Civil War Battle of Antietam lecture Tuesday
By From staff reports
Published in News on September 16, 2012 1:50 AM
Pete Coffman will present a lecture on the Civil War Battle of Antietam on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Moffatt Auditorium.
Coffman is a retired senior master sergeant, who served as a maintainer with the 4th Fighter Wing and the Thunderbirds. He is currently studying for his master's degree in history at East Carolina University.
The Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, remains the bloodiest single day in American history, with nearly 23,000 soldiers on both sides killed, wounded or captured.
The battle, known among Southerners as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was also the first true test of the unit known as the Goldsboro Rifles, a company formed in Wayne County, which was a member of the 27th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. The regiment was in the center of the fighting and reportedly advanced farther than any other Confederate unit during the daylong battle that ended in a draw. A number of Wayne County men were among the casualties.
The lecture is part of a series being held this year to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war. The series is sponsored by the Foundation of Wayne Community College and the North Carolina Military History Roundtable.