Counting the Cost - The Lost at Antietam with Brian Baracz and Tom Clemens

A battlefield is a self-cleaning organism. Time and elements will eventually erase all trace of what occurred in the maelstrom on hallowed ground. Unfortunately, war doesn't occur in a vacuum. Conflict displaces, spoils, and scars the living in the area where it happens. After the Battle of Antietam in September, 1862 efforts to remove the fallen were undertaken by the US Army and the citizens of Western Maryland so that life could attempt to resume a semblance of what was considered "normal".

The lost at Antietam were buried in place, in singular or mass graves, depending on side and circumstance. A need to identify and locate the remains of those left behind was undertaken by map makers who made an effort to mark as many burial plots and identify as many soldiers as possible. The most famous of these map makers, S.G. Elliott, produced burial maps of both Antietam and Gettysburg, one of which has recently been uncovered and placed on display in the collection in the Visitor's Center at Antietam National Battlefield. Hear the revealing story of battlefield grave maps and the S.G. Elliott map on this episode with our guests Brian Baracz of the National Park Service and Tom Clemens of The Save Historic Antietam Foundation.

Plan your visit to Antietam with:

https://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm

Support preservation efforts at Antietam by joining SHAF:

https://shaf.org/

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