Frederick's role in the Civil War will be remembered on Friday and Saturday, September 21st and 22nd. "One Vast Hospital" is a walking tour of Downtown Frederick, visiting six of the sites which served as hospitals for injured soldiers from both sides of the conflict.

"This is a half-dozen of the sites, and there were  many at the time, that a 150 years ago would become temporary hospitals, in most cases, for the next several months, in the aftermath of the Battles of South Mountain on September 14th, {1862} and three days later, the September 17th Battle of Antietam," says John Fieseler, Executive Director of the Tourism Council of Frederick County.

The sites that are participating in this year's "One Vast Hospital" are All Saints Episcopal Church, the Bjorlee Museum and Hessian Barracks, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Quinn Chapel, Trinity Chapel and Evangelical Reformed Church, and the Visitation Academy. "Some of them will have re-enactors that might be portraying the person that was the pastor at the time, greeting you. Or it might the person who was the surgeon in charge at that temporary hospital; as well as some period music; folks that will interpret the history of what was happening at that site," says Fieseler.

A brochure which describes each site as well as its location can be picked up at any of these six sites, or at the Visitors Center on East Street.

"One Vast Hospital" will take place from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM on Friday, September 21st, and Saturday, September 22nd from 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM. The event is sponsored by the Tourism Council and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

Even though the Civil War torn the country apart, Fieseler says Frederick's role was that of a hospital for wounded soldiers, no matter which side they fought on. "It's sort of nice to tell story of compassion in the wake of the battles, the treatment of the wounded on both sides, the number of folks, whether they were parishioners in the local churches, that would spend months taking care of these wounded soldiers that pretty much took over their church buildings, that is a nice story we get to tell here," he says.

Even if you don't get the chance to take part in "One Vast Hospital," Fieseler  says you can still pick up the brochure after it's over, and take  your  own walking tour of Downtown Frederick, and see the buildings that served as hospitals during the Civil War.

This is the 150th Anniversary of the War Between the States. Activities marking the anniversaries of the 1862 Battles of South Mountain and Antietam took place last weekend.