A Collection of Pictures from the Battle of Antietam

*Includes over 30 pictures taken at Antietam in the days after the fighting. The bloodiest day in the history of the United States took place on the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. On September 17, 1862, Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia fought George McClellans Army of the Potomac outside Sharpsburg along Antietam Creek. That day, nearly 25,000 would become casualties, and Lees army barely survived fighting the much bigger Northern army. Although the battle was tactically a draw, it resulted in forcing Lees army out of Maryland and back into Virginia, making it a strategic victory for the North and an opportune time for President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the rebellious states. For those reasons, Antietam is one of the major turning points of the Civil War. In the immediate aftermath however, Sharpsburg and the surrounding area had to deal with the carnage and devastation left from the battle. With the armies leaving the area in the days after the fighting, people came to care for the wounded and bury the dead. At the same time, the magnitude of the clash attracted photojournalists, who took pictures of the battlefield so soon after the fighting that many of the corpses were still on the field. Antietam was the first battle to have its war dead publicized in photos for Americans back at home, and the shocking photos horrified the public, having a perceptible effect on morale. A Collection of Pictures from the Battle of Antietam is a collection of over 30 pictures taken on the battlefield in the days after the fighting. Mostly taken by Alexander Gardner and Timothy H. OSullivan, the pictures include scenes from famous battlefield spots like the Sunken Lane, pictures of soldiers still on the field and being buried, important terrain, the headquarters of Hooker, McClellan and Lee, and more. It also includes pictures of several important generals who fought the battle.

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