Antietam National Battlefield

A pivotal battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862, and was the bloodiest single day of combat ever on American soil.

After the General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate incursion into Maryland in early September 1862, the Union Army under General George B. McClellan pursued Lee with uncharacteristic speed thanks to the finding of the famous “Lost Orders 191” that detailed Lee’s movements. Lee had divided his army to accomplish various objectives, but once McClellan began pursuit, Lee quickly tried to reconsolidate his forces. A delaying action at South Mountain on September 14 slowed the Union troops long enough for Lee to establish a defensive line at Sharpsburg, MD. The resulting battle on September 17 was a pivotal battle of the war. Although McClellan’s troops outnumbered the Confederates, the day long battle was virtually a stalemate. The intense fighting was brutal, however, and the Battle of Antietam became the single bloodiest day of fighting, in terms of casualties, during the war. The only skirmishes on the 18th came as Lee withdrew his troops across the nearby Potomac River back to Virginia.

While it was no clear victory for either side, Union soldiers did manage to halt the Southern advance into the north, and Lee’s expulsion from Maryland was touted as a victory. Lincoln used it as a chance to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 23rd, which changed the objective of the war from restoring the Union to also include the elimination of slavery. The Confederates’ inability to win a decisive victory on Northern soil and the altered objectives of the war also influenced England and France to not recognize the Confederate States of America as a sovereign nation, a critical development that helped the North win the war.

The battlefield was established as a national park in 1890, and was administered by the War Department until 1933, when it was turned over to the National Park Service. The park includes many historic structures and monuments, and the Visitor Center includes exhibits, a theater and a bookstore.