Antietam National Battlefield
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| Antietam National Battlefield | |
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| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
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| Location | Washington County, Maryland, USA |
| Nearest city | Sharpsburg, MD |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 3,255.89 acres (2,725.01 federal) 13.18 km² |
| Established | August 30, 1890 |
| Visitors | 337,569 (in 2007) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
Antietam National Battlefield, is a National Park Service protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland, which commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862.
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[edit] Battlefield
In the Battle of Antietam, General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was ended on this battlefield in 1862.[1]
Established as Antietam National Battlefield Site August 30, 1890[2], the park was transferred from the War Department August 10, 1933[3], and redesignated November 10, 1978[2]. Along with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service the battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[4]
[edit] Cemetery
Antietam National Cemetery, whose 11.36 acres contain 5,032 interments, 1,836 unidentified, adjoins the park. Civil War interments occurred in 1866. The cemetery contains only Union soldiers from the Civil War period. Confederate dead were interred in the Washington Confederate Cemetery within Rosehill Cemetery, Hagerstown, Maryland, Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland; and Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.[5] The cemetery also contains the graves of veterans and their wives from the Spanish-American War, World War I and II, and the Korean War. The cemetery was closed in 1953. An exception was made in 2000 for the remains of USN Fireman Patrick Howard Roy who was killed in the attack on the USS Cole.[6] The Antietam National Cemetery was placed under the War Department on July 14, 1870[7]; it was transferred to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933[8].
[edit] References
- The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
- ^ Tilberg, Frederick (1960). Across the Potomac. Antietam National Battlefield Site Maryland Historical Handbook. National Park Service. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ a b National Park System Birthdays. National Park Service History. National Park Service (April 13, 2006). Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ Tilberg, Frederick (1960). Antietam National Battlefield Site and Cemetery. Antietam National Battlefield Site Maryland Historical Handbook. National Park Service. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ Antietam National Battlefield Query. National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ Antietam National Cemetery. National Park Service (July 25, 2006). Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ Antietam National Cemetery, part 2. National Park Service. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ Lee, Ronald F. (1973). III. The First Battlefield Parks,1890-1899. The Origin and Evolution of the National Military Park Idea. National Park Service. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ 1930 through 1939. NPS Chronological Timeline. National Park Service (May 19, 2006). Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official NPS website: Antietam National Battlefield
- Image archive from NPS
- 28 photos of Antietam National Cemetery: "Sites of Memory"
- History of Antietam National Cemetery, including a descriptive list of all the loyal soldiers buried therein together with the ceremonies and address on the occasion of the dedication of the grounds, September, 17th, 1867, Antietam National Cemetery, Western Maryland Public Libraries
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