Antietam National Battlefield

'Salute to Independence'Join the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and music director Elizabeth Schulze for the 14th Annual Salute to Independence on Saturday at Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg. Patriotic music includes John Williams' "Star Wars Medley" and Gould's "American Salute." The Maryland Army National Guard, B Battalion, provides cannon fire during Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." The concert concludes with fireworks to Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever."A military fly-over precedes the concert.

Civil War ChristmasLearn about Christmas customs and traditions popular during the Civil War at a slide presentation tomorrow evening at the Antietam National Battlefield's visitor center in Sharpsburg. A "Civil War Christmas" also includes music, refreshments and a visit by Santa Claus. And meet Kevin Rawlings, a living history volunteer, who will provide an impression of a Civil War-era Santa and then autograph copies of his book, "We Were Marching on Christmas Day, A History and Chronicle of Christmas Day during the Civil War."

SHARPSBURG -- With musket barrels gleaming and flags flying, a long column of blue-clad soldiers snaked down the hillside, then paused at the edge of a country lane.Lying in heaps on the road before them were the bodies of the "dead" and "dying," alongside guns, canteens and haversacks. "Wounded" men writhed on the ground.And the cameras rolled, capturing scenes for a movie that will be shown at the national historic battlefield and will be part of a television documentary.No one had seen that sight in 135 years - not on this once-blood-soaked Civil War battleground where more American casualties occurred than on any other single day in U.S. military history.

There wasn't a lot worth celebrating 135 years ago in the tiny Western Maryland hamlet of Sharpsburg.By the end of the day on Sept. 17, 1862, more than 23,000 men were killed, wounded or missing on the battlefield that would forever after be known by the tiny creek that flows along its eastern edge: Antietam.Confederate forces, under Robert E. Lee, and Union forces, under George B. McClellan, fought to one of history's bloodiest draws, both sides ending the day effectively where they started.

SHARPSBURG -- The Richard King Mellon Foundation announced yesterday that it is donating 11.6 acres to the National Park Service at the Antietam National Battlefield.The land, within the boundaries of the Civil War battlefield, had been subdivided into three building lots when it was purchased for donation to the park.The Pittsburgh-based foundation has made several other gifts of historic land to the park service at Antietam, which this weekend will mark the 135th anniversary of the battle -- the bloodiest day in U.S. warfare, which ended with more than 23,000 Union and Confederate troops killed, wounded or missing.

History and fashionImprove your fashion sense while learning the history of the wardrobe at the Philadelphia Museum of Art during the "Best Dressed: A Celebration of Style" exhibit. Being held until Jan. 4, 1998, this celebration of fashion from over the globe features more than 200 objects from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Included in the exhibit is the 1956 wedding gown of Princess Grace of Monaco, a complete Japanese geisha's costume and several dresses from the 1860s and 1880s by Charles Frederick Worth, the father of French couture.

SHARPSBURG -- Across a landscape little changed since more than 23,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in the Civil War's bloodiest day, victory in the second Battle of Antietam is nearly at hand.But unlike the infamous one-day clash between armies led by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and his Union counterpart, Gen. George B. McClellan, the triumph of preservationists to protect land surrounding the Antietam battlefield has been a drawn-out affair.Six years ago, Antietam was labeled one of America's most endangered historic places.

HAGERSTOWN -- Think of Civil War destinations in Maryland, and places like Antietam, South Mountain and Monocacy spring to mind. A group of history buffs here hopes to add Hagerstown to that list.The history buffs want to build the first national museum of the Civil War -- the whole war, not just a battle or two -- in this Western Maryland city. They envision a Smithsonian Institution-caliber museum that would tell visitors about the military maneuvers, turmoil, causes and effects of the entire four-year conflict.

SHARPSBURG -- It's a crisp fall morning, and you're bicycling along the tree-shrouded Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath, reveling in solitude, marveling at glimpses of red foliage and the golden and dull-yellow leaves of cottonwoods, elms and sycamores.The thinning tree-cover allows glances at the rippling Potomac River. Maybe, you hope, you'll spook a white-tailed deer or spot a beaver in this remote stretch of the still-damp, leaf-covered towpath in lower Washington County.Then you glance ahead, and here come some hikers -- and their . . . llamas?

BOONSBORO -- Two dramatic elements of American and Maryland history, including one of the nation's darkest hours, will be illuminated tonight in the mountains and valleys of Western Maryland.Atop South Mountain, citizens, community and business leaders will gather to light up -- after a darkness of 15 years -- the Washington Monument, a Mason-jar-shaped structure that is the nation's oldest monument to the first president.In the valley below, 23,110 candles are scheduled to flicker -- depending on the weather -- across the Antietam National Battlefield in a now-annual ceremony honoring Union and Confederate soldiers killed, wounded and missing during the bloodiest day of the Civil War.The illumination of the monument, a 34-foot-high stone tower built in 1827 by Boonsboro residents to mark Independence Day and honor the first president, is a source of pride for many in this Washington County town who have donated time and money for the project.

