Antietam National Military Park is located near Sharpsburg, Maryland, right on the Potomac River, about an hour northwest of Washington D.C.  In the South this battle was referred to as Sharpsburg because the Confederacy normally named battles after the nearest town, whereas the North frequently named them after the nearest geographical feature, in this case Antietam Creek.  Antietam was significant because it was one of the few bright spots for the Union Army during the first...