Remembering A Monumental Battle

Antietam is the site known where the bloodiest day of the U.S. Civil War occurred. What happened September 17, 1862, when American stood against American, is worth remembering today as lawmakers and courts continually whittle away at the meaning of this nation's Bill of Rights and politicians polarize the nation.

On that day, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan confronted Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia near Sharpsburg, Md. Each year, to commemorate this monumental struggle, an event known as the Antietam National Battlefield Memorial Illumination takes place. A single light is illuminated to represent each of the 23,110 casualties suffered that day as Union and Confederate forces struggled.

Here are some images, and impressions, courtesy of Bitter at The Bitch Girls.

Editor's Note: Private Johnny Cook, a bugler with Battery B, 4th U.S., was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Antietam when he was only 15 years old. It makes me wonder today when I hear young people say "politics isn't my thing" or "it doesn't involve me" to describe why they won't get involved in civil rights issues. Too busy listening to the iPod and texting their friends I guess.