Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, in southwest Maryland, where some 23,000 men were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862 — the worst day of fighting in American history. It gave President Lincoln a (costly) victory with which, five days later, to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, and also saw the first battlefield photographs ever recorded.
Antietam, the Civil War’s Deadliest Day | Slate Magazine.
Living in Northern Virginia, exploring these historical treasures is a pastime of mine, one I personally find very rewarding. The major confrontation occurred in “the cornfield,” which from the photos below one can tell looks a bit different today. The fighting lasted from sunup to sundown — it took another five days just to bury the dead.
