AP/Matthew Brady, File Photo

In this Sept. 17, 1862 file photo, rebel gunners lie dead beside their smashed battery in a field alongside the whitewashed Dunker church near Sharpsburg, Md., following the Battle of Antietam.

The sesquicentennial of the Civil War is filled with historical markers of time, but Monday marks the 150th anniversary of one of the key turning points in the Civil War: the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Among the bloodiest battles of any war, Antietam ended in a stalemate between North and South, but President Abraham Lincoln claimed the occasion to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Friday on Vermont Edition, we talk with Vermont Civil War historian Howard Coffin about anniversary of Antietam, and Governor Frederick Holbrook's effort to raise troops for the war.

Also in the program, a look back at the week's big stories with VPR's John Dillon. We examine progress in the the Progressive Primary recount, the FEMA funding prospects for state buildings damaged by Irene and the Shumlin-Brock gubernatorial debate on VPR.

Listen to Howard Coffin's commentary, Antietam And Vermont