St. Mark's Episcopal Church

St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Refuge for the "sick and wounded". , St. Mark's Episcopal Church is located just six miles north of Sharpsburg, site of the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. With approximately 23,000 Americans on both sides killed, wounded, or missing, numbers of barns, houses, and churches like St. Mark's were pressed into services for six weeks because of the wounded treated here, and the churchyard is believed to contain the unmarked graves of soldiers who died here. , After the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1-3, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's defeated Army of Northern Virginia passed near here as it marched south to the Potomac River, and there was heavy skirmishing in this area. The church again served as a hospital. The 8th Illinois Cavalry's regimental surgeon worked here while fighting took place in nearby Williamsport, five miles northwest. In August 1863, the St. Mark's congregation contributed $28.08 "for sick and wounded soldiers in this country"., The Church (completed 1849) was constructed with a balcony for slaves, as most of the early members were slaveholders. After the Civil War, some African Americans continued to worship here, and several former slaves are buried in the churchyard. Their graves are located to the left of the church, next to the cemetery wall.