Antietam National Cemetery

ANTIETAM - Sharpsburg, MD - The Bloodiest One Day Battle in American History, 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. Antietam ended the Confederate invasion into the North and led to Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. Executive Order issued by President Abraham Lincoln freeing all those enslaved in Confederate territory. 20-50,000 were immediately freed in regions where rebellion had been subdued already. Preliminary draft (unsigned) issued Sep. 22, 1862. 150 years ago, New Year's Day 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. The war measure had been publicly announced by Lincoln the previous September following the Battle of Antietam. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation stipulated that any rebellious state that came back to the Union by January 1, 1863, would not be subject to the emancipation policies delineated within the document. None of the Confederate states chose to meet that deadline.

The cemetary is the last stop on the self drive tour of the Antietam Battlefield. The whole experience is very nice, rivals Gettysburg. Make sure you catch the video in the visitors center to start your trip off right.