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2019 Wimbledon Tennis Championships

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Mapping the Civil War: Antietam and South Mountain

The National Archives Cartographic Branch holds many maps relating to Civil War battlefields. Today we’re highlighting some maps relating to the battles of Antietam and South Mountain. 

The battle of Antietam is remembered as bloodiest single day in American history. By the end of September 17, 1862, after twelve hours of intense fighting, over 23,000 soldiers were dead, wounded, captured, or missing. Both armies remained in position after the fighting subsided. Although most historians view the battle as a draw, Confederate forces retreated from the battlefield on the night of September 18, allowing the Union Army to claim victory. President Abraham Lincoln used this Union victory as an opportunity to issue a preliminary version of his Emancipation Proclamation, a document which altered the purpose of the war from just preserving to Union to also include ending slavery.

Many of the Cartographic Branch’s Civil War maps, including those focusing on Antietam and South Mountain, can be found within various series of Record Group (RG) 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. Battle maps can be found with the Civil Works Map File (CWMF) series. The maps within the CWMF series are filed according to the agency’s filing scheme. Maryland maps are mainly filed under the letter “F.”  This includes several maps of the Antietam battlefield that were annotated from information obtained from commanding officers to show battle lines, locations of regiments and artillery, and headquarters.

To view additional maps related to the battles of Antietam, South Mountain, and many others, try searching our catalog to view digitized items or plan a visit in person to the Cartographic Research Room in College Park, Maryland.

For additional information about Civil War Maps at the National Archives, see A Guide to Civil War Maps in the National Archives (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1986).

Read more at Mapping the Civil War: Antietam and South Mountain | The Unwritten Record

This day, September 17th, marks the bloodiest day in American history.  In 1862, the Union and Confederate armies fought a day long battle for the control of Sharpsburg, Maryland at Antietam Creek. It was a brutal battle with the end result of Robert E. Lee saving his army from destruction.  But it was a very close run fight, and Lee maintained the battlefield long enough to retreat back into Virginia and bring to a close his first offensive on northern soil.

There were over 22,000 casualties this day with over 3,600 dead on the battlefield.  Many more would succumb to their wounds over the next few days.  Iconic photos of the dead taken in the aftermath of the battle would forever change the way Americans viewed the conflict. 

Incredible photograph of Confederates passing through Frederick, Maryland before the Battle of Antietam, September 12, 1862.

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