Antietam National Cemetery

Established after the brutal September 17, 1862 confrontation, Antietam National Cemetery serves as the final resting place for thousands of Union soldiers who perished in the single bloodiest day of American military history.
Following the battle, hasty field burials left thousands of corpses shallowly covered across local farmlands. To resolve this health hazard and offer a dignified burial space, the State of Maryland purchased 11 acres of grounds in Sharpsburg in 1865. Dedicated on September 17, 1867, the cemetery holds the remains of 4,776 Union service members from the Maryland campaigns, over 1,800 of whom remain unidentified. Confederate dead were excluded from the site due to prevailing postwar tensions and were eventually reinterred in separate cemeteries nearby in Hagerstown, Frederick, and Shepherdstown.
At the heart of the grounds stands the Private Soldier Monument, dedicated in 1880. Known locally as "Old Simon," the colossal 250-ton granite statue depicts a Civil War infantryman standing at parade rest, gazing north toward his fallen comrades.
Though originally intended solely for Union Civil War casualties, the burial grounds remained open for subsequent veterans until filling to capacity in 1953. Today, the site contains around 250 post-Civil War graves, holding veterans who served in the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War. Managed by the National Park Service as part of Antietam National Battlefield, the cemetery stands as a solemn monument to military sacrifice and the tragic human cost of national conflict.Read more