Antietam - herald-mail.com

The Civil War

It has been 150 years since the first shot of the Civil War was fired at Fort Sumter, S.C.

With the beginning of hostilities on April 12, 1861, North was pitted against South, brother against brother, fathers against sons.

Maryland, both by geography and the sentiments of its residents, was a border state.

Troops from both sides passed through the Tri-State area with some frequency, skirmishes and battles were won and lost, and the Union and Confederate armies clashed along a creek in Washington County in the bloodiest single day of the war.

In observance of the 150th anniversary of the onset of the Civil War, The Herald-Mail has prepared a package of stories and photos, and a map of events, designed to offer a glimpse back at those tumultuous days.

View our Civil War places and Antietam Farmsteads slideshows.

Newest stories

Documentary to shed light on annual Antietam illumination

"Gods and Generals" author Jeff Shaara announced Monday he would match up to $5,000 in contributions to help fund a documentary about the...

This Week in The Civil War, 150 Years Ago

On May 16, 1863, Union and Confederate forces clashed at the Battle of Champion Hill in Mississippi, dueling with artillery and rifle fire.

More stories

Restored Civil War cannons returned to Doubleday Hill Civil War cannons that occupied Doubleday Hill in Williamsport from the late 1800s until they were removed in 2000 returned to their home...	Author shares ghostly encounters near Antietam National Battlefield and Gettysburg Dead Civil War soldiers showing up at re-enactments and a camera that predicts people’s deaths were among the stories told at the site...
Website chronicles lives of African-Americans in Civil War In May 1862, Robert Ford was captured by Confederate soldiers and sent to the officers’ jail in Richmond, Va., known as Libby Prison.	Two renowned Civil War historians draw 500 to Antietam's visitors center After Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson spoke to a large crowd about the Battle of Antietam for about 45 minutes Sunday...
Civil War historian talks about human side of conflict There was “Crazy Betsy,” a Richmond, Va., woman who pulled off her job as a successful Union spy by acting like an insane...	Civil War spies tell their stories These gals were wiley.
Franklin County looks to play a part in Civil War anniversary celebration Stacked in every nook of the Franklin County (Pa.) Visitors Bureau office are brochures related to the ongoing commemoration of the Civil...	Reliving the Battle of Antietam Thousands of people took up positions next to the rolling farm fields of Legacy Manor Farm off Bakersville Road on Saturday, waiting for...
Effort under way to bring Civil War cannons back to Williamsport If Scott Bragunier has his way, cannon tubes that sat for more than a century on Doubleday Hill, a spot in Riverview Cemetery named for...	Visitors reflect on the day, 150 years ago, wagon road at Antietam earned name Bloody Lane It is little more than a long, narrow depression in the ground — an old sunken wagon road that has been smoothed and altered by time.
Event culminates with remembrance ceremony honoring those who died at Antietam 150 years ago A fitting way to cap off this past weekend’s events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, a remembrance...	150th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Antietam vignettes People from throughout the United States showed up Saturday at the site of the 150th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Antietam....
On 150th anniversary of battle, those who fell at Antietam are remembered The men who lost their lives in a horrific battle 150 years ago to the day Monday were honored and their families were remembered by...	'Gettysburg' star gives living-history presentation of Gen. A.P. Hill Patrick Falci, who played Gen. A.P. Hill in the movie “Gettysburg,” gave a living-history presentation of his role Saturday at...
General pays tribute to the soldiers who fought in Battle of Antietam On a small stage near a country church that witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting in American history, a U.S. Army general told several...	Farmsteads dot Antietam National Battlefield landscape It has been spared the fate of some Civil War battlefields — those that have been marred with fast-food restaurants, souvenir shops...
In the Cornfield, Antietam re-enactors experience calm before the storm Jeffrey Baldwin spent Sunday night in the Cornfield at Antietam National Battlefield with about 40 other people and nothing but a blanket,...	Sisters in arms found their way to war Editor’s note: Tim Rowland is a Herald-Mail columnist and the author of “Strange and Obscure Stories of the...
Antietam 150th anniversary event in the planning stages for two years Workers at Antietam National Battlefield had to be out as early as 5:30 a.m. Monday.	Sally Tomkins was the Angel of the Confederacy While Clara Barton treated the Union wounded on the battlefields of the Civil War, Sally Tomkins ran a hospital for the Confederacy in...
VIDEO: Highlights of Battle of Antietam 150th anniversary re-enactments	Students catch glimpse of life during Civil War Kristy Tarner of Halfway was among a group of Springfield Middle School students at the Sesquicentennial Antietam Reenactment site Friday...
Re-enactors relive Battle of Antietam with bone-jarring intensity Those attending Sunday’s re-creation of the Battle of Antietam got a feel for what it was like for Sharpsburg-area residents to hear...	Seen and heard at the re-enactment site People came from far and wide Friday to the site of this weekend’s Sesquicentennial Antietam Reenactment at Legacy Manor Farm off...