Antietam offers the expected National Park Service experience for those who wish to make a one day visit. There is a film and a museum in the visitor\'s center, and a driving tour that gives an overview of the battle. There are, however, other resources available that can be used to support an extended visit.

Alternate Tour

The Luvaas & Nelson Guide to the Battle of Antietam (see the references section below) provides a more detailed tour of the battle, including the approaches to South Mountain.

Walking Trails

There are a number of walking trails in the park. Booklets describing a number of them are available in the Visitor\'s Center gift shop for $2 each. These trails offer perspectives not attainable in the driving tours. The shorter trails are from 1 to 1.7 miles in length, and are not paved or handicapped accessible. The following list is not complete, but covers most of the shorter ones:

• The Cornfield Trail
  on the north end of the battlefield, which examines the early morning attcks on the Confederate right.
• The Bloody Lane Trail
  which examines the attacks later in the morning in the center
• The Union Advance Trail
  which examines the Union attacks attempting to force the Lower Bridge
• The Final Attack Trail
  which examines the final attack on the Confederate left after the crossing of the Lower Bridge was forced

Other Books

Of the available books, Sear\'s Landscape Turned Red is the most recent single volume history. Murfin\'s older single volume, The Gleam of Bayonets remains in print and is still a quite readable account of the battle. More recent scholarship which comes to some different conclusions may be found in Harsh\'s Taken at the Flood. Finally, Richard Slotkin's new The Long Road To Antietam provides an overview of the campaigns in Virginia and Maryland in 1862, from the Peninsula to Antietam, with a focus on the interactions between the military and political situations at the time, providing worthwhile framing for many of the choices made by McClellan and Lincoln.

When Lee marched his army north of the Potomac after Second Manassas, McClellan (restored to command) reacted much more quickly than Lee expected. Lee was forced to pull his dispersed army back together at Sharpsburg, Maryland and prepare for a defensive battle. The Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day of the Civil War. Intense fighting characterized the battle. Lee\'s forces barely held on, aided by their position which provided the advantages of interior lines.

The Federal attacks started from their right flank, against the Confederate left. First Hooker\'s 1st Corps, then Mansfield\'s 12th Corps, would attack south through the Cornfield and meet strong opposition from the Confederates. They attacked further west than had been intended; if they had aligned correctly according to McClellan\'s plan, they instead would have attacked the Sunken Road (later "Bloody Lane").

The next set of attacks came from Sumner\'s 2nd Corps, and were directed at the Sunken Road (the place Hooker and Mansfield were supposed to attack). Confederate forces here were stretched quite thin, but the natural strength of their position allowed them to hold on for quite some time.

The final attacks came from Burnside\'s 9th Corp, at the lower of the three bridges over Antietam Creek. Again, Confederate forces were very thin, but their defensive position was strong, and it took several attempts for Burnside\'s troops to break through. Burnside would then make good progress against the weak Confederate right flank, until A. P. Hill\'s Division of Lee\'s army arrived from Harper\'s ferry, striking Burnside\'s forces in the left flank and rolling up the Federal forces.

If the Army of the Potomac had been better coordinated, McClellan still might have succeeded in annihilating Lee\'s forces, but the progressive attacks on Lee\'s lines were too far apart in time, and Lee was able to recover from attacks and shift forces as needed. The result was a tactical draw, after which Lee withdrew from the field and recrossed the Potomac River to return to Virginia.