Take a Short Walk on the Antietam Remembered Trail

What is a Battlefield Park? How does a nation commemorate and remember the sacrifices and events that created it? During this walk you will discover how veterans, the military, citizens, and the National Park Service created and preserved the tangible reminders of the Battle of Antietam for over 140 years. The paved, quarter-mile trail starts and ends at the Visitor Center. It will take you past some significant landmarks and monuments that help tell the story of the battle and the evolution of this National Park. Use the walking tour map above for your route and stops. Walk Description and Interpretation Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center The visitor center was built in 1962 for a cost of $202,930. At the time of the construction, America was is the midst of the “Cold War.” Over $40,000 of the construction costs went to build a solid concrete fallout shelter in the basement of the building in case of nuclear attack. Colonel S.D. Lee's Artillery Battalion Confederate Col. Stephen Lee held this position with about nineteen guns. After three desperate hours, Lee’s guns were finally driven from this position by long- range artillery fire from across Antietam Creek (one mile to the east) and by a series of Union attacks during the morning hours of the battle. Four types of Civil War cannons representing Colonel Lee’s position are on display. Continue on the paved walkway, towards the Hagerstown Turnpike and the Dunker Church. The Dunker Church This church, built by the pacifist German Baptist Brethren was the center of fighting in the early hours of the battle. Known as the Dunkers, they built their church using architecture that reflected a simple way of life. The building sustained heavy damage that day, but remained standing. A severe storm destroyed the Dunker Church in 1921, but a local Sharpsburg man, Elmer Boyer, saved many pieces of the destroyed building. The Washington County Historical Society, the State of Maryland, and the National Park Service used these materials to help rebuild the church in the 1960’s. Directions: Please cross back over the road and walk up the sidewalk to the large monument with the green dome. The Maryland Monument This monument is the only monument on the battlefield dedicated to the men who fought for both sides. During the Civil War,Maryland remained in the Union, but was a politically divided, slave-holding border state. Marylanders fought for both the Union and the Confederacy. Approximately 20,000 people attended the dedication on May 30, 1900. President William McKinley, also a veteran of the Battle of Antietam, was the keynote speaker. New York State Monument Costing $30,000, this monument was dedicated September 17, 1920. Over 250 Civil War veterans attended the dedication. The land you are standing on, 7.01 acres, was purchased by the State of New York for the monument in 1907 for $1,402 or about$200 an acre. The monument cost more than 20 times the price of the land upon which it was built. 20th New York Monument At about 1 p.m., the 20th New York Infantry charged the Confederates lined along the Hagerstown Turnpike. They drove the Southerners into the West Woods until they were abreast of the Dunker Church, the possession of which had been so fiercely contested throughout the day. They were unable to hold the ground gained and had to fall back. The regiment suffered 145 casualties, some of whom are buried in the National Cemetery. Their veteran's association errected this monument in 1912. Conclusion The greatest success story in the preservation of the battlefield is the acquisition of the land where the battle took place. When the War Department transferred the battlefield to the National Park Service in 1933 it was only about 65 acres. Even as late as 1980 the battlefield was less than 600 acres. Over 60% of the battlefield has been purchased since 1990! Owning the land makes all of the other restoration efforts possible. Today over 3,000 acres are preserved for this and future generations. As you have seen from your walk, there are many ways to honor and remember the tragic and momentous events that occurred here. Placing cannons, restoring buildings, building monuments, even creating this battlefield, are all designed so that we never forget the tremendous sacrifice of those that walked this field before. You have also helped keep the memory of blue and gray alive by taking the time to walk this field and remember Antietam.