Digital Learning Commons: Civil War: Antietam, September 1862

Resources

Antietam: A Savage Day In American History
In September of 1862, Union and Confederate troops clashed at the crossroads town of Sharpsburg, Md. The Battle of Antietam remains the bloodiest single day in American history.

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Bowman, Tom. “Antietam: A Savage Day In American History.” NPR, National Public Radio, 27 Sept. 2012, www.npr.org/2012/09/17/161248814/antietam-a-savage-day-in-american-history.
Antietam: Letters and Diaries of Soldiers and Civilians
These primary sources retain the wording, spelling, punctuation, and lack of punctuation as written by the eyewitnesses of the Battle of Antietam and those who experienced its aftermath.

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“Antietam: Letters and Diaries of Soldiers and Civilians.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 3 Aug. 2018, www.nps.gov/anti/learn/education/classrooms/antietam-letters-and-diaries-of-soldiers-and-civilians.htm.
Antietam on the Web
Focuses on the people who participated in the battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg).
At Antietam, Desperate, Bloody Battle Led to a Civil War Turning Point
On the morning of Sept. 17, 1862, the feet of thousands of desperate soldiers hurried across the ancient rock. Some men fell and bled on it. Bullets and shells flew over it. And somewhere nearby toppled the Lone Star flag of the 1st Texas Infantry Regiment.

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Ruane, Michael E. “At Antietam, Desperate, Bloody Battle Led to a Civil War Turning Point.” The Washington Post, 8 Sept. 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/local/at-antietam-desperate-bloody-battle-led-to-a-civil-war-turning-point/2012/09/06/40bf0b02-f32b-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7336ea7f9ea2.
The Battle of Antietam: The Civil War Drenches America In Blood
September 17, 1862 dawned with two armies poised for battle near the small Maryland town of Sharpsburg, near Antietam Creek. The combatants, Americans all, would fight and die en masse. Before the sun set more American soldiers would die there than on any other day in any other place in the nation’s history.

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Bandow, Doug. “The Battle of Antietam: The Civil War Drenches America In Blood.” Forbes, 17 Sept. 2012, www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2012/09/17/the-battle-of-antietam-the-civil-war-drenches-america-in-blood/.
Battle of Antietam Facts and Summary
Concise overview of the Battle of Shiloh. Also includes links to related resources such as maps, military bios, videos, and pictures.
The Battle of Antietam Official Records and Battle Description
Official records and descriptions from the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Antietam.

Highly Recommended | Primary Source | Multimedia

Battle Map

Dig deeper and search the Digital Maine Library databases for the names and geographic areas below.

George McClellan	Robert E. Lee	Sunken Road / Bloody Lane
Ambrose Burnside	James Longstreet	Burnside's Bridge
Matthew Brady / "The Dead of Antietam"	Stonewall Jackson	Cornfield

Databases

Research your topic using these Digital Maine Library databases to find scholarly, authoritative, and accurate resources.

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Podcasts

Mr. Stroud's History Class - Antietam (1 hour 5 minutes)
Former history professor discusses the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history.

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Stroud, David. “Antietam.” Mr. Stroud’s History Class, Listen Notes, 29 Oct. 2018, www.listennotes.com/search/?ocid=cdf2cc55363445e0877a65ce3e392126&q=antietam.
Key Battles of the Civil War - Antietam (53 minutes)
Scott Rank, PhD, discusses the Battle of Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American history, with a total of 22,717 dead, wounded or missing. It came after Lee thwarted McClellan's plans to lay siege to the Confederate capitol of Richmond and tried to seize the momentum by crossing north into Maryland.

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Rank, Scott. “Episode 7: The Battle of Antietam.” Key Battles of the Civil War, Speaker, 11 Feb. 2019, www.spreaker.com/user/10740198/key-battles-in-the-civil-war-podcast-ep0_8.
The History Files #30: The Battle of Antietam (42 minutes)
Historian Gordon Frye looks at the Battle of Antietam and General Lee’s attempt to bring the fight to the North.

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Frye, Gordon. “The Battle of Antietam.” The History Files, CSICON FM, 27 Sept. 2015, https://podbay.fm/p/the-history-files/e/1443386952.
Antietam: The Battle for Freedom (56 minutes)
The crucial Civil War Battle of Antietam in 1862 not only pitted General Robert E. Lee against General George B. McClellan in bitterly contested Union territory, it unleashed the bloodiest single day of combat in American history. Most consequentially of all, it was fought with the very future of the American Union and black freedom at stake.

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Marszalek, John, et al. “Antietam: The Battle for Freedom.” New-York Historical Society Museum and Library, New-York Historical Society, 26 Sept. 2018, itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/antietam-the-battle-for-freedom/id385559377?i=1000422998173&mt=2.