Sept. 17, 1862 - Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862
Antietam
Sharpsburg, MD (Washington County)
McClellan (Hooker's 1st Corps; Burnside's IX Corps)
vs
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, AKA the Disneyworld of the Civil War. I have visited here many times, so this blog entry is a mess. Unlike my gloriously massive entry for Third Winchester, in which all the markers are arranged chronologically to represent the full day of battle, here I'm just dumping more monuments each time I visit. Sorry/Not Sorry.
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| 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 [first] visit started with an early 1/2-hour guided tour then a 10-stop driving tour including a couple little hikes.
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A trip highlight was a desolate hike through and around The Cornfield, which saw some of the bloodiest action of the whole war. |
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| 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...
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| Obligatory shot of the Bloody Lane. Union success here was not followed-up. |
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| Hey, it's not like that was my first time at Antietam. Happier times: 7/4/2105. |
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| 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!
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| 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
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| No traitors buried here. |
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.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=456 |
Meanwhile...
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| 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."
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=23184 |
The Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg. Three miles northeast of this point lies Sharpsburg, Maryland, the scene of the bloodiest conflict of the War Between the States, occurring September 17, 1862.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1968 |
Antietam Station
Railroad to Reunion
After the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, soldiers’ families traveled by rail to Hagerstown or Frederick, and then by horse and buggy to the site to recover the bodies of loved ones or to search for survivors. Thus began a constant stream of battlefield visitors that still continues. A regular Decoration Day commemoration (a forerunner of Memorial Day) began in May 1868 with a parade through Sharpsburg and the decoration of soldiers’ graves. In 1883, the Shenandoah Valley Railway reached Sharpsburg, where the small frame Sharpsburg Station welcomed visitors to town. Every Memorial Day thousands of veterans and families passed through the station to attend parades and reunions. Soon, slate curbing and wide walkways flanked the road from the station to the cemetery. Norway maples, some of which still survive, were planted beside the road to shade veterans and their families. Fire destroyed Sharpsburg Station in 1910, and the next year the Norfolk & Western Railway completed the present freight and passenger station in time for the 50th anniversary of the battle. Veterans also returned for the 75th anniversary in 1937; President Franklin D. Roosevelt attended the huge reenactment. The station, renamed Antietam after two trains collided when engineers confused the words Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown, closed late in the 1950s. A private citizen bought it and turned it around so that the bay window, which once allowed stationmasters to look up and down the tracks, faced the road." |
And nearby...
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https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=7574The Historic Grove House100 West Main StreetThe meeting place of Robert E. Lee and his generals on the night of September 17, 1862. |
I will no doubt return to Antietam soon, for more.
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[Sept. 2025] And I'm back for more. The American Battlefield Trust hosted a Generations Hike geared towards all ages, so of course I went and dragged my kid - who learned how to fire a cannon. No Gary Adelman this time, but we did get to meet Sarah-from-the-Winchester-video. I didn't really learn much I hadn't known before on the hike, but it was fun to see kids running through the fields of Antietam swinging both the U.S. flag and the Star and Bars - smiles abound. Plus I got some additional monuments.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=59130 |
The Roulette Farm
The Battle Caused Considerable Destruction of Property Here - William Roulette
This farmstead dates from a time when Sharpsburg was the western frontier. In September 1862, it was the home of William and Margaret Roulette and their six children. They evacuated before the battle, but afterwards returned to find the wreckage of war and their home and yard being used as a field hospital. Then, over seven hundred soldiers (most of them killed at the Sunken Road) were buried on their 180 acre farm. With such "considerable destruction," Roulette filed a claim of $2,496 with the U.S. Government for damage to his property.
No civilians were killed the day of the battle. However many died over the next few months from diseases caused by the unsanitary conditions in the soldier camps and hospitals, mass graves and contaminated water. Sadly, William Roulette wrote of one victim who died five weeks after the battle, "our youngest died ...a charming little girl twenty months old Carrie May - just beginning to talk."
This photo was taken from the west side of the house just after the battle. The 130th Pennsylvania Infantry marched past the house on their way to the Sunken Road. Pvt. J.D. Hemmingen remembered a "large barn, wagon shed, stone wall on which stood the garden fence, the dwelling house and a spring house." The 130th suffered an attack by bees when the Roulette family hives were knocked over during their advance.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5499 |
132nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Antietam
132nd Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry
1 Brigade 3 Division 2 Corps
September 17, 1862
(Back):
Casualties
at Antietam
Killed 30
Wounded 114
Missing 3
Total 152
Battles Participated in
Antietam MD.
Sept. 17, 1862
Fredericksburg VA.
Dec. 13, 1862
Chancellorsvile VA.
Apr. 30. May 3, 1863
Recruited in Montour
Wyoming Bradford
Columbia Carbon and
Luzerne Counties
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20744 |
Heaps Upon Heaps Were There in Death's Embrace
Confederate Soldier in the 3rd Alabama Infantry
(1) Within the first few hours of the battle, Gen. D.H. Hill sent more than half of his 5,000 soldiers to reinforce the northern end of the Confederate line. Of the two brigades that remained in the lane, one was commanded by Gen. Robert Rodes and the other by Gen. G.B. Anderson. Combined, they numbered about 2,200 men.
(2) The first Federal soldiers to attack the Sunken Road were Gen. William H. French's troops. At approximately 9:30 a.m., these men crested the ridges just in front of the Sunken Road, and the bloody work began. French had close to 5,000 men under his command.
(3) About 10:30 a.m. Gen. Israel Richardson's division, led by the famous Irish Brigade, advanced and added over 4,000 soldiers to a Union attack where "the missiles of death were flying so thickly."
