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SHARPSBURG, Md. — Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) and several organizations recently purchased a portion of the historic Shepherdstown Ford battlefield — the Boteler Cement Mill property, which is adjacent to the Potomac River ford where Union and Confederate forces fought on Sept. 19 and 20, 1862.
SHAF President Tom Clemens said the Civil War Trust, Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA) and Jefferson County Landmarks Commission pooled resources to buy the ruins of the historic mill and 13 surrounding acres. The closing was in December.
The sale price was $375,000. Clemens said the state gave $200,000, Civil War Trust $100,000, SBPA $5,000 and SHAF about $39,000, with the balance coming from groups in Jefferson County.
The property witnessed the last action of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 as Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia retreated across the Potomac into Virginia. Closely following this retreat were elements of Gen. George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac.
The bloody clash with Lee’s rearguard resulted in both commanders abandoning efforts to continue the campaign. “Thus this could be considered the deciding conflict of the campaign that was the Confederacy’s best chance for victory,” said Clemens.
The Boteler Mill was in existence long before the Civil War. It provided cement for construction of the nearby C&O Canal and for several government buildings in Washington, D.C.
Many stone ruins on the property remain intact, including the famed lime kilns where 118th Pennsylvania soldiers sought shelter from Confederates firing down from the bluffs above them.
The property sellers are longtime owners and descendants of the Blunt family which later owned the mill.
Clemens said the Jefferson County (W.Va.) Landmarks Commission will hold the Boteler Cement Mill property until such a time may come when it can be transferred to the National Park Service as a satellite site of either Harpers Ferry National Historic Park or Antietam National Battlefield.
The purchase also secures an important corner of the bloodiest, and completely unprotected, battlefield in the state of West Virginia.
“Our hope is that the acquisition of the Cement Mill tract will facilitate the purchase of the remaining acreage of this important battlefield, thus allowing the complete story of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 to be told,” said Clemens.
SHAF is asking for help to raise the $39,000 it committed. Contributions may be sent to: SHAF, P.O. Box 550, Sharpsburg, MD 21782. For information go to http://shaf.org
SHAF President Tom Clemens said the Civil War Trust, Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA) and Jefferson County Landmarks Commission pooled resources to buy the ruins of the historic mill and 13 surrounding acres. The closing was in December.
The sale price was $375,000. Clemens said the state gave $200,000, Civil War Trust $100,000, SBPA $5,000 and SHAF about $39,000, with the balance coming from groups in Jefferson County.
The property witnessed the last action of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 as Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia retreated across the Potomac into Virginia. Closely following this retreat were elements of Gen. George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac.
The bloody clash with Lee’s rearguard resulted in both commanders abandoning efforts to continue the campaign. “Thus this could be considered the deciding conflict of the campaign that was the Confederacy’s best chance for victory,” said Clemens.
The Boteler Mill was in existence long before the Civil War. It provided cement for construction of the nearby C&O Canal and for several government buildings in Washington, D.C.
Many stone ruins on the property remain intact, including the famed lime kilns where 118th Pennsylvania soldiers sought shelter from Confederates firing down from the bluffs above them.
The property sellers are longtime owners and descendants of the Blunt family which later owned the mill.
Clemens said the Jefferson County (W.Va.) Landmarks Commission will hold the Boteler Cement Mill property until such a time may come when it can be transferred to the National Park Service as a satellite site of either Harpers Ferry National Historic Park or Antietam National Battlefield.
The purchase also secures an important corner of the bloodiest, and completely unprotected, battlefield in the state of West Virginia.
“Our hope is that the acquisition of the Cement Mill tract will facilitate the purchase of the remaining acreage of this important battlefield, thus allowing the complete story of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 to be told,” said Clemens.
SHAF is asking for help to raise the $39,000 it committed. Contributions may be sent to: SHAF, P.O. Box 550, Sharpsburg, MD 21782. For information go to http://shaf.org
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