Awesome Preservation News

Union Artillery firing in support, Battle of Shepherdstown. The cement mill is the structure located at the center of the photo graph

Yesterday, I learned the a significant landmark of the battlefield located outside of Shepherdstown, West Virginia has been purchased and preserved. Edward Dunleavy, President of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association, Inc., announced that the Cement Mill and the 18 acres of the property along the banks of the Potomac River has been purchased by the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission. The Cement Mill was significant landmark in the battle, September 20-21, 1862, that ended Robert E. Lee's plans to continue his Maryland Campaign by recrossing upriver at Williamsport. It is located near Blackford's Ford where Union soldiers crossed in pursuit of Lee's retreating army and the site where Union soldiers, many from the 118th Pennsylvania, sought shelter when the Union battle line collapsed and hastily retreated back across the river. The commission plans to place a conservation easement on the property and eventually deed the site to Antietam National Battlefield. Congratulations are in order for the commission and the SBPA since this is one of their most significant victories in their battle to preserve the Shepherdstown Battlefield.