The Massachusetts State is located at the intersection of Dunker Church Road / Old Hagerstown Pike and Cornfield Avenue, on the right or east side of the road when traveling north on Dunker Church Road. It is just south of The Cornfield Avenue. The monument is surrounded by 19 other monuments, tablets and markers. The monument is composed of granite and was dedicated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1898. When I first saw this memorial, I thought the top had been torn off but it seems it was designed this way. I liked the back the best. It is definitely the most original memorial I have seen; the monument has a detailed map in relief (bronze) of the battlefield. I found the inscription upon the stone to be rather hard to read. I had to get right on t op of it to read it. On the front are also bronze plaques with various inscriptions, all which read:
(Center Panel):
Erected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
to mark the position held by her troops
at the Battle of Antietam
September XVII MDCCLXII
(Left Plaque):
Second Infantry
Seventh Infantry
Ninth Infantry
Tenth Infantry
Twelfth Infantry
Thirteenth Infantry
Fifteenth Infantry
Eighteenth Infantry
Nineteenth Infantry
Twentieth Infantry
Twenty-First Infantry
(Right Plaque):
Twenty-Second Infantry
Twenty-Eighth Infantry
Twenty-Ninth Infantry
Thirty-Second Infantry
Thirty-Fifth Infantry
First Cavalry
First Battery
Third Battery
Eighth Battery
First Co. Sharpshooters
Second Co. Sharpshooters.
From 1890s to 1960s veterans’ organizations erected monuments to commemorate the people and actions associated the Battle of Antietam (16-18 September 1862). The MA State Monument contributes to the National Register District under Criterion A with the period of significance 1800-1899. The monument is designated as structure number 107.
The Massachusetts State Monument is significant under Criterion A because of its association with the commemoration of the Battle of Antietam. The monuments and markers at Antietam represent a wide sampling of late 19th and early 20th century military memorialization from the period when such monumentation was in its heyday.
This monument to all the Massachusetts troops who fought at Antietam was dedicated on 17 September 1898. The site upon which the monument rests was occupied by the 2nd, 12th, 13th, 15th, 19th, 20th regiments on 17 September 1862. This monument is one of 4 dedicated to the Massachusetts troops at Antietam. It was designed by the State of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts State Monument was listed on the National Register on October 15, 1966, with a confirmation National Register form updated and approved by the Keeper on February 10, 1982.
Short Physical Description
The Massachusetts State Monument is located at the southeast corner of Hagerstown Pike and Cornfield Ave. It is an alter-style monument resting on a three-tier base. It features bronze informational plaques as well as a map of the battlefield.
The Massachusetts State Monument (1898) is located at the southeast corner of Hagerstown Pike and Cornfield Avenue. Measuring approximately 6’ high, 12’ long, and 8’ wide, the alter-style monument forms a dumbbell, or “I” shape, and is made of light granite. It rests on a three-tiered base, the large foundation tier measuring 27’4” by 13’ 10.” Egg-and-dart molding decorates the cornice of the monument.
Long Physical Description
The front, or west, elevation has a recessed center section with a bronze medallion of the state seal. The inscriptions surrounding the seal reads: “ERECTED BY THE COMMONWEATLTH OF/ MASSACHUSETTS/ TO MARK THE POSITION HELD BY/ HER TROOPS/ AT THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM/ SEPTEMBER XVII/MDCCLXII.”
The north project end bears a bronze plaque with the names of Massachusetts units that served: THE SECOND INFANTRY/ SEVENTH INFANTRY/ NINTH INFANTRY/ TENTH INFANTRY/ TWELFTH INFANTRY/ THIRTEENTH INFANTRY/ FIFTEENTH INFANTRY/ NINETEENTH INFANTRY/ TWENTIETH INFANTRY/ TWENTY-FIRST INFANTRY”
The plaque on the southern projecting end reads: TWENTY-SECOND INFANTRY/ TWENTY-EIGHTH INFANTRY/ TWENTY-NINTH INFANTRY/ THIRTY-SECOND INFANTRY/ THIRTY-FIFTH INFANTRY/ FIRST CAVALRY/FIRST BATTERY/ THIRD BATTERY/ EIGHT BATTERY/ FIRST CO. SHARPSHOOTERS/ SECOND CO. SHARPSHOOTERS” The east, or rear, elevation of the monument contains a large rectangular bronze plaque of the position of the troops on the battlefield. The text in the lower right hand corner reads: “PLAN SHOWING LOCATION OF MASSACHUSETTS TROOPS” The plaque features decorative trim around the edges. There are a few open joints present on the monument.
My Source
1.
NRHP Nomination Form
2.
Stone Sentinels
3.
Virtual Antietam
4.
Historical Marker Database
5.
National Park Service