(4) Some 3,800 Confederate reinforcements, under Gen. Richard H. Anderson, attempted to strengthen the line in the road, but were unsuccessful. Near 1:00 p.m., Richardson's men broke through and captured the Sunken Road. As the Confederates retreated, one soldier remembered that "the minnie balls, shot and shell rained upon us from every direction except the rear."
Some of the Federal troops were able to continue south to the Piper Farm, but were driven back by a desperate Confederate stand. When the fighting ended, over 5,000 soldiers had been killed or wounded. Neither side gained a decisive advantage.
During the fighting around the Sunken Road, two generals fell mortally wounded. Confederate Gen. George B. Anderson was shot in the ankle and died from infection a month after the battle. After the Sunken Road had fallen, Union Gen. Israel Richardson was hit by a fragment of an artillery shell. He died at the Pry House in early November 1862.
Battle for a Farm Lane
Approximate Time of Action: 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Approximate Number of Soldiers engaged
Union 10,000
Confederate 3,000
Total 13,000
Approximate Number of Casualties for Each Army
Union Army of the Potomac 2,900 killed, wounded, missing
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
2,500 killed, wounded, missing
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20742 |
A Simple Farm Lane Changed Forever
During the early hours of the battle, Col. John Brown Gordon promised Robert E. Lee, "These men are going to stay here, General, till the sun goes down or victory is won." The Confederate troops that Gordon commanded were part of a well protected line of over 2,200 men hunkered down behind piled-up fence rails in this well worn sunken road.
When the Federal attacks shifted south at approximately 9:30 a.m., the Confederates held their fire until the last possible second. Then, as Gordon remembered, "My rifles flamed and roared in the Federals' faces like a blinding blaze of lightning...the entire line, with few exceptions, went down in the consuming blast."
For more than three hours thousands of men blazed away at each other at point-blank range. Eventually the overwhelming Union numbers and confusion in the Confederate ranks forced the defenders back. When the fighting subsided, 5,500 soldiers lay dead or wounded on the field and in the road. That number included Col. Gordon, who had been hit five different times. After the deadly struggle for this sunken road, soldiers who fought here described it as the "road of death" and a "ghastly flooring." From that day forward, the road has been known as Bloody Lane.
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| ?! |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6959 |
Second Army Corps
Kimball's Brigade, French's Division
U.S.A.
Second Army Corps,
Kimball's Brigade, French's Division
Brig. Gen. Nathan Kimball, Commanding.
Organization.
14th Indiana Infantry,
8th Ohio Infantry,
132d Pennsylvania Infantry,
7th West Virginia Infantry.
September 17, 1862.
Kimball's Brigade following Weber and Morris, encountered the enemy in the Bloody Lane and in the Cornfield to the south.
The contest there was of the most desperate character, and continued until after noon when, supported on the left by Richardson's Division, the brigade attacked the enemy and gained the Bloody Lane.
An attack on the right flank was met and repulsed by a change of front of the Ohio and Indiana regiments, forming the right wing of the brigade in its final assault on the enemy's position.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5492 |
The 14th Indiana Infantry
The 14th Indiana Infantry 1st Brigade
3rd Division, 2nd Army Corps Colonel William
Harrow commanding fought 70 yards east of
this position and parallel with this road
from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. September 17th, 1862
Officers and men engaged 320
officers killed 2, men killed 28
officers wounded 9, men wounded 141.
Erected 1910 by State of Indiana.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6916 |
130th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
130
Pennsylvania
Volunteer
Infantry
2 Brigade
3 Division
2 Corps
(Rear):
This memorial marks the regiment's
right of line in battle. Its left
extended to Roulette's Lane below.
It went into battle by way of the
Roulette Farm buildings about 9:30 a.m.
and, driving back the enemy, maintained
its position at and immediately northeast
of this point on the high ground
overlooking Bloody Lane, until
1:30 o'clock p.m., when withdrawn
to replenish its exhausted ammunition
and then occupied the reserve line.
Casualties at Antietam
Killed in battle 32
Died from wounds 14
Non-fatal wounds 132
Total 178
recruited in Cumberland
York Montgomery Dauphin
and Chester Counties
Erected 1904 by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6922 |
U.S.A.
Second Army Corps,
Morris' Brigade, French's Division.
Colonel Dwight Morris, 14th Connecticut, Commanding.
Organization.
14th Connecticut Infantry,
108th New York Infantry,
130th Pennsylvania Infantry.
September 17, 1862.
Morris' Brigade relieved Weber's and took position on the rise of ground just north of the Bloody Lane; The 108th New York east of Roulette's Lane, the 14th Connecticut and the 130th Pennsylvania west of it. Here, supported and afterwards reinforced by Kimball's Brigade, it maintained a severe contest losing heavily in killed and wounded. In the later part of the engagement the 14th Connecticut was sent to reinforce Richardson's Division on the left.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6956 |
U.S.A.
Second Army Corps.
Weber's Brigade, French's Division.
Brig. Gen. Max Weber, Commanding.
Organization.
1st Delaware Infantry,
5th Maryland Infantry,
4th New York Infantry.
September 17, 1862.
Weber's Brigade, forming the advance of French's Division, encountered the enemy near Roulette's House at about 9:15 a.m. pushed them back to the Bloody Lane and gained a position on the high ground about 60 yards north of this point. Here the brigade became engaged in an obstinate contest with the enemy, which was maintained until, having lost one-third of its numbers in killed and wounded, it was relieved by Morris' Brigade and withdrawn to the vicinity of Roulette's House where it remained until the close of the day.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6958 |
U.S.A.
French's Division, Second Army Corps,
Brig. Gen. William H. French, Commanding.
September 17, 1862.
