Dunker Church - "Symbol of Peace and Brotherhood"

The Dunker Church on the Antietam Battlefield arose from a group of pious, zealous early settlers along Antietam who called themselves Brethren because brotherhood was central to their devotion; neighbors called them Dunkers or Dunkards, from German words associated with plunging or dipping, and immersion was their form of baptism. Before daylight on September 17, 1862, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history began, and the church was an objective of the Federal forces. Cannon balls and bullets pierced it, its rafters were studded with metal, it served first as a bulwark for both armies and then as a hospital, and its furniture was splattered with blood. The day after the battle, the armies faced each other under a truce, and a Southern soldier remarked on the curiosity of men from both sides coming together and talking after firing at each other the previous day. Still standing as the little white church of Antietam, it endures as a symbol of peace, brotherhood, unity, and spiritual emancipation.

Keedysville, Maryland · United States