What is the history of Sharpsburg, Maryland?
A settler named Joseph Chapline settled in the area around 1740. After the conclusion of the French and Indian War, he founded the town in 1763, naming it in honor of his friend Horatio Sharpe, the Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Situated to the east of the Potomac River and its water power, the town attracted industry in the early 19th century, particularly after the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was extended to Sharpsburg around 1836. It was incorporated in 1832. Confederate States of AmericaConfederate General Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland 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—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. This vi
