The Second Battle Of Antietam

Antietam is the Civil War battlefield least marred by commercialization and development, but it has been—and still is—under heavy threat. Among these threats have been a TV transmission tower to be built on the highest ground overlooking the field; a housing development in the area from which the Federals launched their assaults on Bloody Lane; town houses behind the Confederate lines at Bloody Lane; and a shopping center where the famous photographs of Lincoln and McClellan were taken after the battle. Some of these threats are now only in abeyance, and new ones are appearing. The essential problem is that the government owns, or has protective easement rights on, far too small a portion of the battlefield to safeguard it from encroaching development. Until this situation is remedied, organizations such as the Save Historic Antietam Foundation (P.O. Box 550, Sharpsburg, MD 21782) will continue fighting the Second Battle of Antietam, which has already lasted a good deal longer than the first battle.

—S. W. S.