Worthington
Worthington House
The Worthington family hid in the cellar during the battle. One of the children, aged 6 during the battle, wrote a book about the fight while he was in his 70s.
View From Near Worthington
The lowland on the left of the picture borders the Monocacy River, obscured behind the treeline. Here, at around 11 AM, approximately 350 of McCausland's cavalrymen crossed the river at a ford and advanced dismounted up the hill to the Worthington house, just visible on the far right. They continued to advance, roughly down the gravel road on the right of the picture. (Later in the day, Confederate infantry would cross the same ford into the lowland, unseen by their Union opponents.)
McCausland vs. Union Skirmishers
Union skirmishers of the refused left flank of Ricketts' division were behind a fence which now meets the gravel road diagonally on the left of the picture. They surprised and repulsed the Confederate cavalrymen advancing from Worthington, on the right of the picture. Surprised that they weren't facing militia, a second attack was repulsed. More rebels joined them however, extending the line under the cover of the low area near the river, then ouflanking the Union skirmishers and pushing them back. McCausland advanced beyond Araby, the Thomas house, until a Union counterattack pushed them back to the Worthington house.
Confederate infantry under John Breckinridge, specifically the 3,000 man division of John B. Gordon, was now crossing the river, sometime around 3 o'clock, unseen in the lowland near the river. (See previous panorama.) Gordon's three brigades advanced, partly over Brooks Hill, swinging into a line roughly parallel to the modern gravel road on the left, a road which parallels the interstate, which was shamefully built on an important part of the battlefield.
Travel Note: At the time of my visit, the Worthington farm is not normally accessible by car. An approximately half mile walk is required to get to this point, and it is another half mile walk up Brooks Hill. So for good tour of the area, not including other trails like the one down to the river, be prepared for a minimum two mile hike.