Battle of Antietam (MD) – 75th Anniversary – 1937

1937 –  75^th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, Maryland

On September 17, 1862, the “Bloodiest Day of the Civil War” occurred in a small town in Maryland. On that day, the Army of the Potomac (Union forces) under the direction of General George B. McClellan, numbering 87,000, fought the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate forces) under General Robert E. Lee, numbering some 55,000. The confederates were anxious for a battle win on northern soil which would give them credibility with the European nations with whom they traded.

Essentially, even though the Union forces had superior numbers, they never committed the entire force to the objective and both sides were able to battle to a logistical draw. But indeed it was a costly one as the casualties numbered 22,720 for both sides, making it indeed the bloodiest single day of the entire war.

As the 75^th Anniversary was approaching in 1937, members of the Washington County Historical Society began plans for a great re-union of the combatants. There were less than 1,000 participants in the Civil War still alive in 1937 and less than 100 had fought in the Battle of Antietam. As they reached out to the survivors, they also made requests of their federal politicians to author and support legislation for a commemorative half dollar to memorialize the anniversary, and to defray the costs of the celebration by selling the coins at a profit.  

A bill authorizing a minimum of 50,000 coins to be struck was passed by both Houses of Congress and signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. The Washington County Historical Society turned to successful commemorative coin designer, William Marks Simpson, to design a fitting tribute to the Battle of Antietam.

Simpson’s obverse design had conjoined busts of Union General George McClellan and Confederate General Robert E. Lee facing left. Underneath their portraits were “GEN. GEORGE B. Mc CLELLAN – GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.” In front of their busts was “IN GOD WE TRUST” and behind them was “LIBERTY.” Around the periphery were “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – HALF DOLLAR” and five five-pointed stars.

The reverse depicts the scene of much of the fighting and of many casualties, the Burnside Bridge, which was named after the Union General and was a tactical objective of the Battle. While hundreds of lives were lost trying to cross that bridge which forded Antietam Creek. But unbeknownst to General Burnside, the Creek was only waist deep and many lives could have been saved had he sent men into the water rather than into the bottleneck that was that bridge.

The Burnside Bridge, Antietam Creek, and the surrounding hills and numerous trees of the adjoining forest comprised the central vignette of the reverse of the coin with “THE BURNSIDE BRIDGE – SEPTEMBER 17, 1862” below the bridge.  Above the tree line was the motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and surrounding the entire reverse periphery was inscribed with the rationale for the coin’s existence – “SEVENTY-FIFTH-ANNIVERSARY-BATTLE-OF-ANTIETAM-1937.”

The bill authorizing the minting of the coin had set a minimum of 50,000 coins to be minted for this issue. In addition, another requirement would be that all of the coins would be struck in 1937 and all of them would be struck at a single mint, thereby assuring that no additional varieties would be created. This lessened the chance for any potential abuses as had plagued the commemorative coinage series in the 1930s.

The minimum authorized mintage of 50,000 coins was struck and sent to the Washington County Historical Society and the sales effort began in-person in Antietam and through the mails. The coins that were sent through the mail were shipped in imprinted mailing envelopes and with imprinted 5-coin holders.

Even though this historical event was certainly worthy of commemoration, sales were poor. The lackluster sales were attributed in part to the abuses of other coins. No abuses in the selling practices of these Antietam coins were ever noted or documented. The sales price ($1.65 each, including postage) was reasonable and in line with other commemorative half dollars of the era.

Only 18,028 Antietam commemoratives were sold and distributed which is why these coins have held their value well over the years.

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