Antietam National Battlefield Memorial Illumination

Once the sun sets, the Antietam National Battlefield is enveloped in darkness. Each December, for one day, the battlefield is caressed in the soft glow of flickering candles. Totaling 23,000, each one represents a solider who was killed, lost or wounded during the Battle of Antietam. Vehicles line up to get the opportunity to drive through the five mile long illumination. You will see six cannon barrel muzzles on a block of stone in the park. Each spot represents where a general fell during the battle – three were Union, three were Confederate.