Antietam National Battlefield

23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Antietam Cannons

Placing more than 500 cannons on high ground, both armies were able to effectively strike enemy troop positions at great distances.

A line Civil War cannons and a stone wall at Antietam National Battlefield

Antietam National Cemetery Lodge Building

The National Cemetery Lodge Building sits just inside the gates of the cemetery.

stone building with black fence in foreground

Dunker Church

Spring at the Battlefield.

small white building with cannon in the foreground

The Cornfield

Looking east along the south edge of The Cornfield.

wood fence rails with green corn stalks behind fence

Dunker Church

The Dunker Church covered in snow.

one room house covered in snow

Burnside Bridge

Burnside Bridge in the snow from the Union side of Antietam Creek.

three arch stone bridge over Antietam Creek

Monument at Sunset

130th Pennsylvania Monument at Bloody Lane

a monument of a soldier at sunset

Cannon the Field

Artillery played a key role at Antietam. Over 500 cannon were involved in the fighting.

artillery piece sitting on a rock break

Fog Over the Battlefield

View from the visitor center looking toward Bloody Lane at sunset

fog filling in the low areas of the field at sunset

14th Connecticut Monument

14th Connecticut Monument, just north of the Sunken Road.

dark clouds with tree and obelisk monument

Antietam National Cemetery

Private Soldier Monument at the cemetery

a monument of a soldier in the background with graves in front of the monument

Antietam Cannons

Placing more than 500 cannons on high ground, both armies were able to effectively strike enemy troop positions at great distances.

A line Civil War cannons and a stone wall at Antietam National Battlefield