On the first Saturday of December, the Civil War historic site at Antietam National Battlefield in M
On the first Saturday of December, the Civil War historic site at Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland, holds their annual Memorial Illumination event. Over 23,000 luminaries will light the battlefield this evening–each luminary representing a casualty from the Battle of Antietam that took place on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederacy’s first major invasion of the North and gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. From the battlefields to the home front, the cost of the war was steep and its lessons eternal. It’s hard to imagine the horror that ravaged this Maryland community when you walk the now peaceful fields. Today, these Civil War historic sites help us better understand our tragic past. Photo by Ted Fryberger (sharetheexperience.org). Photo description: A view of a large, sculpted marble arch, looks out into a dark cemetery lit by individual candles. A small white house is in the distance. -- source link
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