The Fog of War

THE BATTLE FOG AT ANTIETAM

The sulphur smoke of the guns. covering the field like a sea mist, tells us today as clearly as it told the photographer on September 17, 1862, that a battle is in progress off to the right. It was indeed the bloodiest single day's action of the war, and there probably exists no finer picture of an actual engagement than this remarkable photograph. At the moment of exposure the firing must have been terrific. Down in the meadow are seen the caissons of the artillery; the guns are engaged less than a quarter of a mile away.

The battlefield of Antietam was the first that remained in complete possession of the Union troops since the disasters that began to overtake them after Fair Oaks in June. On Antietam were staked the Confederate hopes for the conquest of Maryland. The battle proved, however, to be the turning-point in establishing the sovereignty of the Union. Lincoln had awaited a Union victory to justify a proclamation of emancipation. This he issued September 22, 1862, almost before the sound of the mighty battle had died away.