French's Division crossed the Antietam at Pry's Ford about 8:30 a.m. and marched in columns by brigades, Kimball on the right, Morris in the center, and Weber on the left. After advancing about one mile the division faced to the left, passed through the meadows to Roulette's House, near which it encountered the enemy and pushed them back to the Bloody Lane, where its advance was checked by a portion of D.H. Hill's Division.
A desperate contest ensued, lasting until 1 o'clock, when, supported by Richardson's Division on the left, a charge was made and the enemy forced to retire to Piper's Lane and the fields beyond.
French's Division bivouacked beyond the ridge north of this point.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5487 |
Maryland
5th Md Infantry
3rd Max Weber's Brigade.
3rd French's Division.
2nd Sumner's Corps.
Advanced to the knoll
above the Bloody Lane.
300 feet in the rear of
of this marker. Loss. 43
killed 123 wounded.
The monument to the
Maryland troops is
near the Dunkard
Church.
Erected 1900 by State of Maryland.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5491 |
Fourteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
2nd Brig. 3rd Div. 2nd A.C.
Advanced to this point in a charge about 9:30 A.M., September 17th, 1862 then fell back eighty-eight yards to a cornfield fence and held position heavily engaged nearly two hours; then was sent to the support of the first brigade of its division at the Roulette Lane two hours; then was sent to the extreme left of the first division of this corps to the support of Brooke's Brigade and at 5 p.m. was placed in support between the Brigades of Caldwell and Meagher of that Division overlooking "Bloody Lane" holding position there until 10 a.m. of the 18th when relieved.
This monument stands on the line of companies B. and G. near the left of the regiment. In this battle the regiment lost 38 killed and mortally wounded, 88 wounded and 21 reported missing
Regiment mustered August 23, 1862 with 1015 men. Recruits 697 men, Total 1712.
———
Battle record from Antietam to Appomattox
Engagements 34
Killed and Mortally wounded 200
Died of disease 166
Wounded 549
Discharged for disability 319
Erected 1894 by State of Connecticut.
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| OK, now we are really stretching. Maybe next time. |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20716 |
I Found the Enemy in Great Force
About 9:30 a.m. the battle started to shift from the north end of the battlefield toward the Sunken Road, 180 yards to your right (south). Two divisions from the Union Second Corps moved across the Mumma and Roulette farm fields in front of you. Initially, over 5,000 soldiers commanded by Gen. William H. French assaulted the Confederate position. French, who was ordered "to press the enemy" with all of his force, locked into a bloody and costly struggle against Confederates positioned in the well worn sunken farm road. Approximately an hour later, Gen. Israel Richardson's division of over 4,000 men moved in to support their comrades.
Gen. Nathan Kimble, whose men advanced across the ground in front of you, remembered that, "Directly on my front, in a narrow road running parallel with my line, ... forming a natural rifle-pit between my line and a large corn-field, I found the enemy in great force... As my line advanced to the crest of the hill, a murderous fire was opened upon it from the entire force in front. My advance farther was checked, and for three hours and thirty minutes the battle raged incessantly, without either party giving way."
French's Division led the assault. Moving from left to right in front of you. Seventy percent of his men had never been in a battle. In fact, many had enlisted in the army only two weeks before Antietam.
During the battle this field was planted in corn. The trees along the fence line in front of you were not there and the ground to the right (south) of the fence was open pasture.
Confederates under commanding Gen. D.H. Hill were strongly positioned behind stacked up fence rails in the Sunken Road.
Erected 2009 by Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.
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| Hey, When in Rome... |
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| Friends at last. * * * A week later (still summer 2025), I visited Antietam again, this time for Leadership Training with the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War - Department of the Chesapeake. I arrived early and got additional signage, including a bunch of those big black-and-white ones; I thought those were erected by the Army itself, but these all credit the Antietam Battlefield Board, whatever that is. Anyway, I started in nearby Keedysville.  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=143326 https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=41733 Keedysville World War I Memorial & Keedysville District World War II Memorial   Keedysville Headquarters and Hospital Town — Antietam Campaign 1862 — After the Battle of South Mountain ended around nightfall on September 14, 1862, many Confederates marched by here. The next day, Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac arrived, and McClellan established his headquarters here in the German Reformed Church. The army bivouacked in and around Keedysville before it attacked Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia near Sharpsburg on September 17. After the battle, the bloodiest day in American history, Keedysville became one vast Union hospital. Here Capt. Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr., son of the poet and future justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, received treatment for his neck wound. Keedysville hosted Federal troops for several weeks thereafter. *   U.S.A. Richardson's Division, Second Army Corps, Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson, Commanding. September 15-17, 1862. On the night of Sept. 15, 1862, the division was posted at the foot of the ridge on the north side of this road, to hold the bridge across the Antietam and secure the crossing for the movement of Sept. 16. The division occupied this position until the morning of Sept. 17, when it was relieved by Morell's Division of the Fifth Corps. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 34.)  U.S.A. Second Army Corps, Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner, Commanding. (September 15 and 16, 1862.) Richardson's Division of the Second Corps, preceded by the 5th New Hampshire as skirmishers, led the infantry advance from South Mountain on the morning of September 15 and reached this point early in the afternoon, the skirmishers engaging those of the enemy beyond the Antietam. Sedgwick's and French's Divisions passed through Keedysville, late in the day, and bivouacked in the fields west of that place. