FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
History came to life in Kearney Park in Southwest Fresno, as thousands witnessed a living lesson from the Lincoln years.
Thousands of actors brought to life a scene straight from the year 1862, the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history.
23,000 men were killed in the original battle that took place in Maryland and it ended in a draw, but it changed the course of the civil war.
"This is what I've been waiting for, it gives me the way to sign the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation," said Abraham Lincoln played by William Peck.
Cannons, cavalry and soldiers fought at Kearney Park.
For people in the audience, it was a chance to be surrounded by the sights and sounds of the Civil War.
The annual re–enactment is the largest living history event of its kind in the entire western United States.
