Antietam: Re-enacting a bloody 1862 US Civil War battle The
Civil War Battle of Antietam was one of the bloodiest days in
American history, with 23,000 dead, wounded or missing in a
matter of hours. One hundred fifty years later, a group gathered
to remember the battle - by re-enacting it. The US Army
artillery battery fires round after round dozens of feet from
me, and within minutes my ears are ringing and the shock waves
have made my heart flutter. Across the battlefield squads of men
in blue uniform line up just yards from others wearing grey. The
sides exchange volleys of rifle and musket fire. The air grows
thick with smoke. Men fall to the ground. The spectacle is
dreadful, and anxiety washes over me. But the men are not really
dead, of course. They're re-enacting a battle of the American
Civil War, for their own amusement, while hundreds of spectators
look on. The Battle of Antietam took place 150 years ago last
week near a small town in the state of Maryland, 55 miles (89km)
from Washington DC. From