Scenes were shown of activities at Antietam National Battlefield where the National Park Service was commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. A re-enactor portraying the cook for the 6th Wisconsin talked about their campsite. The battle on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest day of fighting in American history. President Lincoln took advantage of the Union strategic victory to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation a few days later.