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Witness to Battle:
The story of September 17, 1862, as told through the paintings of James Hope and objects from the battle.
The soldiers who fought here, these witnesses to battle, recorded for posterity their impressions of Antietam.
Captain James Hope, 2nd Vermont Infantry, sketched much of the Battle of Antietam as it unfolded before him. After the war, Hope rendered a series of panoramic paintings based on his sketches and interviews with veterans. Each painting illustrates a major phase of the day's struggle.
Other soldiers left diaries, letters, weapons, equipment, and bits of clothing as tangible reminders of moments of fear, valor, and everyday soldier life. Such bits and pieces of individual memories help historians piece together the mosaic of our past. These remnants bear witness to just one terrible day in a four-year struggle to define a nation. |