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 35.)  U.S.A. Morell's Division, Fifth Army Corps. Maj. Gen. George W. Morell, Commanding. September 17 and 18, 1862. Morell's Division relieved Richardson's Division of the Second Corps at about 8.30 a.m. Sept. 17. Two brigades of this division were withdrawn at about 2 p.m. of the 17th and sent to the assistance of General Sumner on the extreme right, but returned, without becoming engaged, after dark on the same day. On Sept. 18, Morell's Division relieved the Ninth Corps at the Burnside Bridge. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 26.)  U.S.A. Humphreys' Division, Fifth Army Corps Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys, Commanding. (September 14-18, 1862.) Humphreys' Division left Washington at daylight on September 14, and reached Frederick on the afternoon of September 15. During September 16 and 17 this division was stationed in front of Frederick, to protect that city. At 3:30 p.m. of September 17 it was ordered to march to the battlefield of Antietam and to reach there, if possible, at daylight. It marched at once and reached the field at 7 a.m. on September 18, 1862, relieving Morell's Division at this point. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 19.) *   U.S.A. Cavalry Division, Brig. Gen. Alfred Pleasanton, Commanding. (September 17, 1862.) The Cavalry Division was stationed along the west bank of Antietam Creek during the Battle of September 17, in support of Horse Batteries A, B, and L (Consolidated) and M, of the Second U.S. Artillery, and Batteries C and G (Consolidated) of the Third Artillery, which were established on the crest of the ridge in front of this point. This division occupied a portion of the ground between the left flank of the Second and the right flank of the Ninth Army Corps, and covered the approaches to the bridge across Antietam Creek. At night the division was withdrawn. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 21.)  U.S.A. First Brigade, Cavalry Division. Major Charles J. Whiting, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, Commanding. Organization. 5th and 6th United States Cavalry. (September 17, 1862.) The Fifth United States Cavalry, Captain Joseph H. McArthur commanding, crossed the middle bridge over the Antietam shortly before noon and took position on the right of the road, its left resting at this point, in support to the Artillery in its front. It was withdrawn across the creek late in the day. The Sixth United States Cavalry, Capitan William P. Sanders commanding, was detached and deployed in skirmishing order, as a Provost Guard, in rear of the right wing of the Army of the Potomac. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 89.)  U.S.A. Third Brigade, Cavalry Division. Col. Richard H. Rush, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Commanding. Organization. 4th and 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. (September 17, 1862.) The Third Brigade supported Battery A, (Tidball's) 2d U.S. Artillery in its advance, piece by piece, to the crest of the ridge in front, by deploying on either side of this road, -the 4th Pennsylvania on the right and the 6th Pennsylvania on the left,- and forcing back the Confederate skirmishers. Col. James H. Childs, commanding 4th Regiment, when on the road a few yards east of this point, was mortally wounded by a rifled shot. The brigade was relieved by the advance of the regular infantry late in the afternoon. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 91.)  U.S.A. Second Brigade, Cavalry Division. Col. John Farnsworth, 8th Illinois Cavalry, Commanding. Organization. 8th Illinois, 3d Indiana, 1st Massachusetts, and 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry. (September 17, 1862.) The Second Brigade crossed the Middle Bridge under a severe fire of Confederate Artillery posted on Cemetery Hill. The 8th Pennsylvania was thrown to the right to support the Artillery north of this road. The remaining regiments took position in the ravine on the left between this point and the Antietam, where, in support to the Batteries in front, they remained until relieved by the advance of the regular infantry, when the entire brigade was withdrawn. The 8th Illinois and 3d Indiana moved up the west bank of the creek and bivouacked in the rear of the right wing of the infantry line. The 8th Pennsylvania crossed the Middle Bridge, ascended the east bank of the Antietam, recrossed the stream near Neikirks and bivouacked near the Illinois and Indiana regiments. The 1st Massachusetts recrossed the Antietam by the Middle Bridge and bivouacked near Keedysville.   U.S.A. Battery A, 2d U.S. Artillery. Captain John C. Tidball, U.S.A. Commanding. (September 17, 1862.) Horse Battery A, 2d U.S. Artillery, moved from its bivouac near Keedysville on the morning of the 17th, crossed the Antietam by the Middle Bridge and, preceded and supported by the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, went into position on the crest of this ridge about 160 yards north of this point and engaged the Confederate artillery on Cemetery Hill and the ridge north of it. At noon it was relieved to replenish ammunition. About 3 p.m., it returned to its original position and again engaged the enemy. The right section, in charge of Lieut. A.C.M. Pennington, advanced about 650 yards to the right and front, took position on the flank of Richardson's Division and engaged a Confederate battery west of the Hagerstown Pike and a few yards north of where Piper's Lane intersects it. The Battery withdrew at dusk and recrossed the Antietam. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 92.) Nice work, fellas!   U.S.A. Battery E, 1st U.S. Artillery. Lieut. Alanson M. Randol, U.S.A., Commanding. (September 17, 1862.) Early in the afternoon of the 17th, Battery E, 1st U.S. Artillery, crossed the Antietam by the Middle Bridge and relieved Robertson's Battery (B and L, 2nd U.S. Artillery) which was in position on a knoll about 80 yards south of this point. It opened a fire of spherical case on the flank of one of the Confederate Batteries on Cemetery Hill compelling it, apparently, to retire beyond the range of its guns. As the position was an unfavorable one for the use of artillery and subjected to an annoying fire of the Confederate skirmishers the battery was withdrawn and recrossed the Antietam. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 96.) Apparently!  U.S.A. Batteries C and G, 3d U.S. Artillery. Captain Horatio G. Gibson, U.S.A. Commanding. (September 17, 1862.) Horse Batteries C and G (Consolidated), 3d U.S. Artillery, crossed the Antietam in the forenoon of September 17, and went into position a short distance south of this point, on the left of Battery M, 2d U.S. Artillery, and the right of Batteries B and L (Consolidated), 2d U.S. Artillery. After an engagement of nearly two hours it was relieved by Battery E, 1st U.S. Artillery, and withdrawn east of the Antietam, taking up its second position on the ridge north of the Boonsboro Pike. