You’ve reached “home base” for fun ways to learn Civil War history at Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Start here to plan your Antietam battlefield bike tour, and maybe connect from the C&O Canal Towpath. You can learn about the battlefield by perusing this website.
Antietam Battlefield Fun
Antietam National Battlefield, 302 East Main Street, Sharpsburg, Maryland 21782
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| Hunt for Monuments | Take Quiz |
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| Antietam Index |
Antietam Battlefield Bike Tour
Plan your own self-directed cycling adventure using Civil War Cycling’s guidebook and maps. Or click to buy maps, or buy a guidebook using this Amazon affiliate link. Join the ranks of people who like to learn like a kid on a bike.
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal runs along the Potomac River. On the west side of the battlefield park, the canal towpath provides several access points to public roads that lead to the battlefield. This means that the towpath cyclist has options for an excursion tour through Antietam National Battlefield. Civil War Cycling offers directions and maps to help get you from and to the battlefield. One map is for the northbound cyclist and the other is for the southbound cyclist.
Map of Sharpsburg, Maryland
In the first week of September, 1862, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, crossed the Potomac River into western Maryland. This first invasion of northern soil resulted in the Battle of South Mountain (September 14), Gen. Lee’s capture of Harper’s Ferry (September 15), and the Battle of Antietam (September 17) in Sharpsburg, Maryland. ~ From Bicycling Antietam National Battlefield, p. 57.
The Sunken Road (“Bloody Lane”), Antietam National Battlefield