2 Best Hotels in Sharpsburg, Frederick and Western Maryland

Perched on a ridge next to Antietam National Cemetery, this turn-of-the-20th-century B&B makes a lovely home base for exploring Sharpsburg's history. The four suites and a penthouse all have a distinctive feel—the Rose Suite features a four-poster bed and chintz wallpaper, while the rustic Gen. Burnside Smokehouse Suite is dominated by an enormous brick fireplace. Enjoy a hearty breakfast in the dining room, sit a spell on the wrap-around porch, or meander through the 8 acres of land that surround the inn. If you're lucky, owners Bob LeBlanc and Charles Van Metre, showbiz vets, will sing and play for guests on the parlor's baby grand.

A veritable textbook of American history is packed into this more than 200-year-old structure, now an elegant inn within walking distance of Antietam National Battlefield. For starters, the home had ties to the Calvert family, Maryland's founders. Later, during the Civil War, a small cannonball, fired during the Battle of Antietam, flew into a wall in the summer kitchen. The house was later used as a field hospital to aid the wounded. Each of the five elegantly appointed rooms pays tribute to an aspect of this home's rich history, and four rooms have private porches that look onto the inn's lush flower gardens. Breakfast includes herbs and produce from the inn's garden, fresh pastries baked on-site, and breads from nearby Mennonite bakeries.