Between 1860-1865, the U. S. was engaged in a Civil War between the North and the South. It was unprecedented in its use of photography to document the various aspects of war. This picture is the bloody battle of Antietam. The photo was taken by Alexander Gardner displaying the horrific tragedy that occurred at the battle of Antietam. Since the battle was declared over, now the battleground is a place to go and look around at the battlefield. It was a very hard fought battle on both sides, and each General had very good qualities that will be further explained in the body paragraphs below.
Speaking of the body paragraphs, they will discuss the photo in more depth and detail about the very gruesome battle of Antietam. Also the articles that were collected have very interesting facts and details not only about the battle but after the battle as well. Now continue to the body paragraphs and enjoy learning about the bona fide strategic, emotional, and inspirational battle of Antietam. To start, my first impressions on this very sorrowful picture are that the men that are alive and well look very serious and upset about what they have done which is very understandable.
Also while looking at the battlefield it is very rough and torn up which exemplifies that is was a very rough battle. It shows that the men that fought in the battle were very dauntless. Another impression I have is that it gives off a very lonely vibe. For example, all of the soldiers in the photo are all standing over the dead bodies looking at them and others in the background carrying troops that have been killed in the warfare. The troops that are alive also look miserable.
They all have very large sweat stains due to the scorching heat because of the summer sun, and have to do such difficult work by putting the dead bodies in the trench. To add, the battle of Antietam took place in the year of 1862, and is known as one of the bloodiest single day battles in Civil War history. In the end it was won by the Union by the use of their strategic ideas. From the text of the Dictionary of American History it states that, ” The battle of Antietam took place on 17 September 1862. With an estimated 23,000 total casualties, It was the bloodiest single-day battle of the American Civil War. ” (pg. )(Dictionary of American History)
This article really helps the reader comprehend tragedy that this war has caused, just knowing that over half of all the men enlisted in the battle have all died is horrible. Also knowing that the person who took to picture must be looking at what happened on the battlefield, and is thinking that the events that happened are horrible. So from the information provided, this war was a bloody and very determined war for both sides. My own analysis of the battle, after doing more research on the battle of Antietam was not only a bloody war and a deadly war, but it was hard fought.
In the war there was a man named T. J. Jackson, he was a very brave and would never give up on battle even if T. I. knew he would lose. Hence the nickname he received “Stonewall Jackson” information to prove that he was a very brave and determined man to win the battle. ” Lee heard that jackson had captured Harper’s Ferry and made the bold decision to stand and fight. “(pg. 3)(Dictionary of American History) This information about this battle was very inspiring. What T. J. decided to do and stay and fight was very brave.
Not only was this stand brave, but made a very big impact on the civil war because it was a huge win for the north because it was one of the first battles on Northern soil. Also that’s why one would believe, the people in the photo are all looking sad but also proud of themselves that they believed they could stay, fight, and win. “The battlefield ground is now known as a national battlefield by an act of congress on august 30 August 1890. ” Now the park is ran by the National park services. The park receives more than 280,000 people that visit the park each year.
This really surprised me that so many people were so interested in the war and that they all care enough about it to beg go and visit the memorial site. In conclusion, After all the research that’s been done, one could have learned a ton about the importance of this battle. The main idea that one should get out of this essay is that the battle of Antietam is so sad, and should be a very memorable event for everyone. Also the battle is very important because it was thee first battle to be fought on Northern soil.
Which was a very big deal for the Union. To summarize the three main points of my essay were that in the f my first impression of the photo was more sad and demoralizing, but after the research I found out that not was it only sad and demoralizing, but it’s leaders of both sides had lots of strategic ideas, and were both very brave. So with all of the information provided hopefully the reader is now filled with this knowledge about this very historic battle that was a very big moment for the Union, and hopefully after reading this one might want to read and research more about this battle, also looking at the picture and will give the readers his or her own impressions.