The story
The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862 resulted in approximately 23,000 casualties in a single day — the bloodiest day in American military history. The Sunken Road, known as Bloody Lane after the battle, is the site most consistently reported by visitors and rangers, who describe the sound of rifle fire on quiet mornings, the smell of gunpowder near the cornfield and the appearance of blue-uniformed figures on the ridge above the Dunker Church. The National Park Service has documented staff sightings going back decades.