144 Years Ago Today

144 years ago today, September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam was fought. In a day-long slugging match along the banks of Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, that marked the climax of the first Confederate invasion of the North, the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia fought the bloodiest single day of the war. Lee’s army, outnumbered nearly two to one, held against McClellan’s assaults for an entire day. At the end of the day, 12,401 (2,108 killed, 9,540 wounded, 753 captured/missing) Union soldiers, and 10,316 (1,546 killed, 7,752 wounded, 1,018 captured/missing) Confederate soldiers–nearly 23,000 in all–were casualties. Lee waited for McClellan to attack him again on September 18, but McClellan had had enough. Finally, on September 19, Lee retreated back across the Potomac to the safety of Virginia. The first invasion of the North was over.

This post is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who fought and died at Antietam. Their memory and their sacrifices are not forgotten.