SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — It’s called the single bloodiest day in American history — the battle of Antietam. It took place September 17, 1862 and was the first battle fought on Union soil during the Civil War. It’s always been considered part of Maryland history. However, some of that fighting took place in West Virginia.
The National Park Service is looking at expanding Antietam to include the Core Battlefield in Shepherdstown.
“That battle was fought on September 19, two-days after the battle here at Antietam and really represents a continuation of the engagements here and represents really the final battle of the 1862 Maryland campaign,” explained Antietam Park Superintendent Susan Trail.
The park system has already conducted a boundary study and identified 500 acres that qualify for battlefield status. Next comes a public comment period. Once that’s complete, the proposal goes to the Secretary of the Interior, then to Congress. As for a time frame, Trail said that is hard to predict.
“Antietam Battlefield is a very well established park. We’ve been around since 1890. With Shepherdstown, that’s a very different story,” explained Trial. “So we would be working from scratch.”
The Core Battlefield has been largely untouched in the past 150 years. There’s now a movement in the Shepherdstown area to protect that West Virginia battlesite.
“The property in the Core Battlefield area is rural and wooded. Some organizations and non-profits have initiated purchasing some of the properties within the battlefield or requiring scenic easements to start the protection process for it,” said Trail.
It’s a good start according to the superintendent. However, it could take years to make the project a reality and then create a living park history to go along with the programs at Antietam.