American Civil War Folk Figure. At ninety five years of age she reputedly defied the Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson as they advanced through Frederick, Maryland. Her memory has been preserved in poem entitled "Barbara Frietchie" by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1864: "Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, But spare your country's flag," she said. A shade of sadness, a blush of shame, Over the face of the leader came; The nobler nature within him stirred To life at that woman's deed and word; "Who touches a hair of yon gray head Dies like a dog! March on!" he said. Again in a play by that same title by Clyde Fitch in 1899 where he takes artistic liberty and intertwines her story with that of his own grandparents' love story, which also takes place during the Civil War. She was born Barbara Hauer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was married to John Casper Fritchie, a glove maker, on May 6, 1806. She was a personal friend of Francis Scott Key and they participated together in a memorial service at Frederick when George Washington died. When Winston Churchill passed through Frederick in 1943, he stopped at the house and recited the poem from memory. Her house is preserved as a museum on West Patrick Street in Frederick, Maryland to this day.
American Civil War Folk Figure. At ninety five years of age she reputedly defied the Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson as they advanced through Frederick, Maryland. Her memory has been preserved in poem entitled "Barbara Frietchie" by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1864: "Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, But spare your country's flag," she said. A shade of sadness, a blush of shame, Over the face of the leader came; The nobler nature within him stirred To life at that woman's deed and word; "Who touches a hair of yon gray head Dies like a dog! March on!" he said. Again in a play by that same title by Clyde Fitch in 1899 where he takes artistic liberty and intertwines her story with that of his own grandparents' love story, which also takes place during the Civil War. She was born Barbara Hauer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was married to John Casper Fritchie, a glove maker, on May 6, 1806. She was a personal friend of Francis Scott Key and they participated together in a memorial service at Frederick when George Washington died. When Winston Churchill passed through Frederick in 1943, he stopped at the house and recited the poem from memory. Her house is preserved as a museum on West Patrick Street in Frederick, Maryland to this day.
Bio by: D C McJonathan-Swarm
Gravesite Details
On May 13, 1913, the bodies of Barbara and John Casper Fritchie were removed from the German Reformed Cemetery at West Second and North Bentz Streets. They were reinterred at Mt. Olivet Cemetery on May 30.
Family Members
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