FIRST FAMILY PAYS A VISIT TO CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD IN MARYLAND
Sharpsburg, Maryland (JFK+50) On April 7, 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland. He was the eighth sitting POTUS to make a visit here.
JFK left Camp David by helicopter accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy and the children. Also along on the trip was Ted and Joan Kennedy, Lem Billings, Ralph Horton and James Reed.
Acting Superintendent of ANB Robert L. Lageman served as tour guide for the presidential party.
The Battle of Antietam*, named after the creek that was the scene of the last phase of fighting on September 17, 1862, marked CSA General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the north.
The battle is known as the bloodiest single day of fighting in United States history. Of 100,000 soldiers engaged on both sides, 23,000 were killed, wounded or captured (3650 dead).
*Battle of Antietam, known as the Battle of Sharpsburg in the South, resulted in a draw according to Civil War historians although Lee retreated back into Virginia after the battle.
The Union claimed victory which enabled President Lincoln to issue his Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1962 just days following the battle.
SOURCE
"The New Frontier: National Parks of the Kennedy Era," www.nps.gov/
