Antietam, MD

As we headed toward Antietam National Battlefield, we passed through several small towns, including Boonsboro, MD, where we photographed the Boonsboro Free Library.

At dawn on September 17, 1862, the first battle at Antietam began when Union soldiers attacked the Confederates, who had made a stand here both north and south of this Dunker Church.

This church was built by German Baptist Brethren in 1852.

A battle raged back and forth across these fields for the next four hours.

Meanwhile, further east, other Confederate troops were determined to hold a line along this sunken road which they had protected with piles of fence rails taken from nearby fields.

This photo by associates of Matthew Brady shows the aftermath of this battle in what became known as Bloody Lane.

At this bridge over Antietam Creek, Confederate soldiers were dug in to protect it, but were eventually overwhelmed by Union reinforcements.

At 3 p.m. the final battle of the day took place in this field. 

At the end of this day, 23,000 men were dead, wounded or missing, still the largest single-day casualty total in all of American history.  It was a battle made more desperate because the Confederacy needed a decisive victory to gain recognition as a separate nation by France and England.  But the battles waged here essentially resulted in a draw, and neither side renewed the fighting the next day. 

Additional scenes from Antietam National Battlefield.

Veterans of this battle and their supporters erected monuments to those who fought and died here. 

In the afternoon we arrived at Shenandoah National Park.   We traveled south, in and out of fog and drizzle, along Skyline Drive, and then west into Luray, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley.