History of Antietam National Cemetery (Antietam National Cemetery in 1877)

Antietam National Cemetery and Battlefield Site is currently administered the U.S. Department of the Interior. The cemetery was established in 1862, but title to the land was not transferred to the War Department until 1877.
The present day appearance of the cemetery with neat rows of grave stones did not come into being until the War Department began administering the property.

The Lodge at the entrance to the cemetery is visible in this photograph, but the large statue now in the center of the cemetery was not placed there until 1880, when it was fully paid for.