Battlefield

U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett received a surprise Tuesday as he entered the Dual Highway building where his Hagerstown office is located. Bartlett, R-Md., learned that he had been named the new lifetime honorary chairman of the Antietam National Battlefield Memorial Illumination. Each year, 23,110 luminaria are placed along the battlefield near Sharpsburg to represent each casualty during the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War. Bartlett said he likes the new title, which carries no duties, because he greatly appreciates the event.

TriState Astronomers will meet at Antietam National Battlefield's Visitors Center on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 7 to 11 p.m. to observe the moon on International Observe the Moon Night. Multiple telescopes will be set up, but feel free to bring your own binoculars. International Observe the Moon Night is an outreach event dedicated to engaging the lunar science and education community, amateur astronomers, space enthusiasts and the public in annual lunar observation campaigns that share the excitement of lunar science and exploration.

SHARPSBURG - Antietam National Battlefield Visitors' Center will be open 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, through Thursday, Sept. 18. The center will be open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 21. There is a $2 per person or $4 per family fee to enter the park. All programs are tentative. For information, call 301- 432-5124. Thursday, Sept. 11, and Friday, Sept. 12 Interpretive programs throughout the day. Friday 9 to 11:30 p.m. - barn dance, with music by the Wildcat Regiment Band, Piper Farm Saturday, Sept.

The Eagles Club Inc. of Waynesboro donated $2,500 to Battle of Monterey Pass battlefield preservation efforts. With Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., land acquired to open an interpretive center, officials are now looking to add a parking lot, create informational signs, replace a roof and possibly purchase additional land.

ANNAPOLIS - Wearing a Union infantry uniform identical to one worn at the 1862 Battle of South Mountain, Al Preston watched another historic event take place Thursday. cont. from front page Gov. Parris Glendening signed a law establishing South Mountain as Maryland's first state battlefield. "I'm just proud to be here. Wild horses couldn't keep me away," said Preston, assistant manager of the South Mountain Recreation Area, which includes part of the battlefield.

The historic Burnside Bridge is in danger of being damaged by Hurricane Isabel, Antietam National Battlefield Superintendent John W. Howard said Wednesday. "That's our Number 1 concern right now," he said. Built in 1832, the three-arch stone bridge could be under a lot of pressure from rising waters and debris floating down Antietam Creek, he said. After a thunderstorm about two weeks ago, a hole developed in one of the bridge's side walls, he said. Because of the storm, the entire park will be closed Friday.

Harpers Ferry, W.Va. - The Harpers Ferry Civil War battlefield is one of the 10 most endangered in the nation, according to a watchdog group's list released Tuesday. The Civil War Preservation Trust named battlefields in Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg, Pa., and six other states as the most threatened by development. The Trust also named 15 other battlefields as "at-risk," one step below the top 10. None of the other 15 are in the Tri-State region. The Trust, a nonprofit battlefield preservation organization, said that 2,729 of the 7,199 acres in the Harpers Ferry battlefield area are protected.

The Hagerstown Civil War Roundtable will meet Thursday, March 27, at the Four Points Sheraton on Dual Highway in Hagerstown. Edwin Bearss, historian emeritus, U.S National Park Service will speak on "Five Forks to Appomattox - The Last Days of the Confederacy. " Reservations are required. Dinner is at 6:45 p.m. Tickets cost $19 and can be paid at the door or attend only the talk at no charge. The talk begins at 7:45 p.m. For reservations or questions, call Justin Mayhue at 301-331-2449.

SHARPSBURG - Antietam National Cemetery will be closed temporarily while a flagpole near the cemetery entrance is replaced, according to a press release from Antietam National Battlefield Superintendent John W. Howard. The closure will begin Monday, and the cemetery will reopen as soon as the 85-foot flagpole is installed, Howard said. The existing flagpole was damaged during a storm on June 4. For information, call the battlefield at 301-432-7648 or 301-432-5124.

Marcy Fleeharty had no idea her great aunt had multiple sclerosis until only days before Saturday's Walk MS Hagerstown at Antietam National Battlefield. Fleeharty, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., said she already had decided to take part in Saturday's walk for her friend's mother, who was diagnosed with the chronic, often disabling disease. “Two days ago, talking to my mother, I found out my grandmother's sister had MS. I had no clue,” Fleeharty said. “The fact that the walks are designed to bring awareness works,” Fleeharty said as she and her friend, Lindsay Unger, finished the last several yards of the walk.

