War Department Observation Tower

The War Department built this observation tower in 1896 as part of the U.S. military's early efforts to create an open-air classroom at Antietam. It also placed cannon, built roads and fences, interviewed Antietam veterans, and created more than 200 detailed battle tablets like those at the tower. In the 1890s, the War Department established five National Military Parks: Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga-Chattanooga, Shiloh, and Vicksburg. In 1933, those five parks were transferred to the National Park Service in an effort to consolidate public lands.

Keedysville, Maryland · United States