Today, Rosh Hashanah falls on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, the single bloodiest day of conflict for American troops in U.S. history. Yes, that's counting D-day. But without this catastrophic clash in Maryland, could Lincoln have ever issued the Emancipation Proclamation? http://bit.ly/V3CQW9
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Sounds like a good book, Fran. More than any other state, Maryland got caught right in the middle between the diehard secessionists and a determined Union. I saw an illuminating exhibition about this -- I think it's called "A State Divided" -- at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. The result, of course, was internal tensions, the stationing of Union troops everywhere, the wholesale imprisonment of the Maryland legislature, both sides' troops constantly marching through (and sometimes staying in) towns, and battles at Antietam, Monocacy, Boonsboro, and elsewhere.
My mother's family is from Frederick, so all of the Maryland/PA aspects of the Civil War resonate with me. The book, "Too Afraid to Cry" tells the story of the civilians in the area throughout the war through diaries, letters, and other documents. Absolutely riveting. It is the story of my people!
Vincent, with 23,000 casualties in a country with just 30 million people, virtually everyone in the country knew people who were wounded, crippled, or killed in that single day's battle. Jose, in a word, yes.
Three uncles of my wife's great great grandmother on the Irish side of the family fought in Antietam and only one came back alive.