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 95.)  U.S.A. Batteries B and L, 2d U.S. Artillery. Captain Jas. M. Robertson, U.S.A., Commanding (September 17, 1862.) Horse Batteries B and L (Consolidated), 2nd U.S. Artillery, crossed the Antietam by the Middle Bridge, in the forenoon of September 17, and went into position on a knoll 80 yards south of this point and engaged the enemy. It was soon disabled by the fire of the Confederate Artillery from Cemetery Hill and withdrawn, its position being taken by Battery E, 1st U.S. Artillery. One section of the Battery, under command of Lieut. Albert O. Vincent, moved to the northwest about 860 yards and engaged a Confederate battery posted in the northern part of Piper's orchard. The battery was withdrawn before dark and returned to its bivouac near Keedysville.  U.S.A. Battery M, 2d U.S. Artillery. Lieut. Peter C. Hains, U.S.A. Commanding. (September 17, 1862.) Horse Battery M, 2d U.S. Artillery, crossed the Antietam by the Middle Bridge, in the forenoon of the 17th and, preceded by the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Colonel Childs Commanding, and Battery A, 2d U.S. Artillery, advanced by the road to this point and went into position, one section on the right of the road, the other on the left. The battery was subjected to a heavy fire from the Confederate Artillery on Cemetery Hill, and from infantry skirmishers posted behind fences and stone walls. After losing three men killed the battery was relieved by Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery and withdrawn to replenish ammunition. About 5 p.m. it returned and went into position on the right of the road, its left a few feet from this point, and directed its fire at the Confederate infantry on the Piper Farm, which was continued until nearly dark when it recrossed the Antietam. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 93.)  U.S.A. Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery, Lieut. William E. Van Reed, U.S.A., Commanding. (September 17, 1862.) Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery, crossed the Antietam, by the Middle Bridge and about 2 p.m., September 17, relieved Battery M, 2d U.S. Artillery, taking position on the ridge immediately north of this point. After the expenditure of 400 rounds of ammunition at 5 p.m., the battery was relieved in turn, by Battery M, 2d U.S. Artillery, soon after which it recrossed the Antietam. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 97.)  U.S.A. Horse Batteries and Reserve Artillery, Army of the Potomac. (September 17, 1862) Horse Batteries A, B and L (Consolidated) and M, 2nd U.S. Artillery, C and G (Consolidated) of the 3d U.S. Artillery, were established on the crown of the ridge to the right and left of this point on the morning of September 17. Shortly after noon, their ammunition having been exhausted, they were relieved by Batteries E and G (Consolidated), 1st U.S. Artillery, Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery and recrossed the Antietam for ammunition. Batteries C and G (Consolidated), 3d U.S. Artillery, took position east of the Antietam on the ridge north of the Boonsboro Pike; the three other batteries returned, at intervals, between 3 and 5 p.m., and resumed their positions, remaining in battery until the close of the day. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 30.) *  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=7090 https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=7100 U.S.A. Fifth Army Corps. First Battalion (8 Cos) Fourteenth U.S. Infantry. Capt. W. Harvey Brown, 14th U.S. Infantry, Commanding. September 17, 1862. At 3 p.m. the First Battalion, Fourteenth U.S. Infantry crossed the Antietam at the Middle Bridge advanced on this road to this point and formed on the hill and in the ravine south of this tablet, the right of the battalion resting on this road. At dusk, Companies F, and G. deployed as skirmishers, advanced about 200 yards to Sherrick's Lane, formed on the right of the Second and Tenth U.S. Infantry, and engaged the enemy. The Battalion was withdrawn at dark and recrossed the Antietam. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 80.) & First Battalion, Twelfth United States Infantry. Captain M.M. Blunt, Commanding. At sunset, September 16, 1862, the First Battalion, Twelfth Infantry, relieved the Fourth Infantry, guarding the middle bridge over the Antietam and remained on that duty until after noon of the 17th, when it advanced in support of the horse batteries, posted on the crest of the ridge crossing the road a few feet west of this point. Winthrop's Company (G) was deployed in skirmishing order down the road and in the fields south of it to drive back the Confederate Sharpshooters, who were annoying the gunners, and continued on this duty until late in the day, when it was relieved by the Fourth Infantry, the Second and 10th Infantry and the Second Battalion of the Fourteenth Infantry. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 88.)  U.S.A. On the afternoon of September 17, the 4th U.S. Infantry, the 1st Battalion of the 12th, 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 14th and detachments of the 2d and 10th U.S. Infantry, were deployed to the right and left of this point in support of the batteries on the crest in rear and to check the advance of the Confederate skirmishers. They were actively engaged until dark, when they were withdrawn to the east side of the Antietam. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number F.) *  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=1967  Bloodiest One-Day Battle in American History As the thundering of artillery and rifle gave way to darkness of night, 23,000 killed and wounded Union and Confederate soldiers covered the fields around Sharpsburg. This inconceivable total gives Antietam the tragic distinction of having the highest number of casualties for any one-day battle. “The corn and the trees, so fresh and green in the morning, were reddened with blood and torn by bullet and shell, and the very earth was furrowed by the incessant impact of lead and iron.” Lt. Col. Francis Palfrey, 20th Massachusetts Infantry Ended Lee’s First Northern Invasion The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia entered Maryland on September 4, 1862. The two armies fought at South Mountain on the 14, at Antietam on the 17, and along the Potomac near Shepherdstown on September 19 and 20. The Battle of Shepherdstown was the final action in Lee’s Maryland Campaign as the Confederates returned to Virginia. “I hope by a few days rest, if it is possible to give it, and the regular issue of rations, to restore the efficiency of the army for the work before it.” Gen. Robert E. Lee, Army of Northern Virginia Led to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation The Confederate retreat provided President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. This was the first major step by the Federal Government to provide freedom to enslaved Americans. “I made a solemn vow before God, that if General Lee was driven back . . . I would crown the result by the declaration of freedom to the slaves.” President Abraham Lincoln Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.  