100 years ago, Sharpsburg was invaded again — by 3,200 Marines and 100,000 spectators

It's been 162 years since the tranquil farmlands around Sharpsburg were invaded by two massive armies in a battle that had national and international consequences.

But did you know there was another military exercise on the site of the Battle of Antietam in 1924?

It was the year a force of U.S. Marines invaded Washington County for a public training event that brought modern — for 1924 — battle tactics to the Civil War battlefield. And to mark the 100th anniversary of that event, Antietam National Battlefield has planned a series of special events for Labor Day weekend.

Tanks, planes and automobiles

In 1924, the Antietam, Gettysburg and other Civil War battlefields were maintained by the War Department; they weren't transferred to the National Park Service until 1933.

During the 1920s, the Marines conducted a series of eight training maneuvers on Civil War battlefields — with more in mind than simply building military prowess.

And just before the battle anniversary that year, they brought their wargames to Sharpsburg.

"The main point was they were putting on a show, trying to show the Marines — or what they can do," said Park Ranger Keith Snyder, Antietam National Battlefield's program manager for resource education and visitor services.

The Marines Expeditionary Force, 3,200 strong, marched most of the distance (they were trucked over South Mountain, Snyder said) from Marine Base Quantico in Virginia to Washington County, where they spent 11 days for what Snyder said was the biggest event in the history of the battlefield. Well, since the battle itself. So many visitors came to watch that the fields were covered with automobiles.

"They had parades, concerts, baseball games, outdoor movies down here on the Piper farm," he said. "The paper wrote about how the kind Marines got blankets out because people watching the movies got cold.

"They brought 11 aircraft. They had an air battle over Frederick. They shut Frederick down. They spent two days in Frederick on the way here and completely shut the city down."

They also brought three tanks, two hydrogen balloons ("This is pre-Hindenberg," Snyder noted), artillery, spotlights for night exercises and bathtubs for the generals. They slept in tents on the Piper farm. The aircraft were kept on a Boonsboro airfield.

While events at other Civil War battlefields also had involved contemporary weaponry, they were reenactments of movements from the original battles, Snyder said. But when the Marines came to Antietam, their new commander, Gen. Dion Williams, decided to do things a little differently.

"His argument was, reenacting a Civil War battle isn't helping us," Snyder said. "So his whole mission was, we're going to do a modern battle on the historic landscape.

"And they had some pretty important visitors, including Gen. (John A.) Lejeune, most famous Marine ever; Smedley Butler, who was the most decorated Marine in history, and Teddy Roosevelt Jr., he was assistant secretary of the Navy."

Other special guests included Civil War veterans, including a few who fought at the original battle.

"They had two of the veterans that had fought at Antietam. They brought them forward and were like, the most honored; they got to sit up front with the generals," Snyder said.

"I've got a quote from them saying, 'that's not how we used to do it. We used to walk out in lines. They're all ducking'."

But the Marines didn't spend all their time in Sharpsburg. A highlight of the event visit came on their payday, when a plane carrying $100,000 in cash arrived.

"They paid all the Marines and cut them loose on Hagerstown," Snyder said. "They actually trucked them up there."

The Marines marched in a parade down Potomac Street, and fielded a baseball team that lost an exhibition game to the Hagerstown Hubs at the former Willow Lane Park, now the site of Bester Elementary School, according to The Morning Herald. The game attracted about 5,000 spectators and the score was 8 to 1 for the Hubs, but the Marines won games against teams in Sharpsburg and nearby Shepherdstown, W.Va.

The Marines drew about 100,000 local visitors to the battlefield during their stay. "The whole county got involved," Snyder said.

Eventually, the Marines packed up and marched to Washington for a visit with President Coolidge.

Here's what's on tap for the commemoration

Battle reenactments or maneuvers are forbidden on national battlefields now; the last battle reenactment on any Civil War battlefield also occurred at Antietam in 1862, the centennial of the battle.

But the United States Marine Corps Historical Company will be on hand Labor Day weekend to present a program entitled "Fighting for Survival: The U.S. Marines' 1924 March to Sharpsburg and War-Games on the Antietam Battlefield."

The company will be on hand Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, with exhibits outside the visitor center that show advancements over the past century as well as the history of the Marines' wargames on Civil War battlefields.

And if you go, you'll also see Marines in uniforms from the era occupying a replica camp site. Snyder and the Marines' chief historian will offer lectures at the visitor center on Aug. 31.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: 100 years ago, Sharpsburg was invaded again — by 3,200 Marines and 100,000 spectators