Memorial Day Commemoration

Antietam National Battlefield will commemorate Memorial Day

Antietam National Battlefield will present a Memorial Day Program at the park's National Cemetery. The Cemetery is located on Rt. 34, just east of Sharpsburg, MD.

This year's program includes keynote speaker Dr. James Broomall, Director, George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, Shepherd University

Music will be provided by the Hagerstown Choral Arts. There will be a cannon salute by the park's volunteer group, Battery B, 4th U.S. Artillery and Taps will be played by Master Sergeant Geoff Blankenship and Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) Ron Glazer of the 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, West Virginia.

A ranger guided tour of the battlefield will be offered at 1pm, which will conclude with stop at the National Cemetery. This program will meet at the Antietam Battlefield Visitor Center and will last approximately 3 hours.

The town of Sharpsburg will commemorate Memorial Day on Saturday, May 27, with a ceremony on town square at 11:00 a.m. and the annual Memorial Day Parade starting at 2:00 p.m. In a wonderful tradition, the Sharpsburg Elementary School 5th grade class will place 5,000 flags at the National Cemetery, one for every headstone, on Thursday, May 25 in preparation for the holiday.