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War Department Observation Tower
This tower was built by the War Department in 1896 as part of the early development efforts by the U.S. military to create an open-air classroom at Antietam. The War Department also placed cannon, built roads and fences. They interviewed Antietam veterans and created over 200 detailed battle tablets like the ones here at the tower. The War Department established five National Military Parks in the 1890s - Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga-Chattanooga, Shiloh, and Vicksburg. The five parks were transferred to the National Park Service in 1933 in an effort to consolidate public lands. |