Dahlgren Chapel on South Mountain

12/09/2024

Come visit Dahlgren Chapel from 2 - 5 PM pm Sunday, Dec. 15. We will be open for the Boonsboro Historic Church Tour.

02/09/2024

Roy Wulf, the young musician featured at last September's Freedom Jubilee! event posted a video of his partcipation put together by his dad Doug Wulf, who also participated in the event as a living history interpreter. Enjoy! :-)

A video of the event "Freedom's Jubilee: A Celebration of Emancipation and the Abolitionist Movement." This was a free family event held September 16, 2023 a...

09/17/2023

09/17/2023

06/03/2023

We were honored recently to be visited by Maryland State Delegates Christopher Eric Bouchard and Richard Valentine, along with officials representing Maryland DNR, Preservation Maryland, South Mountain State Battlefield, Visit Frederick, Washington County Convention Bureau, and Heart of the Civil War Heritage. The tour was organized by State Delegate Christopher Eric Bouchard to garner support and interest in advocating for Maryland’s rich historic resources and focused on current South Mountain Battlefield efforts!

04/02/2023

Here's a fife solo rendition of the song Chester from the 1700s played by fifers from the Monocacy Field Music at the Chapel yesterday. The whole group stayed all afternoon and played Civil War-era music for visitors on a beautiful Spring day. Thanks to all the members of Monocacy Field Music for bringing your impressive talents and wonderful music to the Chapel for our community event! We hope you come back again soon!

04/02/2023

Huzzah! Monocacy Field Music plays "We are coming Father Abraham," at the Dahlgren Chapel's Meet the Field Music event yesterday! The tune was used as a recruiting song during the Civil War.

03/29/2023

See our event notice for this coming Saturday, April 1 on the Visit Frederick website!

Musicians from the Monocacy Field Music fife and drum corps will perform Civil War music at the “Meet the Field Music” event this coming Saturday, April 1 from 12 noon to 4 pm at the Dahlgren Chapel in Middletown, MD. Admission is free. The group’s members will also talk about the lives of Civ...

03/24/2023

Dahlgren Chapel is now on Instagram! Follow us on

12/23/2022

A Christmas Story from Dahlgren Chapel on South Mountain.

This historic landmark’s original name was St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Joseph was a major figure of the Nativity, representing the best of human nature with the compassion, faith and patience of being in service to those in need, such as an u***d mother and her unborn child. Without his role, this would be a completely different scene in the times that they lived.

This is just the backstory of the Catholic Order of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that was formed after the Civil War to be of service to the poor, displaced and formerly enslaved African Americans. We don’t completely know why Madeleine Dahlgren chose this order to originally consecrate the chapel. It has since been deconsecrated. However, this is a powerful symbol that was built on the bloody Battle of South Mountain field. The Central Maryland Heritage League’s mission to preserve our natural and historic heritage, which goes beyond what is represented in the fighting on the South Mountain Battlefield. Our heritage before and after the war needs to be preserved and interpreted through many lenses as well.

The Chapel was built in 1881, just twenty years after the Civil War and three years after the 1877 compromise that gutted the Freedman Act and undermined the US Reconstruction. The newly formed Order of Josephites represented African Americans that were most vulnerable without protection the of the Union soldiers. This compromise triggered the first wave of the “Great Migration,” that passed through Maryland, which was both a Union state and a slave state before the war and sandwiched between the Northern Union and Southern Confederate. You could say the Josephites were the post Civil War “allies and advocates” of the plight of the newly emancipated Americans who were losing their voice and rights.

Before, during and after the Civil War, there many Black Americans in this area. We can see many of their names represented in cemeteries all around the Central Maryland Heritage area. Many of their names have been lost, suppressed or erased with time. In this time of turmoil, what was needed in addition to freedom, was an education and sanctuary in a hostile world. Many Josephite priests were threaten with lynching merely by their service to African Americans. Even fellow Catholics would condemn them.

The symbols of the Josephites were the Lilly and the mason/carpenter square to represent the faith and toil of Joseph. These are also good symbols of the millions of African Americans, that were some of the finest and hardest working craftspeople of the day. In this, the chapel becomes a symbol of this artistry that was created by the surrounding forest and fields of South Mountain. It showcases the fine craftsmanship of the stone mason and carpenter, the trades of St. Joseph.

So in this Christmas season looking upon the Dahlgren landmark, be like Joseph and all others that are in service of those in need and provide safe harbor. When you hear the bells of the Dahlgren Chapel, think about this spirit of freedom and happiness that rings through the many valleys surrounding South Mountain after a horrible civil war. Give thanks…

There are many more stories that reside in this crossroads of the Applachian Trail and the Old National Pike Milestones. We hope to share many of them in the future. Happy Holidays!

11/14/2022

Madeleine Dahlgren built the chapel after the Civil War on the South Mountain Battlefield to be a part of the Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, also known as the Josephites. They were Catholic priests working with newly-freed Black people emancipated during the American Civil War. The founders included Fr John R. Slattery, who led the group and would become the first Josephite superior general, and one of the nation's first black priests, Fr. Charles Uncles.

Prior to the Civil War, Middletown, MD had a significant black community that had one of the highest percentage of freed . The Daughters of the American Revolution National Headquarters did a thorough research of their cemetery on Jefferson Street revealing inspiring stories of residents that were born before the war and passed away after the war.

I wonder what engagement Madam Dahlgren had with the black community around South Mountain when the Chapel was built in the 1880’s when Jim Crow laws were on the rise?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephites_(Maryland)?wprov=sfti1

11/11/2022

Lovefusion Photography captures such beautiful pictorial albums at Dahlgren Chapel on South Mountain with views of Middletown, MD and the Appalachian Trail. Close proximity to the Old South Mountain Inn makes the whole day eventful! For more information on booking wedding events, check out Central Maryland Heritage League website: www.CMHL.org

Mountain romance ⛰️💜

Www.lovefusionphoto.com/weddings

11/07/2022

So many great weddings at Dahlgren Chapel on South Mountain. Just a little candlelight and trim creates such a romantic event!

Beautiful photograph Lovefusion Photography!

I don't know why Juan & Noora's wedding feels like it was more than a year ago, but maybe it has to do with the fact that the last few months have felt like a year 💁‍♀️. Lol.
Happy 1 year you two! Your wedding was so simple, but it was one of my favorites. 💜

Www.lovefusionphoto.com/weddings

11/04/2022

We are officially part of the Visit Frederick - Maryland consortium of historic sites "Museums by Candlelight" event December 10th, 2022. You can visit all the other sites around Frederick County, MD and culminate your tour at the Dahlgren Chapel on South Mountain event: Cryptid Christmas by Candlelight hosted by the Central Maryland Heritage League from 4-7pm.

Experience Frederick County's historic sites and museums during the 2022 Museums by Candlelight.