Antietam

• Morning Mist Over the Battlefield

  

  Much of the rural beauty of the Antietam Battlefield has been preserved to this day.

  Michael Melford

• Artillery Hell at the Dunker Church

  

  The intense artillery fire coming from this section of the Confederate lines helped to drive back the Union assaults on the morning of September 17, 1862.

  Robert Shenk

• Confederate Dead Before the Dunker Church

  

  Alexander Gardner's famous photo of Confederate dead before the Dunker Church on the Antietam Battlefield.

  Library of Congress

• The Miller Cornfield

  

  The fighting in the Miller Cornfield was some of the most vicious of the entire Civil War. Throughout the morning, both sides made charges through the tall stalks.

  Robert Shenk

• Confederate Dead Along the Hagerstown Turnpike

  

  Alexander Gardner's photos of the widespread death and destruction at Antietam shocked many civilians who saw these images.

  Library of Congress

• The Hagerstown Turnpike: Then & Now

  

  Civil War Trust Director, Garry Adelman, holds up the famous Alexander Gardner photo showing Confederate dead along the Hagerstown Turnpike.

  Robert Shenk

• Artillery at Antietam

  

  Civil War artillery pieces on the Antietam Battlefield, not far from the NPS Visitor Center and the 20th New York Infantry Monument.

  Robert Shenk

• Looking Towards the Cornfield and East Woods

  

  This photo looks out towards the Cornfield and East Woods - scene of some of the heaviest fighting at the Battle of Antietam.

  Robert Shenk

• Sunset at the Bloody Lane

  

  View of the Bloody Lane on the Antietam Battlefield. In 1862 Confederate dead filled this sunken road.

  Chris Heisey

• The Dead of Antietam...in 3-D

  

  Stereographs (3-D viewer cards) of the dead in the Bloody Lane at Antietam were popular with the Northern public who was keen to see images of the real battlefield.

  Library of Congress

• The Bloody Lane Today

  

  Heavy fighting in and around this rural sunken road produced enormous casualties for both sides.

  Robert Shenk

• McClellan's HQ at the Pry House

  

  George McClellan set up his headquarters at the Pry House. From here he observed the battle. Later the house was used a hospital.

  Robert Shenk

• Burnside's Bridge over Antietam Creek

  

  View of the Rohrbach Bridge (later renamed Burnside's Bridge) over the Antietam Creek. Union forces under the command of Ambrose Burnside suffered heavy casualties trying to cross this bridge late on the morning of September 17, 1862

  Robert Shenk

• 1862 View of Burnside's Bridge

  

  Alexander Gardner's photo of Burnside's Bridge taken from Antietam Creek.

  Library of Congress

• Grand Prize Winner: 2008

  

  Ron Callaghan won the 2008 Civil War Trust Photo Content Grand Prize with this majestic photo of the Antietam Battlefield.

  Ron Callaghan

• Grand Prize Winner: 2007

  

  Ron Callaghan won the Grand Prize in our 2007 Civil War Trust photo contest with this beautiful photograph of the Antietam Battlefield.

  Ron Callaghan

• Lincoln and McClellan at Antietam

  

  Alexander Gardner's photo of President Lincoln and Army of the Potomac commander George McClellan.

  Library of Congress

• Lincoln at 5th Corps Headquarters

  

  Gardner captured this photo of Abraham Lincoln, George McClellan, and other Union officers on October 1, 1862 near the Stephen P. Grove farm.

  Library of Congress

• The Lonely Grave

  

  Alexander Gardner took this photo of Union soldiers standing by the new grave of a comrade on the Antietam Battlefield. This site is not far from the NPS Visitor Center.

  Library of Congress

• Emancipation Proclamation

  

  Despite ending in a draw, the Battle of Antietam gave Lincoln his opportunity to debut the Emancipation Proclamation - a document that would fundamentally alter the strategic nature of the Civil War.

  National Archives

• Growing Popularity of the Battlefield

  

  This photo, taken in the 1920s, shows a new Lincoln automobile touring the Antietam Battlefield. A battlefield observation tower is in the background.

  Library of Congress