Fired Bullets from Battle of Antietam

Two fired bullets from the Antietam Battlefield. Click photo and "Detailed Description". (ON HOLD)

Two Civil War bullets which were fired during the war. They both appear to be .58 caliber three-ring Minie Balls. They were recovered on private property at the historic Mumma Farm on the Antietam Battlefield (see period photograph). Confederate General Robert E. Lee invaded in the late summer of 1862 and was intercepted by Union General George B. McClellan. Their armies met in the Battle of Antietam (or Battle of Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862, this would become the single bloodiest day of the American Civil War and all of American military history, seeing nearly 23,000 casualties. The inconclusive but strategic Union victory partially politically enabled Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Located near the center of the Antietam Battlefield, the Mumma Farm was a scene of chaos and violence on September 17, 1862. The farm was burned in the early morning of the battle by Confederate Brigadier General Ripley to prevent its use as a sharpshooter's refuge by Union troops. Today, the Mumma Farm is no longer a private residence, though it was until the 1970s. These bullets were actually fired during combat, but no one will ever know for sure whether they found their targets. (ON HOLD)