Resident Lincoln General George McClellan at Antietam
The President, with his top hat by his side, is leaning on a table covered with the union flag. However, under McClellan’s bed on the left hand side, you can see a confederate flag that presumably had been saved as a souvenir of his victory! Such is human nature.
The Cost of War: Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862
The bloodiest day in American history
Quite apart from viewing the individual pictures illustrating the civil war, it is important to remember the massive misery and pain that the conflict caused. The human toll of war should never be glossed over.
The battle of Antietam MD (called Sharpsburg by the South) produced a staggering number of casualties on both sides. The number of Union soldiers killed was around 2,100 and the number of Confederates who died was estimated to be 1,550.
Casualties normally is taken to also include the wounded and the missing/ captured. When these are added, the totals become 12,400 from the Union army and 10,320 from the Confederate forces. In one day!
And each of those people had families and friends who would mourn their loss.
And to add to the horror of Thomas Jackson’s times, it also worth remembering that about 2/3 of the 620,000 who men who lost their lives in the civil war died from disease, not battle!
This photo has been colorized to reinforce its impact for most modern viewers. The original is available from the Library of Congress.
Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. LC-DIG-cwpb-04351