20th Annual Antietam Battlefield Memorial Illumination

The 20th annual Antietam Battlefield Memorial Illumination ceremony took place this past weekend, with 23,110 candles lit at the battlefield to commemorate those killed, wounded, and missing in this gruesome fight 146 years ago.
What a striking and poignant way to remember the men that fought at Antietam. The photos you can view here capture the scope and scale of the fight, but also recognize the energy and fire of the individual.
Be sure to check Antietam Park Ranger Mannie Gentile's blog for more images of this year's celebration. You can also click here and here for more images and video clips.

Civil War Network, Episode Two

I spent some time with The Civil War Network when episode 2 became available, and just like with episode 1, I am thrilled with what Francis Rose has generated. Episode 2 hit my traveling jones right on the head, The Jess and I are looking forward to a robust battlefield sojourn sometime in the next year or two, and this episode certainly laid the foundation.
To start off, Childs Burton introduced yet another annual conference I would love to attend, the Conference on the Art of Command in the Civil War. The 11th meeting was this past weekend and focuses on the Battle of Antietam, check out the speakers! Talk about your who's who of Antietam experts.
The second segment went away from Civil War travel and into the role of religion in the Civil War. This was a brisk conversation with Father Bob Miller, the author of "Both Prayed to the Same God" and touched on, however briefly, some vital themes in the motivations of ACW soldiers.
Getting back on the theme of Civil War destinations, Susan Trail, the superintendant of Monocacy National Battlefield Park, spoke about the state of the park and how the battle is interpreted there. She was followed by Waite Rawls, president of the Museum of the Confederacy, who discussed the controversial decision to set up several satellite facilities to the primary museum in Richmond, VA (though he doesn't want them to be called "satellite").
The standout of this episode was the interview with Don Pierce, who runs a resource that is going to be an integral part of our trip east called Civil War Traveler. Maps, tours, podcasts, you name it, it's here and it's free.
In my previous post, I touched on having various resources made available in a standardized fashion at all battlefield parks, this is the sort of thing I was referring to.

The Anniversary Of The Battle Of Antietam

Today is the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, fought September 17th, 1862 near the town of Sharpsburg, MD along the Antietam River. It is the costliest single-day battle in American history, with over 23,000 casualties, and was the springboard for President Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Jess and I haven't been to the field yet (though it's at the top of the list for our east coast swing), but here is a link to the National Park Service website for you to enjoy. As we mark this day, here is an interview with James McPherson from NPR's archives discussing the battle and its aftereffects. During my NPR archives search, I found this interesting segment about a pocketsize copy of the Emancipation Proclamation that was issued to soldiers in early 1863. I've actually seen one of these, our friend and fellow book collector Paul has this item in his collection. Talk about holding a piece of history!

Amazing Battlefield Interpretation

The anniversary of the Battle of Antietam is a few weeks away, and I just found the most incredible interpretation of a key part of the battle (thanks to Eric Wittenburg for the tip). This fantastic construct was put together by Ranger Mannie Gentile at his blog "My Year of Living Rangerously."
This needs no editorial comment from me, just check it out and let the learning begin. Welcome to the fight for the Sunken Road!