Boy Scouts of America Troop 1097  Serving Gaithersburg, Germantown & N. Potomac 

Antietam Illumination

  • 03 Dec 2022
  • 8:00 AM
  • 04 Dec 2022
  • 10:00 AM
  • 39.48081275584174, -77.74885360345792 (18316 Burnside Bridge Rd, Sharpsburg, MD 21782)

Registration

  • Scouts or Adults who will be camping.
  • Webelos, Adults, and guests who will be helping, but not staying over Friday night.

Registration is closed

UPDATED

Due to tomorrow's weather forecast, the Antietam Illumination event itself has been cancelled. (Wet paper bags make for poor luminaries.)

We will still be camping this weekend with slightly altered plans and a different service project. We will meet Saturday morning at 9 AM at the chapter house, then use our usual car pooling system to reach the camp site. This should allow us to arrive after most of the wet weather. Our return Sunday morning should be unchanged.

Our Campsite:
Washington County Ag Ed Center
7313 Sharpsburg Pike, Boonsboro, MD 21713


 

Antietam Illumination

Important: drop-off is Saturday AM at the Antietam field (39.48081275584174, -77.74885360345792).  Pickup is Sunday at the IWLA.

The time spent setting up and cleaning up will count as SSL hours. 

Dress warmly in layers including hat and gloves. There is little protection from the wind on the field. Don’t wear fabric sneakers or cotton clothes!

Adult in charge: 

Troop 1097 will support Antietam National Battlefield during this most somber yet beautiful event, the Memorial Illumination (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HjUxo4zk3Q or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTVAaQhyQZ8).

More than 23,000 candles will be lit and lined up along the battlefield to pay tribute to the soldiers who were killed, wounded, or reported missing at the noteworthy Battle of Antietam. A half hour drive through the battlefield just after dark will reveal seemingly endless rows of candles to symbolize the lives that were lost that September day.  The Scouts (and family members who would also like to volunteer) will set up luminaries on "our field" throughout the day on December 1st and spend the weekend camping at Antietam.  SSL hours are available for this activity.

Scouts and family volunteers will begin the day by putting the candles into the luminaries. After that, they will arrange the bags in lines on the field. We’ll eat bag lunches provided by the troop, probably have an hour or two of free time, then we’ll light the candles. There will be a short ceremony at the Maryland Memorial at dusk, after which the volunteers will be the first to drive through and see the Illumination. After we drive through the Illumination, the troop will enjoy a reception featuring cookies and homemade soup at the Washington County Agricultural Center, where we’re camping. A Scout is helpful, so we’ll also be assisting the reception staff with clean up afterward.

In previous years, Troop 1097 was assigned to field #28.


We will be camping at the near Calico Rocks C&O campsite (39.27150894195, -77.53112809164875).  This will be a short, 1/4 mile walk from parking, so the scouts should bring frame packs as we will make only one trip from the cars.

 

2018_Fall_Troop_1097_Permission_Slip.pdf

Winter_Camping_Checklist.pdf

winter_camping_tips[1].pdf

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