Group Touts Preservation Of 44 Acres Of Antietam Battlefield

SHARPSBURG, Md. (AP) -- The nonprofit Civil War Trust is celebrating its successful drive to preserve 44 acres at what it calls the "epicenter" of the Battle of Antietam.

Deputy U.S. Interior Secretary Mike Connor and Antietam National Battlefield Superintendent Susan Trail are among the scheduled speakers at the event Wednesday near Sharpsburg.

The Civil War Trust says it exceeded its goal of raising $115,000, or 20 percent of the $575,000 purchase price of the triangular parcel in the middle of the park.

President James Lighthizer says the land was at the center of the bloodiest one-day battle of the war, on Sept. 17, 1862. The clash left 23,000 men killed, wounded or missing.

The trust recently launched another drive to protect six more acres at Antietam and 43 at nearby South Mountain.

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