Tomorrow will mark the 150th Anniversary of the bloodiest one day battle of the Civil War and of all American history—the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland, which took more loss of life than even D Day on June 6, 1944.
Almost 23,000 casualties on both sides occurred on September 17, 1862–with almost 3,700 dead, and 17,200 wounded and 1,800 captured or missing.
The total losses that day surpassed double the total of the entirety of the War Of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Spanish American War combined!
This battle stopped the Confederate advance further north than it had ever been in the war, and only the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 saw a further advance, also stopped by the Union Army.
The battle decided that the British and French would hold off on recognition of the Confederacy, and also led to the decision of Abraham Lincoln to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
This author was fortunate to have visited the Antietam Battlefield in 2011, and today, there is a reenactment of the battle being conducted, and being covered by C Span 3, an excellent source for American history on a regular basis.
Visiting Antietam would sober anyone as to the loss of life, and yet, the principles being fought about during the Civil War, which led to such massive deaths, would be better understood!