U.S.A. Companies G. I. and K., 4th U.S. Infantry. Lieut. C.H. Carlton, Commanding. September 17, 1862. Between 3 and 4 p.m., of the 17th, the 4th U.S. Infantry took position on the right (north) of the Boonsboro Pike, near the Bloody Lane. Companies G. I. and K. under command of Lieut. Carlton, were advanced as skirmishers, their left resting on the pike at this point. The right extending northwardly across open ground in the direction of Piper's Lane. In this position they engaged the Confederate skirmishers at a rail fence, 75 yards distant from the center of the line. The center was enfiladed by canister from the enemy's guns on Cemetery Hill, south of this road, and suffered severely. About sunset the skirmishers were withdrawn and rejoined the regiment which then recrossed the Antietam. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 78.)  A Deadly Struggle — Antietam National Battlefield — An estimated 100,000 US and Confederate soldiers clashed at Antietam on September 17, 1862. During the battle, Sergeant William H. Paul, Company E, 90th Pennsylvania Infantry, put his life on the line to recapture his unit's fallen flag. He later recalled, "A rebel had already seized the colors, but I grasped them and with one supreme effort wrenched the precious banner from his hold. Waving it high above my head, I carried it throughout the remainder of the battle." Paul's actions in the Miller Cornfield inspired the sculpture in this plaza. (captions) Some of Antietam's most horrific fighting took place in the Miller Cornfield located a short distance north of here. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander "Sandie" Pendleton, who served as part of Major General "Stonewall" Jackson's staff, remembered, "such a storm of balls I never conceived it possible for men to live through. Shot and shell shrieking and crashing, canister and bullets whistling and hissing most fiend-like through the air until you could almost see them." After bravely recapturing his unit's flag at Antietam, Sergeant William H. Paul carried it until he suffered a wound at Gettysburg that prevented him from continuing as flag-bearer. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Antietam on November 3, 1896. Private Julius F. Rabardy, Company K, 12th Massachusetts Infantry, also fought in Miller's Cornfield at Antietam. Decades later, he described the horrors of that bloody day. His words are now etched into this plaza's sculpture. "I was shot through the right thigh by our own men. I had till then steered clear from the shots of the attacking party by painfully dragging myself on the north or south of the south of the tree, but too weak to continue those tactics, I was around on the east side of the tree, exposed to the fire of Slavery and Freedom." Private Julius F. Rabardy, Private, Company K, 12th Massachusetts Infantry Erected 2023 by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. * Visiting the Northern edge of the battlefield, and the start of the battle.  The Culmination of Another Great Tragedy was at Hand Pvt. William Goodhue, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry The night before the battle, the Union First and Twelfth Corps crossed Antietam Creek and marched onto the farm fields just behind you. It was the First Corps, commanded by Gen. Joseph Hooker, that opened the battle the following morning. "A foggy morning was the 17th of September," remembered Sgt. Austin Stearns, "and each army was astir and preparing for the deadly struggle that the lowest private knew was to take place." Pvt. Frederick Hitchcock wrote how, "all realized that there was ugly business and plenty of it just ahead." At the earliest blush of dawn, the deep toned thunder of artillery, mixed with the steady rattle of musketry, could be heard through the fog. The soldiers of the First Corps advanced toward the catastrophe in the cornfield, one-half mile to the south." "...tomorrow we fight the battle that will decide the fate of the Republic." Gen. Joseph Hooker, as he turned in for the night on the Joseph Poffenberger Farm Early that morning, Confederate cavalry commander, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart positioned more than a dozen cannon three-quarters of a mile southwest on high ground called Nicodemus Heights. Led by Maj. John Pelham, the shells from these guns devastated the Union soldiers as they advanced out of the North Woods and across the open ground toward the Cornfield. Federal artillerist Albert Monroe vividly remembered the fire that came from Pelham's guns: "... we could see the first rays of the sun lighting up the distant hilltops, when there was a sudden flash, and the air around us appeared to be alive with shot and shell... The opposite hill seemed suddenly to have become an active volcano, belching forth flame and smoke." Erected 2009 by Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.  * Then over to Philadelphia Brigade Park in the West Woods...  Delaware 3rd Delaware Volunteers Major Arthur MaGinnis 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XII Corps This regiment, worn down from active service in the second Manassas Campaign, went into action Sept. 17, 1862 with only five officers and 120 men. It started out on the right of the Union line in front of the West Woods. After heavy action along the Hagerstown Pike, it helped repulse Confederate counter attack following rout of Sedgwick's Division. Final position of the regiment, 65 yards North of this point. Losses Officers - Killed 1 - Wounded 2 Men - Killed 5 - Wounded 9 Total 17 of 125 engaged Erected by Delaware Civil War Centennial Commission May 30, 1964  Maryland Baltimore Battery Jackson's Division C.S.A. The battery, under the command of Capt. J.B. Brockenbrough, occupied a position near this marker at daybreak, and opened the battle on the Confederate side. The monument to the Maryland troops is near the Dunkard Church. Erected 1900 by State of Maryland.  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=7195 C.S.A. Jackson's Command. Early's Brigade, Ewell's Division. Brig. Gen. Jubal A. Early, Commanding. Organization. 