Today In The Rearview...

143 years ago

On Sept. 17... 1862 Union forces hurled back a Confederate invasion of Maryland in the Civil War Battle of Antietam. During the battle, 23,100 were killed, wounded or captured, making it the bloodiest day in United States military history.

Except of course at that particular point in time the Confederates were not part of the U.S., but quibbling is what we do best.

Other Noteworthy Events We Remember Today:

1787 The U.S. Constitution was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the constitutional convention in Philadelphia.
1907 Warren Burger, the 15th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was born in St. Paul, Minn.
1920 The American Professional Football Association - a precursor of the National Football League - was formed in Canton, Ohio.
1939 The Soviet Union invaded Poland during World War II.
1947 James V. Forrestal was sworn in as the first U.S. secretary of defense.
1972 The comedy series ''M.A.S.H.'' premiered on CBS.
1976 NASA unveiled the space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, Calif.
1980 Former Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza was assassinated in Paraguay.
1986 The Senate confirmed the nomination of William H. Rehnquist as the 16th chief justice of the United States.
1992 Special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh called a halt to his five-and-a-half-year probe of the Iran-Contra scandal.
1994 Heather Whitestone of Alabama was crowned Miss America, the first deaf woman to win the title.1996 Former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew died at age 77.
1997 Northern Ireland's main Protestant party joined peace talks, bringing the major players together for first time.
1999 President Bill Clinton lifted restrictions on trade,travel and banking imposed on North Korea a half-century earlier.
2001 Wall Street trading resumed for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - its longest shutdown since the Depression; the Dow lost 684.81 points, its worst-ever one-day point drop.
2001 Pro sporting events resumed after a six-day hiatus following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.