September 17, A Date that Should be Remembered

We are approaching September 17, a date that should be remembered more than it is, especially in Maryland.

Besides being the date on which the U.S. Constitution was signed by delegates in Philadelphia is 1789, it is the date on which it could easily be argued that the United States was saved in 1862.

Some might think that the date on which the most Americans were killed was 9/11/2001, or perhaps Pearl Harbor Day or D-Day. They would be wrong. More Americans died on September 17, 1862, at the Battle of Antietam, than on any other day in history.

In September 1862 many felt that all that was needed to end the existence of the United States was one more victory by Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Recognition of the Confederate government by England and France would follow and with it the end of the U.S. as we know it.

Despite poor leadership by Union generals, the bravery of U.S. soldiers prevented a Confederate victory and allowed Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation five days later. That ended all possibility of European recognition as Great Britain and France didn't want to support a Confederate government whose very existence was based on expanding slavery.

Each year 23,000 luminaries are lit on the Antietam battlefield to commemorate the number of casualties on that one day of September 17. Perhaps more importantly, the existence and future of the United States is the commemoration of the Battle of Antietam.