Battle of Antietam program Sept. 13 at presidential museum
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[September 06, 2012]
SPRINGFIELD -- "The Battle of
Antietam," the fourth in a series of military history programs
featuring the major battles of the Civil War, will be presented
Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Union Theater at the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Museum in Springfield. The program is part of Illinois'
observance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
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Dr. Mark DePue, ALPLM historian, will offer a PowerPoint
presentation on the Battle of Antietam, with quotes from Civil War
veterans, maps, photographs and illustrations. ALPLM historian Bryon
Andreasen will close the presentation with a brief discussion on how
the Union victory at Antietam convinced President Lincoln to go
forward with announcing the Emancipation Proclamation. A
question-and-answer session will follow the presentation. The
program is free and open to the public, but advance reservations are
requested and can be made by calling 217-558-8934.
The museum's Illinois Gallery, featuring the temporary exhibit
"To Kill and to Heal: Weapons and Medicine of the Civil War," will
be open for public viewing that evening from 6 to 7.
The Battle of Antietam marked one of the crucial turning points
of the Civil War. On Sept. 17, 1862, two armies clashed on the banks
of Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Md. The pompous yet charismatic
Gen. George McClellan commanded the Union forces; the Confederates
served under the highly venerated Gen. Robert E. Lee. McClellan was
filled with confidence that day due to a stroke of luck -- one of
his soldiers had discovered Lee's battle plans wrapped around a
packet of cigars. The ensuing battle led to the bloodiest day in
American military history. The casualty rate on both sides was
staggering, but the tenuous Union victory soon allowed President
Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, changing the purpose
of the war in profound ways.
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Other Civil War Sesquicentennial military history programs are
scheduled at the presidential museum through 2015. The battle of
Fredericksburg will be covered later in 2012; Chancellorsville,
Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Chattanooga will be featured
in 2013; programs on the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, Kennesaw
Mountain and Atlanta, and the siege of Petersburg will occur in
2014; and the pursuit to Appomattox and Lee's surrender will wrap up
the series in 2015.
Visit
www.presidentlincoln.org for more information about the
presidential library's "Boys in Blue" exhibit, the Civil War exhibit
"To Kill and to Heal" at the presidential museum, and other events
at the library and museum.
[Text from
Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
file received from the
Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency]
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