What a day for the first snow of the season!Tonight's Antietam Illumination looks to be one of the most poignant yet. As they do every year, volunteers are lighting 23,000 candles around the battlefield to represent each casualty on that horrific day in 1862. Seeing the field aflame while slowly winding through the park is a stunningly somber reminder of the human cost of war. The glow of the flames seems to form one collective light that reaches back in time to offer a voice for the departed, urging us all to appreciate the true spirit of the holiday season with those we love. Last time we drove through the illumination, we listened to Mozart's Requiem; tonight, I think we'll reflect in silence.
Click here for information about tonight's illumination. For a park video about the occasion, click here.
For the record - I've called the park and they emphatically shared that, despite the snow, the event is definitely happening as scheduled.
Finally, if you make it tonight, please let us know about your experience!
Hye, Dylan...I see you have a Civil War battlefield blog. Very cool. One of my favorite hobbies. The original intention of my blog was to do nothing but Civil War, but it drifted off course...and then I got into Facebook, etc. I may re-do it and make it nothing but Civil War again. I love everything Civil War and have visited all the big battlefields and a lot of the smaller ones too.
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