On September 17, 1862, the fields near Sharpsburg, Maryland, became the setting for the bloodiest single day in American history. In this debut episode of Battlefield Journal, we explore the Battle of Antietam - its causes, the leaders, the brutal clashes in the Cornfield, Bloody Lane, and Burnside’s Bridge, and the outcome that changed the course of the Civil War.

Learn how a single battle halted Robert E. Lee’s invasion of the North and gave President Lincoln the confidence to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

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New free episodes drop every first Thursday of the month.