Welcome to the Antietam Historical Research Center (HRC).
The Antietam Institute has developed this repository to collect and share digital copies of historical and contemporary material about the Battle of Antietam and the related Maryland Campaign of 1862.
If you own or know of a document, photograph, letter, map, drawing, book, manuscript or other artifact relating to the battle of Antietam, please contact the HRC Curator to get it added here.
Institute members and volunteers continue to contribute to the collection, so you can expect it to grow for some time.
We've grouped the items of the collection into 3 categories to make them easier to find:
Regimentals
This is a selection of published histories of regiments, batteries, and some of the brigades who were in action at Antietam. Often penned by veterans from their personal experience, most were written between 1880 and 1910. Some are superficial narratives, but most have battle and personal details found no where else.
Images
These are visual references like drawings, photographs and maps. We've focused on collecting images of places, events, and people related in particular to the Maryland Campaign. We're intereseted in both contemporary, wartime images as well as post-war and modern images that help tell the story of the history of Antietam.
Documents
This category encompasses almost anything written about the Battle and the field on which it was fought. We're collecting wartime letters, reports, military records, and manuscripts, along with later works relating to the Campaign.
Newest items in the Collection
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Antietam Journal, Vol. 9, Fall 2025. Steven R. Stotelmyer, "Little Mac at the Front", Map #2- Map depicting “McClellan on the Field, 17 September 1862.” - Hydrography, elevation, and roads data sourced from USGS with alterations by the cartographer. - Digitization sources from the Carman-Cope Maps (Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division), and topographic maps/aerial imagery (USGS & USDA-FSA Aerial Photography Field Office). -
Antietam Journal, Vol. 9, Fall 2025. Steven R. Stotelmyer, "Little Mac at the Front", Map #1- Map depicting McClellan’s Knoll Viewshed. The Final Attack climaxed on the high ground running along the Harpers Ferry Road, 17 Sept. 1862. - Hydrography, elevation, and roads data sourced from USGS with alterations by the cartographer. - Digitization sources from the Carman-Cope Maps (Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division), and topographic maps/aerial imagery (USGS & USDA-FSA Aerial Photography Field Office). -
Antietam Journal, Vol. 7, Fall 2024. J. O. Smith, "In Antietam’s Footsteps: Above the Burnside Bridge" Map- Map depicting action in and around the Burnside Bridge and the Final Attack south of Sharpsburg on 17 Sept. 1862. - Hydrography, elevation, and roads data sourced from USGS with alterations by the cartographer. - Digitization sources from the Carman-Cope Maps (Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division), and topographic maps/aerial imagery (USGS & USDA-FSA Aerial Photography Field Office).
Credits
This repository was built on Omeka S software originally developed at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and other funders. It is now maintained by the Digital Scholar project.
The HRC's visual design was adapted from an Omeka theme called Bookshelf created by the Indic Digital Archive Foundation.
The content of the collection has been gleaned from many online sources as noted in each item's record, and from Institute members and other primary sources. Special thanks to the Institute interns and volunteers who have helped import and catalog the items.