Private Soldier Monument
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Private Soldier Monument is a historic site in Maryland, at a modelled elevation of 153 m. Quirauk Mountain stands 654 m to the northeast, 20 miles off. The nearest named place is 20th Regiment N.Y. Volunteers, a historic site less than a tenth of a mile away. Antietam Campaign Byway runs past it.
The story
The American Volunteer – also known as The American Soldier – is a colossal granite statue that crowns the U.S. Soldier Monument and forms the centerpiece of Antietam National Cemetery in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The monument is also known as the Private Soldier Monument. The monument was designed by sculptor Carl Conrads and architect George Keller of the New England Granite Works of Hartford, Connecticut. The statue, described as "the largest work of its kind in the country", was prominently exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was transported to Sharpsburg, installed atop the monument, and dedicated at the National Cemetery in 1880. The total cost of the monument was over US$32,000. The statue's nickname is "Old Simon".
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1876.
Wikidata Q7713575, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Inscription
- NOT FOR THEMSELVES BUT FOR THEIR COUNTRY.
How to reach it
- On the Antietam Campaign Byway
- 0.3 mi off the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Byway
- 4.0 mi off the Washington Heritage Trail, National
- 5.7 mi off the Historic National Road - Maryland, National
Overlooks nearby
- Georgians Overlook · 1 mi
- White Rocks · 6 mi
- Stone Fort · 8 mi
- Maryland Heights Overlook · 9 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- 20th Regiment N.Y. Volunteers: 0.0 mi
- 4th New York Volunteers: 0.1 mi
- 50th PA: 0.2 mi
- Old Slave Block: 0.3 mi
- 45th PA: 0.3 mi
- Hauser Ridge: 1.4 mi
- Nicodemus Heights: 2.0 mi
- Red Hill: 2.2 mi
- Ferry Hill: 3.3 mi
- Hawks Hill: 4.4 mi
- Taylor Park: 3.3 mi
- Mount Briar Wetlands Reserve: 3.6 mi
- James Rumsey Park: 3.6 mi
- Washington County Agricultural Education Center: 3.8 mi
- Shepherdstown Historic District: 4.0 mi
- Lock 39: 2.4 mi
- Lock 40: 2.8 mi
- Antietam Creek Aqueduct: 2.9 mi
- Lock 38 Path: 3.5 mi
- Little House: 3.9 mi
- Antietam National Battlefield Visitors Center: 1.1 mi
- Hagerstown Model Railroad Museum at Antietam Station: 1.6 mi
- Pry House Field Hospital Museum: 1.9 mi
- Civil War Medical Museum: 1.9 mi
- Washington County Rural Heritage Museum: 3.9 mi
- McClellan's Lookup Fire Tower: 2.3 mi
- Lambs Knoll Fire Tower: 6.1 mi
- Yankauer Nature Preserve: 6.5 mi
- Antietam National Battlefield: 6.7 mi
- Brownsville Pond Fish Management Area: 6.8 mi
- Annapolis Rock Spring: 10.2 mi
- Bootjack Spring: 13.4 mi
- Spout Spring: 14.4 mi
- Cooper Springs: 16.5 mi
- Kanawha Spring: 17.3 mi
- Civilian Conservation Corps: 13.1 mi
- Saint Maria Goretti: 14.8 mi
- Spire: 17.7 mi
- WINDSWEPT: 17.8 mi
- Water Lily Swirl: 17.9 mi
- Dargan Bend: 6.5 mi
- Public Grills & Picnic Area: 17.4 mi
- Owens Creek Picnic Area: 19.1 mi
- Chestnut Picnic Area: 19.2 mi
- Nolands Ferry: 20.1 mi
- Shenandoah Lake Beach: 17.7 mi
- Beach Front: 23.0 mi
- River Access: 23.3 mi
- River Access: 23.9 mi
- South Mountain Welcome Center: 8.7 mi
- South Mountain Welcome Center: 8.8 mi
- I-81 Southbound West Virginia Welcome Center: 10.5 mi
- Old Dam Waterfall: 0.9 mi
- Cunningham Falls: 18.7 mi
- Four Square Garden: 3.8 mi
- Native Pollinator Meadow: 21.9 mi
- Sevenfoot Rock: 13.7 mi
- Clermont Crag: 23.4 mi
- Harmony Grove: 18.2 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 21.4 miles of Private Soldier Monument. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quirauk Mountain | NE 36° | 654 m | 20.4 mi |
| Hearthstone Mountain | NW 325° | 616 m | 21.4 mi |
| Catoctin Mountain | NE 48° | 572 m | 19.6 mi |
| Salamander Rock | ENE 59° | 562 m | 15.7 mi |
| High Rock | NE 35° | 559 m | 20.0 mi |
| Black Rock | NE 44° | 549 m | 11.0 mi |
| Annapolis Rock | NE 48° | 538 m | 10.2 mi |
| Lambs Knoll | E 97° | 536 m | 6.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:15 | 18:48 | 19:23 |
| June solstice | 05:45 | 20:02 | 20:42 |
| September equinox | 06:59 | 18:34 | 19:10 |
| December solstice | 07:28 | 16:09 | 16:51 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 31 | 34 | 41 | 52 | 61 | 70 | 74 | 73 | 66 | 54 | 44 | 35 |
| Precip in | 3.1 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Sharpsburg 5 S, 4 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/3213095241
Day trips start here
- Sharpsburg · 0 mi
- Shepherdstown · 4 mi
- Boonsboro · 6 mi
- Harpers Ferry · 9 mi
- Washington County · 10 mi
- Middletown · 11 mi
Take the scenic way to Private Soldier Monument.
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