Antietam National Battlefield

www.nps.gov/anti
www.civilwarhome.com/antietam.htm

The Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg per the CSA) on September 17, 1862, climaxed the first of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's two attempts to carry the war into the North. About 40,000 Confederate soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia were pitted against the 87,000-man Federal Army of the Potomac under Gen. George B. McClellan. It was the bloodiest day of the Civil War, with over 23,000 casualties. When the fighting ended, the course of the American Civil War had been greatly altered, since Lincoln finally felt the time was right to issue the Emancipation Proclamation (which took effect the following year), which declared that all slaves in areas still under rebellion would be free. Issuing the proclamation practically ended the threat of foreign intervention in the Civil War, as no nation would allow itself to be seen as supporting slavery.

Info for historical markers found on this battlefield is located at: www.hmdb.org/Results.asp?State=Maryland&StartAt=1701
www.hmdb.org/Results.asp?State=Maryland&StartAt=1801
www.hmdb.org/Results.asp?State=Maryland&StartAt=2001
 parkbattlefieldNRHP - National Register of Historic PlacesAmerican Civil War 1861-1865
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Antietam
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:  39°28'4"N 77°44'23"W

Comments

  • This pristine battlefield is not only the locale of the bloodiest day of the Civil War, but the bloodiest day in American history. No other single day has seen so many American casualties. Yet it was fought on the lands of some Dunker farmers, a pacifist religion. It is a study in contrasts. When you visit Antietam, you will see a battlefield that is little changed from the day of the battle, which is the goal of the park staff and the local Antietam Partners group who assist the park. It has very few monuments, unlike the more trashed up and better known battlefields, and they are mostly off the main battle area. Burnside Bridge, where the creek ran red with the blood of soldiers, is now a place of peace and calm, and it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Not breathtaking like the Grand Canyon, Antietam is a place of serenity and sacrifice. It was listed as the number 1 battlefield in the US by an agency that rated the National Parks several years ago, and the work continues to restore it to how it was on the day of the battle. A must see place for history buffs, and a good place to learn about our past for everyone.
This article was last modified 6 years ago