Above is this weeks free desktop. This week marks the third of four reruns, wallpapers which have been offered before, but I am bringing them back because they hold a special meaning for me. For this one, we will travel back to a place which looks very much like every other rural area in this part of the country, but what occurred here on September 17, 1862 effected history in so many ways, welcome to the location of the battle which could be termed the turning point of the Civil War, the Antietam National Battlefield located just out of Sharpsburg, MD. I truly did not remember studying about Antietam from school (it has been over 30 years though (; ), but the importance of the Union victory changed the entire course of the war. This was the first major battle fought on northern soil and with General Robert E. Lee's defeat, he was forced to retreat back south. The Union victory foiled one of Lee's objectives with the invasion, to force Lincoln to sue for peace, while it also provided Lincoln with the opportunity to announce the proclamation of Emancipation, the abolition of slavery in the South. Antietam hold a very solemn distinction too, of being the bloodiest single day battle in American history as basically one of every four soldiers that day became a casualty. The casualties (killed, wounded, or missing) totaled close to 23,000 and the losses shocked both sides. I've just hit the main points here, if you're interested, I'd suggest checking the "In Depth" section on the NPS site. Turning to the picture now, our visit to Antietam in October 2003 was on a truly beautiful, fall day. In the upper 70's, sunny, a staggering sky, the leaves were just turning, one could easily forget what happened here in this wonderful rural area in Maryland over 140 years ago if not for the numerous markers and monuments, the reminders so we do remember. The picture here is looking South from the observation tower at the Sunken Road. The main battlefield is actually North and West of here behind me, stretching out about a 1/2 mile.