Another Anniversary

Tomorrow marks the 148th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, infamously known as the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. The battle took place near Sharpsburg, Maryland and Antietam Creek. Southerners refer to the battle by the town,whereas Northerners refer to it by the creek. The battle claimed 23,000 casualties. General McClellan confronted General Lee after the Confederates gained control of Harper's Ferry, Virginia two days prior (the anniversary of this event happened yesterday).

Among several remarkable landmarks that still exist at this battlefield site are the "Sunken Road," "Dunker Church," and "Burnside Bridge," where the fighting was so heavy that dying soldiers on the bridge bloodied the creek beneath until the water ran red. The battle was ultimately declared a draw, but President Lincoln saw it as an opportunity to publicly announce his Emancipation Proclamation, which became law the following January in 1863. Regardless, the battle also led to McClellan's dismissal as Major General of the Army of the Potomac.

The National Park Service has announced several free admission dates, which include the Antietam National Military Park. Upcoming dates are next Saturday, September 25, and November 11, which is Veterans' Day. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity. Antietam is a national treasure, and once you see it, you will forever be impressed.

Black America (And How It Almost Never Was)

We all know that the Civil War evolved into a war to end slavery. But that isn't how it began. Although he was an abolitionist at heart, President Lincoln was against freeing the slaves. His main intention was to preserve the Union, period. He thought it would be best for the nation if slavery was allowed to exist in slave states, and free states remained free. This had to do with westward expansion, as the South wanted to keep slavery in newly established states for free labor purposes.

Lincoln originally opposed emancipation, and refused to move on the slavery issue. "I would do it if I were not afraid that half the officers would fling down their arms and three more States would rise," he said. "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."

The President backed a plan that called for paying slave owners $400 for each slave that was freed. He also favored sending the freedmen to separate colonies in Africa and South America. In essence, he wanted to do to them what was done to the American Indians. Because Frederick Douglas spoke so adamantly against it, Lincoln was forced to back down on that issue.

Freeing the slaves was essentially an act to undermine the Confederate economy, and although Lincoln personally felt slavery was wrong, he avoided emancipation until the Union had a decisive victory, which didn't happen until the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) in 1862. That fall, he made his Emancipation Proclamation public, and on January 1, 1863, it was put into effect. That is, only in the southern states, where Lincoln really had no influence. In fact, the proclamation didn't apply to slaves in northern states, and in Illinois, Lincoln's home state, freed blacks weren't allowed into the state at all.