Antietam National Battlefield Date Visited: October 12, 2006 Contact Information: Antietam National Battlefield P.O. Box 158 Sharpsburg, MD 21782 Park Visitor Center(301) 432-5124 Park Headquarters(301) 432-7648 Fax (301) 432-4590 Admission: Free Hours: Open Year Round Memorial Day To Labor Day 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Labor Day To Memorial Day 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. *Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day History: On September 17, 1862 a battle broke out between the Union and Confederate soldiers that would lead to the "bloodiest one-day battle in American History." The battle marked the first time General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate soldiers invaded the north. As a response, President Abraham Lincoln sent General George B. McClellan to stop the Confederate advance. The battle lasted 12 hours, resulting in over 23,000 casualties, including six generals. The following night, Lee would retreat back into Virginia, leaving President Lincoln with an opportune time to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Photographer Alexander Gardner documented the incident two days after the battle ensued, capturing the horrors of the war, including the image to the right of a burial crew. My experience: When I first got to the battleground, I went into the visitor’s center and museum. There, the park ranger was very helpful in giving out maps with trails on them, and the museum had many interesting artifacts from the battle. Also in the visitor’s center is a nice museum shop and a back room with glass walls which looks out over much of the field where the battle took place. While I was in this room, I caught the very end of a reenactment. I went outside to get a closer look, and although I was disappointed that I missed the majority of it, I was still fortunate to be able to see the men dressed in the old Confederate and Union uniforms. Although the main tour is an auto-tour, it was a nice day so I decided to walk through part of it. The tails were well maintained and clearly marked. Various points along the trail had large monuments that gave detailed information about the battle, which successfully made the grounds which I was standing on all the more meaningful. After awhile, I got back into the car and went over to the other part of the grounds where the Burnside Bridge is located. The area is beautiful, especially during the time I went with the fall foliage. It is also very serene and hard to imagine the fierce fighting that occurred there nearly 150 years ago. I also visited the Antietam National Cemetery. Initially, soldiers were buried rapidly sometimes in long trenches. Then, in 1864, the cemetery was established where many Union soldeirs were identified and buried. The Confederate soldiers were taken to other cemeteries to be buried because the Southern states had difficulty finding the funding to contribute to the effort. It is difficult to be confronted with such a large number of headstones, knowing that they all died on the same day. All in all I was very happy I went to Antietam. The grounds are well taken care of and very educational. Whether you are a Civil War history buff or not, Antietam is a great way to learn about American history.