WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON -- Antietam National Battlefield survived the bloodiest day in American history. Now, historic perservationists say, it's under threat from modern technology.
The patch of Western Maryland farmland, where bucolic vistas have remained virtually unchanged since the September day in 1862 when about 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing in action, was named one of the nation's most endangered battlefields yesterday. The threat: a proposed cell phone tower that would rise 30 feet above the treeline - marring, critics say, views from nearly all of the battlefield's famous vantage points.
"It is the best-preserved battlefield east of Shiloh," said O. James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust, which announced its 2008 list of the 10 most endangered battlefields at a news conference in Washington. "It is absolutely a model. We've got too big an investment in that battlefield to let some organization come and stick a monstrosity like that."
Also making the list: Monocacy National Battlefield, where preservationists fear the visual impact of a nearby waste-to-energy plant under consideration by Frederick County. South Mountain State Battlefield, near the site of a proposed natural-gas compression station, was named one of 15 "at-risk" sites.
In a report titled "History Under Siege," the trust - a private group that has spent $100 million in the past eight years to preserve more than 25,000 acres at 99 sites in 18 states - describes a nation rapidly losing touch with its heritage.
"Each and every day, 30 acres of hallowed ground are lost forever," said Cricket Bauer Pohanka, a trustee for the organization. "In the Metro D.C. area, we have several battlefields within easy distance, and in some ways they are the hardest hit by the development in this area."
She noted the telecommunications tower that a Rockville company is considering building near Antietam.
Mike Hofe, president and chief operating officer of Liberty Towers LLC, called it a "stealth" structure, disguised as a farm silo to blend in with the area.
Liberty Towers has yet to file for permits, but the company recently floated a tethered balloon to illustrate the height of the proposed tower. Hofe said the site is one of several that the company is considering but added that zoning restrictions and preservation guidelines limit the number of places that it could be built.
