News Release

Antietam National Battlefield to premiere new park film November 11

Date: October 24, 2024
Contact: Keith Snyder 301-432-5124
Contact: [e-mail]

SHARPSBURG, Md.—On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Antietam National Battlefield will premiere its new film "Remembering Antietam" at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown, Maryland at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The premiere will include a question-and-answer session about the making of the film and a reception co-sponsored by the Hagerstown & Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Maryland Theatre is located at 21 South Potomac St., Hagerstown, MD 21740. The film will begin showing at the Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center on Nov. 12.

"Remembering Antietam" helps viewers understand the battlefield through Col. Ezra Carman’s combat experience, his meticulous work preserving the battlefield, and careful documentation of the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. The film captures the battle's immediacy and brutality through the words, experiences, and memories of the participants, and also invites viewers to consider the importance of preserving history and what the Battle of Antietam means to them.
Filmed on location in and around Antietam National Battlefield, the making of "Remembering Antietam" spanned three years. Several key battle scenes were filmed on private property near Keedysville, Maryland. Filmmakers paid particular attention to historical accuracy, including planting a field of heirloom varieties of corn to recreate the authentic look and feel of the battlefield. Park entrance and recreation fees funded this project.

On Sept. 17, 1862, 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing at the Battle of Antietam during twelve hours of savage combat. This costly United States victory ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first major invasion of the North and provided President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln’s proclamation reshaped the American Civil War by giving it a dual purpose—to preserve the Union and abolish slavery.

For more information and to see the film’s poster and trailer, visit the park’s website at: https://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm. 

-NPS- 

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