The Antietam Arm in its display case at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, MD. (Credit: Mary-Kate Wilson)

The Antietam Arm in its display case at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, MD. (Credit: Mary-Kate Wilson)

The Mystery of the Antietam Arm

Weeks after the bloodiest day of the American Civil War, a remarkably preserved human arm was allegedly discovered near the Antietam Battlefield. After several decades and a series of owners, the arm was anonymously donated to a Frederick, Maryland museum. The identity of the person who lost the arm remains a mystery, but cutting edge research into the arm has a lot to say about the experience of Civil War soldiers.