13th 25th 31st 44th 49th 52d & 58th Virginia Infantry. September 17-18, 1862. No.2. After supporting Jackson's Division in repulsing the right of the First Army Corps on the plateau west of the Hagerstown Pike, Early's Brigade, moving through the West Woods and along their western edge to this point, advanced east and, in co-operation with portions of McLaws' Division, drove the 125th Pennsylvania and 34th New York from the woods near the church, then, wheeling to the left, supported by the brigades of Semmes, Anderson and Barksdale, and portions of Jackson's Division, struck the flank of Sedgwick's Division and forced it to retire from the field. The Brigade was then reformed and withdrawn to the position occupied by it in the morning and, later in the day, moved to the northern part of the West Woods, where it remained until the night of the 18th, when it recrossed the Potomac. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 379.)  The Baltimore Battery (Confederate) fired from this spot into the Union forces in the Cornfield. It included a 12-pounder iron howitzer (like the small gun before you), the only one of its kind among the 500 cannon at Antietam.  The Onward Rush to Victory or Defeat Sgt. William Andrews, 1st Georgia Regiment As the battle escalated, Union Gen. Edwin Sumner moved the Second Corps across Antietam Creek and into the battle. The swift waters of the Antietam and the difficult terrain separated the three divisions in Sumner's Corps. One division advanced toward the West Woods, while the remaining two fell behind and later assaulted the Sunken Road. At approximately 9:30 a.m. Sumner led Gen. John Sedgwick's Division, numbering more than 5,000 men, into the battle. The plan was to drive into the woods and then sweep south, delivering the crushing blow to Lee's left flank. As the Union lines moved through the West Woods, Confederate artillery posted on Hauser Ridge opened fire. Within minutes bullets flew from three different directions and cut the Federals ranks into pieces. Gen. Oliver Howard remembered, "We had the enemy's artillery and infantry both pursuing and flanking our broken brigades by rapid and deadly volleys." Confederate re-enforcements from the divisions of Gen. Lafayette McLaws and Gen. John Walker slammed into the unsuspecting Union flank. Suffering over 2,200 casualties in about twenty minutes, the Federals quickly withdrew from the West Woods. (Captions next to portraits of the Generals): Gen. Edwin Sumner Sumner's Union Second Corps advanced across Antietam Creek that morning. His three divisions became separated by time, distance and terrain. Gen. John Sedgwick His division of 5,000 men was crushed on three sides in the West Woods. Over 2,000 were killed or wounded. Known as "Uncle John," Sedgwick was wounded three times in the woods. He survived, but was later killed at Spotsylvania. Gen. John Walker Lee ordered Walker's Division to move north from the southern end of the battlefield toward the West Woods. Gen. Lafayette McLaws McLaws and his men marched all night from Harpers Ferry. Early that morning Gen. Lee ordered McLaws's men into battle. These soldiers did most of the fighting in the West Woods. Gen. Stonewall Jackson His ranks were decimated in the mornings action. What was left fell back into the West Woods. Confederate Artillery was located on Hauser Ridge. These guns fired on Sedgwick's men as they moved through the West Woods. Erected 2009 by Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.  "Back Boys, For God's Sake Move Back;" "You Are In A Bad Fix" Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner, Union Second Corps Commander (1) As the battle shifted away from the Cornfield, Gen. John Sedwick's division of Federal troops, personally led by corps commander Gen. Edwin Sumner, advanced from the East Woods. Sumner's plan was to move into the West Woods, hit the Confederates in the flank and drive them toward Sharpsburg. Over 5,000 Union soldiers marched out of the East Woods and headed toward the West Woods at 9:15 a.m. (2) Along with other Confederate forces, Gen. Lafayette McLaws's division went into battle to shore up the left end of the Confederate battle line. As they pressed into the West Woods from one side, Sedgwick's Union soldiers moved in from the other. The result of this convergence was disastrous for the Union soldiers. (3) Union Pvt. Roland Bowen remembered, "The rebs saw their advantage and with grape and canister and musketry they mowed us down." Confederates attacked from three sides into the flanks of the Federal line. The fighting was so confusing that men from New York fired into the backs of the soldiers in front of them. Within twenty minutes, the Union troops fell back from the West Woods toward the north and east. (4) As Sedgwick's men fled the West Woods, the other two divisions of the Second Corps assaulted the Sunken Road. Sedgwick had lost 2,200 out of 5,300 men in twenty minutes. The 15th Massachusetts suffered 340 casualties, the highest number for any regiment on the field during the battle. By 11:00 a.m. other Union soldiers held a portion of the West Woods around the Dunker Church. Within an hour they too were driven back to the East Woods. Federal forces did not venture west of the Hagerstown Turnpike for the remainder of the day. Gen. William E. Starke Starke took command of the Stonewall Division early that morning after Gen. John R. Jones was stunned by an artillery shell and left the field. The onslaught of the Union First Corps began to drive his men back. Starke led a counterattack out of the West Woods. He was wounded three times and died within the hour. His body was returned to Richmond where he was buried in Hollywood Cemetery. Flag of the 125th Pennsylvania Infantry In their first battle, the men of the 125th were on the left flank of the Union advance into the West Woods, where they took the brunt of the Confederate attack. Color bearer Sgt. George Simpson was killed instantly. The flag was saved and was brought back forty-two years later for the dedication of the regiment's monument behind the Dunker Church. For the veterans, seeing the flag again revived in them the "recollections and emotions of that exciting and strenuous day." West Woods Massacre Approximate Time of Action: 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Approximate Number of Soldiers engaged: Union 6,000 Confederate 8,000 Total 14,000 Approximate Number of Casualties for Each Army: Union Army of the Potomac 2,300 killed, wounded, missing Confederate Army of Northern Virginia 2,000 killed, wounded, missing Erected 2009 by Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.  