Restore & Preserve Antietam

The crack of rifled muskets and the boom of artillery stirred the morning air as dawn broke over the farm fields outside of Sharpsburg, Maryland. The sounds of battle signaled the beginning of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history. Union and Confederate troops struggled against one another from dawn to dusk on September 17, 1862, fighting in places like the Cornfield, along the Hagerstown Pike, and across Antietam Creek at Burnside’s Bridge. When the sun set, more than 23,000 Americans had become casualties and the nation was on a new path toward emancipation. 

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump pledged his first quarter’s salary to support battlefield maintenance at Antietam National Battlefield. This donation will go toward replacing the deteriorated fenceline along the Hagerstown Pike and restoring the Newcomer House—long deferred projects that the park is desperate to complete. The Civil War Trust—along with the National Parks Foundation, and the Save Historic Antietam Foundation—is honored to partner with President by committing an additional funds to ensure these projects are completed and this piece of hallowed ground looks exactly as it did in 1862. 

Help restore Antietam!