Antietam National Battlefield

Located near Sharpsburg, MD is the Antietam National Battlefield. It is approximately 70 miles west of Washington DC. The battlefield witnessed some of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War. It lasted one day.


This is near the Visitor's Center and where the Confederates had some of their lines.

This is Dunker Church where some of the fighting occurred.

This is a monument to the Maryland Soldiers on the field.

This is a memorial to the New York Soldiers.

One of the many statues dedicated to Pennsylvania Soldiers.

A statue for Pennsylvanian Cavalry.

The upside down cannon signifies a spot where a General died. This General was Mansfield from the Union Army. There were 5 other generals that died here (2 from the North and 3 from the South).

One of many cannons there.

Another statue.

This is the cornfield approximately where the Confederate lines were. The first Union advance came from that barn in the back of the picture. One of the units had 60% casualties within 30 minutes.

This is another Pennsylvania statue.

The is the Sunken Road which was called Bloody Lane after the battle. This was used by the Confederate soldiers as a defensive point and nearly 4000 of them held off a force that was almost twice their size.

This is the Burnside Bridge which saw 500 Confederate soldiers hold off a much larger force. Eventually they were flanked and driven off. It also makes for a nice picture.

This is looking at the last battle site.

An Artilleryman.

Approximately 100,000 soldiers fought here of which 23,000 of them were killed, wounded or missing. After the battle, Lee withdrew back into Virginia and Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This battle also saw Clara Barton, who would later establish the American Red Cross in 1881.