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

First New Jersey Brigade
War Correspondents
George Alfred Townsend
Battle for Crampton's Gap
Crampton's Pass Tablet C.P. 1
Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Command
Crampton's Pass Tablet C.P. 3
Sixth Army Corps
1862 Antietam Campaign
The Battle of South Mountain

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