A Visit to Antietam

I took advantage of the beautifully cool, crisp weather on Sunday to drive out to Sharpsburg and visit the Antietam National Memorial, site of the bloodiest day in American history. In the span of about 12 hours, somewhere around 23,000 men lost their lives on September 18, 1862 in a swarm of bullets and cannon fire. The place is remarkably beautiful and tranquil, which only adds to the eerieness that surrounds it. I walked by the corn field where so many men died that morning, and realizied that this field would have been strewn with bodies 142 years ago to the day of my visit.

Here's some photos of how the place appeared both today and back then.