WKU Historians Discuss the Significance of the Battle of Antietam

One-hundred-fifty years ago this week, Union and Confederate forces met for one of the deadliest single day battles in American history. The Battle of Antietam took place in Maryland, after Confederate commander Robert E. Lee decided to move north from Virginia. The battle is remembered for high casualty figures and graphic photographs that increased public awareness about the death and suffering caused by the fighting.

WKU Military Historian Jack Thacker and Dr. Glenn LaFantasie of the WKU Institute for Civil War Studies say the battle also played a key role in President Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.