Antietam National Battlefield
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Antietam National Battlefield is a
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
-protected area along
Antietam Creek Antietam Creek () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Potomac River located in south central Pennsylvania and western Maryland in the ...
in Sharpsburg, Washington County, northwestern
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. It commemorates the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
that occurred on September 17, 1862. The area, situated on fields among the Appalachian foothills near the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
, features the battlefield site and visitor center, a national military cemetery, stone arch
Burnside's Bridge Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Civil War Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, northwestern Maryland. History Construction Seeking to improve connections between roads in Washington County, fourteen bridges were commissione ...
, and a field hospital museum.


Features

In the Battle of Antietam, General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North ended on this battlefield in 1862. Established as Antietam National Battlefield Site August 30, 1890, the park was transferred from the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...
on August 10, 1933, and redesignated November 10, 1978. Along with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the battlefield was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on October 15, 1966. Additional documentation on the site was recorded by the National Park Service on February 27, 2009.


Cemetery

Antietam National Cemetery, which adjoins the park, covers and contains more than 4,976 interments (1,836 unidentified). The cemetery was commissioned in 1865, and interments began in 1867, following an arduous process of identifying the remains, which was only successful in about 40% of the cases. Civil War era burials in this cemetery consist of only
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
soldiers;
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
dead were interred in the
Washington Confederate Cemetery The Washington Confederate Cemetery is a Confederate Cemetery in Hagerstown, Maryland. Its burials include Confederate dead from such nearby battles as Antietam, Gettysburg, Monocacy and South Mountain. Less than 20 percent of its burials are ...
in Hagerstown, Maryland; Mt. Olivet Cemetery, in Frederick, Maryland; and Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The cemetery also contains the graves of veterans and their wives from the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
, both World Wars, and the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. The cemetery was closed to additional interments in 1953. However, two exceptions have been made; the first in 1978 for Congressman
Goodloe Byron Goodloe Edgar Byron (June 22, 1929 – October 11, 1978), a Democrat, was a U.S. Congressman who represented the 6th congressional district of Maryland from January 3, 1971, until his death from a heart attack on October 11, 1978. He was ...
and the second in 2000 for the remains of USN Fireman Patrick Howard Roy who was killed in the attack on the USS ''Cole''. The cemetery was placed under the War Department on July 14, 1870; it was transferred to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. The gatehouse at the cemetery entrance was the first building designed by Paul J. Pelz, later architect of the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
.


Visitor Center

The Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center contains museum exhibits about the battle and the Civil War. The Visitor Center was constructed in 1962 as part of the
Mission 66 Mission 66 was a United States National Park Service ten-year program that was intended to dramatically expand Park Service visitor services by 1966, in time for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Park Service. When the National P ...
plan. A 26-minute orientation film narrated by
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
is shown on the hour and the half-hour. The visitor center is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Park rangers offer interpretive talks and an audio tour is available for purchase to accompany the self-guided driving tour of the battlefield with eleven stops. Park Grounds are open daylight hours. There is a park entrance fee of $10.00 per person (age 17 or older; 16 and under FREE) or $20.00 per vehicle. The entrance fee is valid for three days.


Pry House Field Hospital Museum

The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is located in the house that served as Union Commander General George B. McClellan's headquarters during the battle. Exhibits focus on period medical care of the wounded, as well as information about the Pry House. The museum is sponsored by the
National Museum of Civil War Medicine __NOTOC__ The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is a U.S. historic education institution located in Frederick, Maryland. Its focus involves the medical, surgical and nursing practices during the American Civil War (1861-1865). History The ...
.


Antietam Battlefield Illumination

This memorial illumination was started in 1989 and continues to this day on the first Saturday in December. Every year, over a thousand volunteers place 23,000 luminaries in rows on the northern portion of the battlefield. The luminaries consist of a paper bag filled with sand and a candle, and represents a soldier that was killed, injured, or went missing during the
Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
.


