On September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam became America’s bloodiest day, with 23,000 casualties. General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate invasion was stopped by General George B. McClellan’s cautious Union army, paving the way for Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. From a cigar-wrapped lost order to Clara Barton’s heroic nursing and Alexander Gardner’s stark photos, this Readers’ Theater packet for grades 6–8, with quotes from McClellan and Lee, explores courage, sacrifice, and a war