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Presidential Salary Donated to Antietam Battlefield Restoration

civilwar.org

SHARPSBURG, Md. (AP) - President Donald Trump's salary, which he promised to give away, will go toward two restoration projects at Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland.

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke made the announcement Wednesday at Antietam. He says Trump's first quarter salary donation is $78,333, and $22,000 was pledged by an anonymous donor. 

The donation will restore the Newcomer House on the Antietam Battlefield. It will also be used to replace 5,000 feet of deteriorated rail fencing along the Hagerstown Turnpike, where some of the most intense fighting of the battle occurred.

Some 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of combat on Sept. 17, 1862, in the Battle of Antietam.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.