Sept. 17, 1862

Antietam

Sharpsburg, MD (Washington County)

McClellan (Hooker's 1st Corps; Burnside's IX Corps)

Lee (John Bell Hood's Division; A.P. Hill's Division)

* Deadliest Day in American History (Deadliest One-Day Battle in American Military History)

* Union finally wins against the Confederates in the East; Arguably inconclusive because the McClellan didn't send in 1/3 of his troops and then didn't pursue; Lincoln claims it as a victory and then issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

* You gotta visit this one, if you visit any battlefield - forget about Gettysburg.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=156432

Early morning on the field of battle. Dunker Church off in the distance - Jackson held his ground there against Hooker's troops who outnumbered him, coming through the cornfield. The gazebo with the green top is the only monument dedicated to soldiers from both sides of the conflict- it was set up by the state of Maryland: "to her Sons, Who on this field offered their lives in maintenance of their Principles". Oof - very diplomatic. My visit started with an early 1/2-hour guided tour then a 10-stop driving tour including a couple little hikes.

A trip highlight was a desolate hike through and around The Cornfield, which saw some of the bloodiest action of the whole war.

Angel of the Battlefield: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=141486

Clara Barton did her thing in that farm house.

And with good reason...

Obligatory shot of the Bloody Lane. Union success here was not followed-up.

Hey, it's not like that was my first time at Antietam. Happier times: 7/4/2105.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6373

I'd been to Antietam before, but never to Burnside's Bridge. They were still driving cars over the thing as recently as the mid-20th Century!

Best shot of the bridge

Somehow that same big sycamore was standing in 1864. And with the intense heat, sun, and humidity, I was able to enjoy it relatively undisturbed. It was NOT easy for Burnside to take that bridge, and he faced hell from those late arriving Rebel reinforcements when he did. A lot of soldiers died at Antietam, and not just in the Cornfield and Bloody Lane. The casualties really shook people up, and of course we got the Emancipation Proclamation afterwards because the South failed in its military attempt at legitimacy, changing the spirit of the war

No traitors buried here.

That the single bloodiest day in America history resulted in a virtual military draw is an irony worth memorializing . And yet in the way the battle turned back the invading rebels and preceded the Emancipation Proclamation, that day was undoubtedly a sad but great day for America and our pivotal moment turning back the tide against what Grant called, "one of the worst [causes] for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.”

I sincerely love the story of Lee's Rock at Antietam National Cemetery and it what it says about how, when, and why we memorialize history. I'll let my friends from the American Battlefield Trust tell you themselves, but I assure you it is worth 10 minutes. TL;DR: we've been taking down monuments as long as we've been putting them up.

There were few monuments to Confederates at Antietam, and most of those have been cynically erected in the last 50 years. This monument to Lee on private property adjacent to the battlefield, went up in 2000something and is surrounded by a tall fence and covered with CCTV cameras. With good reason: it should be taken down, forcefully if necessary. Nobody who proudly killed so many Americans deserves to be memorialized on American soil. Luckily he was sent packing after Antietam. But every American he got killed for the next two years or so after was a total, pointless waste: completely unnecessary butchery to feed his own ego and warped ideals.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=456

Meanwhile...

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1955

"About two o’clock in the afternoon of September 17, 1862, Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill’s 3,000-man division began crossing the Potomac River at Boteler’s Ford about two miles northwest of here, en route to the battle raging at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Two days earlier, Stonewall Jackson had captured Harpers Ferry. When Jackson’s command was ordered to rejoin Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in Maryland, Hill’s division remained behind to parole Federal prisoners and secure supplies and equipment. Hill was summoned, too, and got his division on the march within an hour. He took five brigades, leaving one to finish removing the captured equipment.

Hill pushed his men hard during the 17-mile trek from Harpers Ferry to the Antietam battlefield. The late-summer day was warm and humid, and some of the men fell exhausted by the way on this “long and fatiguing march.” But they arrived on the battlefield less than eight hours after leaving Harpers Ferry, just in time to be thrown into the fight. When Hill reported, Lee exclaimed, “General Hill, I was never so glad to see you.” Wearing a bright red shirt and waving his sword, Hill directed his men to strike the flank of the oncoming Federal line. As Hill later put it, “My troops were not a moment too soon.” They turned back the Union assault and saved Lee’s army from a crushing defeat on the bloodiest day in American history."

Review of the Boetler's Ford area, which was also where the Battle of Shepherdstown took place.

I'm going to have to figure out what these are. I found one here at this same intersection, and a couple others in the area. However, the stone contains no inscription and they don't appear in the historical marker database.