Civil War battle with Putnam troops topic for museum speaker

Tuesday, February 7, 2017
The Bridge at Antietam Creek during the infamous Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Md., is set as one of the topics during James Champion’s upcoming discussion at the Putnam County Museum.
Courtesy photo

On Sept. 17, 1862, Gens. Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off near Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Md., in the first battle of the American Civil War to be fought on Northern soil.

On Saturday, Feb. 11 James Champion will recount this battle that included Putnam County soldiers, especially those serving in the Indiana 14th Regiment.

He will speak at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Putnam County Museum, 1105 N. Jackson St., Greencastle. The program is free and open to the public.

James Champion

The 14th was a Hoosier regiment raised in Terre Haute in May 1861. After skirmishes and battles the regiment was eventually called the Gallant Fourteenth.

Champion will relate the experiences of this regiment on the bloodiest single day in American military history. Although the battle ended in a draw, the retreat of Confederate forces gave Lincoln the “victory” needed before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Champion holds a BA degree in history and a master’s in library science. He has been interested in the Civil War from a young age and is currently researching the general history of the war in the last half of 1863 and its effects on the general populace.

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