This is it, people. Last chance for free admission to national parks like Assateague Island National Seashore, Antietam National Battlefield, Fort McHenry National Monument and 147 other parks that charge an entrance fee. (Some 250 others are already free.) President Barack Obama and his family are taking advantage of the freebie with a visit this weekend to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the trip is meant to encourage people to visit the national park system.

ANTIETAM NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD -- Rocky Rosacker stood on the southern side of the Sunken Road - ground held by Confederate troops at the outset of the bloodiest day in American history. The yellow-green fields to the north that September morning in 1862 were Union territory. The Annapolis man opened his arms wide, conjuring ghost armies in blue and gray. "This is what Lee saw," said Rosacker, himself a combat veteran of the Marine Corps. "This is what Longstreet saw. This is what those guys faced.

Sharpsburg -- Calling themselves the "ghosts of the Confederacy," white supremacists from several groups held a rally at Antietam National Battlefield yesterday, the first time any group has been permitted to demonstrate at the site of the bloodiest day of the Civil War. About 30 men, women and children gathered at what was a family farm at the time of the battle to commemorate their "forefathers" who "fought for our liberty as white men," said Gordon...

History comes alive in Sharpsburg this week when Rebels and Yankees march through the town in observance of the 139th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam - the Civil War's bloodiest day. Civil War events will be commemorated along the streets and byways of the town and at nearby Antietam National Battlefield. Beginning today and continuing through Monday, activities at the battlefield include lectures, ranger-led hikes and living history events. (Saturday's battlefield torchlight tour is filled)

'Salute to Independence'Join the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and music director Elizabeth Schulze for the 14th Annual Salute to Independence on Saturday at Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg. Patriotic music includes John Williams' "Star Wars Medley" and Gould's "American Salute." The Maryland Army National Guard, B Battalion, provides cannon fire during Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." The concert concludes with fireworks to Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever."A military fly-over precedes the concert.

Civil War ChristmasLearn about Christmas customs and traditions popular during the Civil War at a slide presentation tomorrow evening at the Antietam National Battlefield's visitor center in Sharpsburg. A "Civil War Christmas" also includes music, refreshments and a visit by Santa Claus. And meet Kevin Rawlings, a living history volunteer, who will provide an impression of a Civil War-era Santa and then autograph copies of his book, "We Were Marching on Christmas Day, A History and Chronicle of Christmas Day during the Civil War."

History and fashionImprove your fashion sense while learning the history of the wardrobe at the Philadelphia Museum of Art during the "Best Dressed: A Celebration of Style" exhibit. Being held until Jan. 4, 1998, this celebration of fashion from over the globe features more than 200 objects from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Included in the exhibit is the 1956 wedding gown of Princess Grace of Monaco, a complete Japanese geisha's costume and several dresses from the 1860s and 1880s by Charles Frederick Worth, the father of French couture.

SHARPSBURG -- With musket barrels gleaming and flags flying, a long column of blue-clad soldiers snaked down the hillside, then paused at the edge of a country lane.Lying in heaps on the road before them were the bodies of the "dead" and "dying," alongside guns, canteens and haversacks. "Wounded" men writhed on the ground.And the cameras rolled, capturing scenes for a movie that will be shown at the national historic battlefield and will be part of a television documentary.No one had seen that sight in 135 years - not on this once-blood-soaked Civil War battleground where more American casualties occurred than on any other single day in U.S. military history.

SHARPSBURG -- The Richard King Mellon Foundation announced yesterday that it is donating 11.6 acres to the National Park Service at the Antietam National Battlefield.The land, within the boundaries of the Civil War battlefield, had been subdivided into three building lots when it was purchased for donation to the park.The Pittsburgh-based foundation has made several other gifts of historic land to the park service at Antietam, which this weekend will mark the 135th anniversary of the battle -- the bloodiest day in U.S. warfare, which ended with more than 23,000 Union and Confederate troops killed, wounded or missing.

There wasn't a lot worth celebrating 135 years ago in the tiny Western Maryland hamlet of Sharpsburg.By the end of the day on Sept. 17, 1862, more than 23,000 men were killed, wounded or missing on the battlefield that would forever after be known by the tiny creek that flows along its eastern edge: Antietam.Confederate forces, under Robert E. Lee, and Union forces, under George B. McClellan, fought to one of history's bloodiest draws, both sides ending the day effectively where they started.