Signal Station
— Antietam Campaign 1862 —
During the Antietam Campaign, the U.S. Signal Corps used the stone structure as a signal station. On July 4, 1827, citizens of the town of Boonsboro paraded to the top of the mountain here and began building this first monument in the country completed in honor of George Washington. On September 14, 1862, as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and his staff entered Boonsboro during the Battle of South Mountain, Lt. Col. E.P. Alexander observed "a small party of people on what seemed to be some sort of tower on the mountain top." Thinking they were Union signalers, Alexander led a squad of eight men up to investigate, but found them to be only some local citizens trying to get a better view of the combat. Federal signalmen did use the monument afterward, however, and during the Battle of Antietam three days later.| HM Number | HMKH |
|---|---|
| Series | This marker is part of the Maryland Civil War Trails series |
| Tags | |
| Placed By | Maryland Civil War Trails |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Friday, September 5th, 2014 at 11:38am PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 274371 N 4375461 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 39.49918333, -77.62401667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 39° 29.951', W 77° 37.441' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 39° 29' 57.06" N, 77° 37' 26.46" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 304 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 1501 Appalachian Trail, Charles Town MD 25414, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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