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 Battlefield Namesake - Sharpsburg, MD
N 39° 28.457 W 077° 44.715
18S E 263861 N 4373008
This beautiful interpretive explains a naval vessel named after the battlefield and the accompanying bell/memorial. The memorial and interpretive can be found in front of and to the left of the Antietam Battlefield Visitor Center.
Waymark Code: WMCWEC
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 10/18/2011
Views: 7
This beautiful sign of history is oblong, held horizontal in a big, thick, black frame. The sign explains the history of the USS Antietam, named after this battlefield and the accompanying bell which also serves as a memorial for her crew. The sign reads:
One of the most unique ways that the Battle of Antietam has been commemorated is the naming of U.S. Navy ships after the battle. Ships have been named for Gettysburg, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and there have been at least three ships named Antietam.
This ship's bell is from the U.S.S. Antietam, CV-36, a Navy Aircraft Carrier. Commissioned in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in January 1945, the carrier weighed over 27,000 tons and was over 880 feet long. The ship had a crew of about 2,800 sailors and was America's first angled-deck aircraft carrier. This U.S.S. Antietam served until retirement in 1963, seeing its most active service during the Korean Conflict.
Even after retirement, the steel from the ship still serves America. Over 500 tons of armor plating was removed and is used for peaceful atomic research. A sword of the Navy's fleet was turned into the plowshares of nuclear science.
The sign was erected in 2009 by the Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior. Parking is right next to the sign.
Group that erected the marker: Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Antietam Battlefield Visitor Center
Dunker Church Road
Sharpsburg, MD USA
21782
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Visit Instructions:
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