behind AotW

One of the most moving experiences you can have anywhere is driving through the battlefield during the annual Antietam Memorial Illumination. This year the tradition returns on Saturday, December 5th to the Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland.

On that evening, volunteers will light over 23,000 luminaries – candles in small paper bags – distributed across the Park to represent each of the soldiers who were casualties on that ground on 17 September 1862.

New AotW member Tim Dicke has sent us some of his photographs from last year’s event. It can be tricky to capture any kind of image of those little flickering lights, but Tim has done a fine job of illustrating something of what it’s like at the Illumination.

Vermont Brigade Cannon

Bloody Lane

Mumma Farm

Battlefield

New York Monument

Maryland Monument

Dunker Church

Thanks, Tim!

If you can get to the Battlefield, you owe it to yourself to see this display. Get an idea what what a number like 23,000 looks like.

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For more details about this year’s event, see the Park Service Illumination page.