Civic organizations petition to bring Salute to Independence back to Antietam Battlefield

Washington County economic and tourism officials went public over the weekend with an effort to get the National Park Service to reconsider and allow the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's Salute to Independence concert to return to Antietam National Battlefield.

The Greater Hagerstown Committee, the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Visit Hagerstown created an online petition at Change.org over the weekend to persuade park service officials to bring the Fourth of July weekend concert back to Antietam National Battlefield, which hosted the concert for decades before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The groups also said a "Save our Salute" Facebook page has also been launched where people can relate their favorite memories of the battlefield celebration in hopes of demonstrating to park officials how important the event is to the community.

State Sen. Paul Corderman, R-Washington/Frederick, emailed his supporters Monday afternoon asking that they sign the petition. Park officials get a notification every time someone signs.

As of late Monday afternoon, 416 people had signed the online petition.

The National Park Service said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that the event cannot be held at the battlefield this summer because of ongoing work to renovate a visitors center. The statement did not mention the possibility of the celebration returning in 2024, but said National Park Service officials are continuing to have talks about the the future of the event with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and others.

Contractors working on the new visitors center are still continuing exterior grading, installing outdoor exhibits, and completing sidewalk, re-seeding and other landscaping work, Katie Liming, spokeswoman for the National Capital Region of the National Park Service, said in the statement. The work will not be completed to allow the areas to be reopened by July, she said.

"We recognize that the Salute to Independence is a beloved community tradition, and as we continue to engage in conversations about the future of this event with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and other stakeholders, the National Park Service’s focus will be on the visitor experience, including safety of the public and protecting the battlefield’s natural and cultural resources," according to the statement.

Salute continues at HCC

The concert is still in the works for this summer, once again to be held at the Alumni Association Amphitheater at Hagerstown Community College. That's where the concert was the last two summers due to renovation of the battlefield's visitors center.

Background:Antietam Battlefield planning to renovate visitors center

There was no concert in 2020 due to the pandemic. The concert was canceled in 2019 as a storm system full of torrential downpours, heavy wind, lightning and thunder rolled in just before the planned performance at the battlefield.

MSO President Kim Bowen said park officials have concerns about bringing the patriotic concert back to the park, scene of the bloodiest single day of fighting in American history, and MSO officials met with park Superintendent Susan Trail in November.

"And they told us at that time that they would not be bringing the Salute back to Antietam Battlefield," she said. "They had some concerns, and they weren't willing to discuss ways around that. So they just informed us that it was just a no."

So at this time, the MSO is continuing its "commitment to the community by having our Salute to Independence at HCC again this year," she said.

Bowen said the HCC facility has been reserved for July 1.

Greater Hagerstown Committee Executive Director Jim Kercheval said he met with Trail, the park superintendent, and two park rangers in his office on Nov. 17 about the battlefield's decision not to allow the event back to the park. He said Trail and the rangers were firm in their decision not to allow the event at the battlefield.

"They weren't open to a discussion on how to alleviate their concerns," Kercheval said. "It's a shame they weren't transparent when they made the decision in the first place. We weren't aware of it."

The event traditionally includes a free patriotic concert followed by a fireworks display. Many visitors spent the day at the battlefield, capping it off by watching the concert from blankets spread on the grass in front of the temporary stage.

Effort to bring MSO concert back to Antietam

Visit Hagerstown President Dan Spedden said business and tourism officials had been working behind the scenes, but hadn't made progress with the park service so they launched the petition and met virtually with representatives from the offices of Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and U.S. Rep. David Trone, D-6th, on Monday afternoon.

Spedden said they learned in September that the park service wasn't going to have the concert back for 2023.

Spedden said the congressional members' staff representatives were "more cautious than I would want them to be."

Among the concerns Spedden said the park service had about hosting the concert again were security issues and that the buffer zone around the fireworks display was somehow inadequate. Kercheval said park officials are also worried about fireworks possibly catching something on fire or someone being hit by one.

"But those arguments, they were very shallow to us," Spedden said.

Kercheval agreed, saying the event has been held for decades with none of those issues being huge concerns.

Kercheval and Corderman said in phone interviews Monday that park officials are also concerned about safety issues surrounding large crowds and fears that something bad could happen.

"Quite frankly, you could have that everywhere. You might as well cancel every football game" among other events, Corderman said.

Until the pandemic and the visitors center work, the battlefield had hosted the concert since 1986. It is usually held the closest Saturday to July 4.

About security concerns, Spedden said anyone would be hard-pressed to find a single incident where something happened at the concert since it began.

“'The Salute' is our MSO’s premier annual event, a nationally recognized tourism generator, and even the top fundraiser for Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire & Rescue company that protects the battlefield all year long," the petition states.

Battlefield draws bigger crowd

When held at the battlefield, the concert can attract more than 15,000 people, according to the petition.

The estimated capacity at the HCC amphitheater, including having spectators hang out in the college's parking lots to hear the concert and see the fireworks, is 10,000 people, according to Herald-Mail archives.

The HCC amphitheater is a bit smaller than the sprawling battlefield, and "we did look around the community during construction, because we knew we could not be there at Antietam Battlefield during the construction of the new visitors center," Bowen said.

"We looked at quite a few different places, and nothing really jumped out at us. Nothing really can replace Antietam," she said.

"We would love to continue the conversation," Bowen said. "There is nothing that compares to being at Antietam. So if there was any way possible that we could make that work, we are open to it.

"We are trying to enhance our mission of music for everyone. And serving the community at Antietam is one of the best ways we can do that," Bowen said.

Correction: This story was updated at 1:08 p.m. Jan. 24, 2023, to correct that the Antietam visitors center renovations are still underway. Herald-Mail Media apologizes for the mistake.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Civic leaders to National Park Service: Bring Salute back to Antietam