Antietam National Battlefield, site of one of the most pivotal and devastating battles in the Civil War, is in Sharpsburg. After 12 hours of savage fighting on September 17, 1862, 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or left missing -- it was the bloodiest day of the war. About 87,000 Union troops commanded by Gen. George B. McClellan had intercepted 40,000 of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s invading Confederate troops. The Union victory led to Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Three national parks and two state parks are within a dozen miles of Sharpsburg. The 184-mile long C&O Canal towpath passes near the town.

Visit the Sharpsburg web site.