Additional battlefield preservation

The Antietam National Battlefield was listed as one of
America's Most Endangered Places America's 11 Most Endangered Places or America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is a list of places in the United States that the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers the most endangered. It aims to inspire Americans to preserve ex ...
in the years 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, according to the
National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...
. The Battlefield was added to the list in response to a "...flawed proposal to construct a shopping center and other buildings on battlefield land, the listing helped to galvanize support and action by local, state and federal agencies and non-profit organizations''."'' By 2017, the Antietam National Battlefield was deemed a success story and was included alongside ten other sites that previously named to the ''Most Endangered'' and also became the focus of successful preservation efforts. The
American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...
and its federal, state, and local partners, including the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, have acquired and preserved of the overall battlefield through late 2021, including the "epicenter" tract, a 44.4-acre, previously privately owned parcel in the heart of the battlefield park between the Cornfield and the Dunker Church. The land, also known as the Wilson farm, was purchased by the Trust in 2015 for about $1 million. The preservation organization has since removed the postwar house and barn that stood on the property along Hagerstown Pike and returned the land to its wartime appearance.


Battle of Antietam

File:Antietam - Morning Phase.JPG, Morning Phase File:Antietam - Midday Phase.JPG, Midday Phase File:Antietam - Afternoon Phase.JPG, Afternoon Phase


Morning phase

The Battle began at dawn on September 17, 1862, when
Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...
began the Union artillery bombardment of the Confederate positions of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in the Miller cornfield. Hooker's troops advanced behind the falling shells and drove the Confederates from their positions. Around 7 a.m. Jackson reinforced his troops and pushed the Union troops back. Union Maj. Gen.
Joseph K. Mansfield Joseph King Fenno Mansfield (December 22, 1803 – September 18, 1862) was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam. Early life Mansfield was ...
sent his men into the fray and regained some of the ground lost to the Confederates.Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland Brochure; National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; Harpers Ferry Design Center, Harpers Ferry, WV


Midday phase

As the fighting in the cornfield was coming to a close, Maj. Gen. William H. French was moving his Federals forward to support Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick and veered into Confederate Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill's troops posted in the ''Sunken Road''. Fierce fighting continued here for four hours before the Union troops finally took the road.


Afternoon phase

On the southeast side of town, Union Maj. Gen.
Ambrose E. Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...
's XI Corps had been trying to cross Antietam Creek since mid-morning, being held up by only 500 Georgia sharpshooters. Around 1 p.m., they finally crossed
Burnside's Bridge Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Civil War Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, northwestern Maryland. History Construction Seeking to improve connections between roads in Washington County, fourteen bridges were commissione ...
and took the heights. After a 2-hour lull to reform the Union lines, they advanced up the hill, driving the Confederates back towards Sharpsburg. But for the timely arrival of Maj. Gen.
A.P. Hill Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. (November 9, 1825April 2, 1865) was a Confederate general who was killed in the American Civil War. He is usually referred to as A. P. Hill to differentiate him from another, unrelated Confederate general, Daniel Harvey H ...
's division from Harpers Ferry, Burnside would have entered Sharpsburg. Instead, the Union troops were driven back to the heights above the bridge.


Conclusion

The battle was over with the Union sitting on three sides, waiting for the next day. During the night of the 18th, General Lee pulled his troops back across the Potomac River, leaving the battle and the town to General McClellan. It was the bloodiest day in United States history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing. McPherson, James M. (2002). ''Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, The Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War''. New York: Oxford University Press. .


References

* ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington:
U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
.


Notes


External links

*
Antietam National Cemetery




– ''28 photos of Antietam National Cemetery''
Western Maryland Regional Library: history of Antietam National Cemetery
– ''History of Antietam National Cemetery, including a descriptive list of all the loyal soldiers buried therein together with the ceremonies and address on the occasion of the dedication of the grounds, September, 17th, 1867'' * *   * * (Listing of Monuments) * * * * * * {{authority control Battlefields of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War National Battlefields and Military Parks of the United States American Civil War military monuments and memorials American Civil War museums in Maryland Museums in Washington County, Maryland National Park Service areas in Maryland Parks in Washington County, Maryland Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Sharpsburg, Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland Historic American Landscapes Survey in Maryland American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Maryland Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland 1890 establishments in Maryland
National Battlefield National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 25 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance. The designat ...