One of the cool things about living in Virginia is the proximity to Civil War and other historical sites. I come from Massachusetts, where Revolutionary history abounds and everyone who grew up there has been beaten over the head with this history from a young age. However, having only traveled to DC once when I was in high school, I never really got a chance to see much from the Civil War period. Living down here gives me the rare chance to visit these sites, and I chose the Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland as my starting point.