A boom bellowed and black smoke poured from the barrel's mouth, but the caliber of sound the cannon made was only narrowly louder than the subsequent shrieks and gasps from the 12-and-younger crowd on Saturday at Antietam National Battlefield. Junior Ranger Day, which was divvied into sections aimed at Civil War education as well as teaching those in attendance to be “stewards of the park,” drew about 150 children plus their families, park Ranger Christie Stanczak said. Sam Cool of Hagerstown brought two of his daughters to the battlefield on what he termed a “staycation.” “She studied the Civil War in school and this is firsthand experience - can't beat it,” Cool, 47, said of his 9-year-old daughter, Molly, who described the day as “awesome.” Park volunteers Tracey McIntire and Audrey Scanlan, outfitted in uniforms representing the Iron Brigade - regimes from Wisconsin and Indiana that fought in the cornfield at Antietam - demonstrated how soldiers fired artillery using black powder blanks.

Volunteers from throughout Maryland will team up with the Civil War Trust to help clean and restore four Civil War sites in the state. The 17th annual Park Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 6; the rain date is Saturday, April 13. Volunteers will receive T-shirts and hear a local historian describe the significance of the site. Two local participating sites are:  Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg Contact: Debbie Cohen at debbie_cohen@nps.gov Activities: Landscaping, gardening, general cleanup Times: Beginning at 8 a.m.; work projects from 9 a.m. to noon; interpretive program, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Where to meet: Antietam National Battlefield visitors center, Sharpsburg  Monocacy National Battlefield, Frederick, Md. Contact: Brett Spaulding at brett_spaulding@nps.gov Activities: Landscaping, wayside signage preparation, general cleanup On the same date, volunteers from within the Potomac River watershed will gather together to remove trash from streams, trails and roads within the watershed as part of the Alice Ferguson Foundation Potomac Watershed Cleanup.

Officials at Antietam National Battlefield probably will cut back on park ranger-led tours, programs for school students, regular maintenance of monuments and historical buildings and mowing due to the federal budget cuts known as sequestration, the superintendent of the park said. Also, park officials probably will not extend the hours of operation for the park's visitor center during the summer this year, said Susan Trail. The visitor's center closing time is usually extended from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer months, Trail said.

A new visitors center could be built in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., before the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Monterey Pass this July. The Friends of Monterey Pass Battlefield Inc. is planning for a 1,064-square-foot stone building on the land purchased in 2011 by the Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors. Representatives of that organization told the township supervisors Monday that an existing building on the site would require extensive rehabilitation to effectively serve as an interpretive center.

Scouts of Troop 412 and Pack 34 participated in a hike Jan. 19 at Antietam National Battlefield. The Scouts hiked to Georgians' Overlook, then hiked Snavely Ford and Final Attack Trail. It was a joint hike with Pack 34 so the Webelo Scouts could meet the requirement of participating in an activity with a Boy Scout troop. Troop 412 is sponsored by Paramount Baptist Church and Pack 34 is sponsored by Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Age: 54 City in which you reside: Smithsburg Day job: Web developer, High Rock Studios, Hagerstown Book title: "Rare Images of Antietam and the Photographers Who Took Them" Genre: Historical nonfiction, Civil War Synopsis of book: "Rare Images of Antietam" is the beginning of my attempt to document, organize and interpret, in a comprehensive fashion, the historical photographs and photographers associated with...

The Maryland Office of Tourism Development and the Maryland Tourism Development Board have presented the 2012 Maryland Tourism Awards.   The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, through a partnership with Antietam National Battlefield and the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, was recognized with a Cultural Heritage Tourism Award. The Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area is a state-certified heritage area made up of Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties.

Before the sun set Saturday, the thousands of luminarias arrayed across the fields of Antietam National Battlefield were almost invisible from a distance, the paper bags blending into a background of wheat, hay and corn stubble. As day gave way to dusk and dusk to darkness, the 23,110 candles began to glimmer and then glow, their lights following the contours of the land where an equal number of men were killed, wounded or reported missing 150 years ago during the Battle of Antietam.

On Oct. 25, the middle school students at Antietam Academy went on a field trip to Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg.  In addition to learning about the battlefield, and in conjunction with their social studies and language arts classes, the students fulfilled student service-learning requirement hours for middle school.  In the morning, the students participated in three activities with Ranger Christie Stanczak. The activities were “Civil War Soldier,” “Angels of the Battlefield” and “Flags that Talk.” In the afternoon, the students worked with Rangers Andrew Landsman and Chris Tawney and planted a variety of seedlings.