The Philadelphia Brigade fought here September 17, 1862 Loss - 545 men Second Brigade (north face): The Philadelphia Brigade was mustered into the U.S. Service in 1861 under the first call for 300,000 three year volunteers. Total enrollment 1861 - 1865 5320 men Second Division (west face or rear): The Philadelphia Brigade Organization Sixty-ninth Seventy-first Seventy-second One hundred and sixth Regiments of Pennsylvania Infantry Second Corps (south face): The Philadelphia Brigade took part in the operations battles and skirmishes of the Army of the Potomac from Balls Bluff to Appomattox during term of service 1861 - 1865 Total Loss 3409 men Army of the Potomac Erected 1896 by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Philadelphia Brigade Park During the fighting in the West Woods, the Philadelphia Brigade, commanded by Gen. O.O. Howard, lost more than 550 men in about twenty minutes of combat. Thirty years later the Philadelphia Brigade Association purchased eleven acres for their monument. The veterans decided to use the excess property around the monument to establish a public park. They planted trees, erected a gate, and in 1896 dedicated a monument in what is known today as Philadelphia Brigade Park. Over seventy feet tall, the Philadelphia Brigade Monument is the tallest monument on Antietam National Battlefield. "They poured their blood out like water, and we must look to God and our country for a just reward." Gen. O.O. Howard, Commander of the Philadelphia Brigade "My comrades of the Philadelphia Brigade...you have erected a magnificent monument in honor of the private soldier who laid his life on the altar of his country in the time of need. No one could do more, and, therefore none more deserving of this honor. You have fittingly placed it on the field where so many brave comrades fell, and the imperishable nature of it is a guarantee that t will remain long after we have all passed away." Capt. John E. Reilly, monument dedication, September 17, 1896 Erected 2009 by Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.  Brigadier General William E. Starke C.S.A. Killed Here. * One more round of monuments from throughout central Antietam.  C.S.A. Colquitt's and Garland's Brigades (September 17, 1862) After the repulse of the Confederate Line in the East Woods and Cornfield north of the Smoketown Road in the morning of the 17th, parts of the Brigades of Colquitt and Garland rallied in the sunken road at this point, their right connecting with Rodes, their left resting on the Hagerstown Pike. They co-operated with Rodes in repelling the advance of French's Division, Second Corps, and in co-operating with detachments of McLaws' and Walker's Divisions, crossed this road and attacked the right flank of French's Division but were repulsed. In the afternoon parts of the two brigades were collected at Sharpsburg and moved out on the Boonsboro Pike in support of Evan's Brigade in its resistance to the advance of a portion of the Fifth Army Corps. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 365.)  Old Vermont Brigade 1861 ——— 1865 Brig. Gen. W. T. H. Brooks Second Division, Sixth Corps Second Regiment Major James H. Walbridge. Third Regiment Major Thomas O. Seaver. Fourth Regiment Lieut. Col. Chas. B. Stroughton. Fifth Regiment Colonel Lewis A. Grant Sixth Regiment Major Oscar S. Tuttle. Vermont  Destroy the Rebel Army Two days before the battle, President Abraham Lincoln sent Gen. George B. McClellan a telegram, "God bless you and all with you! Destroy the rebel army, if possible." It was here, on these rolling farm fields, where McClellan and the Army of the Potomac would try. Gen. Robert E. Lee gathered his Confederate army here and decided to "make a stand." His 40,000 soldiers spread out in a roughly three mile line. You are standing near the center of Lee's men. As you face north, it was primarily Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's soldiers who took position on this end of the battlefield. It was his men who would bear the brunt of McClellan's initial assaults. The night before the battle was rainy and dreary. Over 15,000 Union soldiers crossed Antietam Creek and moved into position on the far north end of the field. At dawn on September 17, they attacked south toward the Dunker Church and Jackson's Confederates. For the next four hours, the woods and fields in front of you changed hands countless times in horrendous combat. "From sunrise to sunset the waves of battle ebbed and flowed...while regiment, brigade and division faded away under a terrible fire, leaving long lines of dead to mark where stood the living. Fields of corn were trampled into shreds, forests were battered and scathed, huge limbs sent crashing to the earth, rent by shell and round shot. Grape and canister mingled their hissing scream in this hellish carnival." Gen. George Gordon, Union 12th Corps Erected 2009 by Antietam National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.  Beacon of Peace "May it stand as it did in war - as a beacon to guide men searching their way through the darkness. May it stand throughout all ages as a symbol of mercy, peace, and understanding." Maryland Governor Millard Tawes Church Rededication Service, September 2, 1962 The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest one-day battle in American History. Yet ironically one of the most noted landmarks on this field of combat is a house of worship associated with peace and love. This historic church was built by local German Baptist Brethren in 1852 on land donated by local farmer Samuel Mumma. The name "Dunker" comes from their practice of full immersion baptism. During its early history the congregation consisted of about a half-dozen farm families from the local area. Although heavily damaged during the battle by rifle and artillery fire, the church survived, only to be blown down by a windstorm in 1921. Rebuilt for the Civil War Centennial, it stands today as not only a step back in time, but also as a solemn reminder of the impact the battle had on the local families.   C.S.A. Jackson's Command Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, Commanding. (September 15-16, 1862.) Gen. Jackson, with Ewell's and Jackson's Divisions, left Harpers Ferry late in the afternoon of September 15th, reached Sharpsburg on the morning of the 16th, and, in the afternoon, took position on the left of Longstreet's Command; Jackson's Division formed on the right of the line, which extended from a point on the Hagerstown Pike 250 yards north of the Dunkard Church westerly through the open fields and the West Woods in the direction of Alfred Poffenberger's. Early's and Hays' Brigades of Ewell's Division were in the left rear of Jackson's Division and Lawton's and Trimble's Brigades in the woods west and northwest of the Dunkard Church. At about 10:00 p.m., Lawton's and Trimble's Brigades of Ewell's Division moved east of the pike to relieve Hood's Division of Longstreet's Command, near the south line of Miller's Cornfield and in Mumma's field south of the Smoketown Road. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 314.)  C.S.A. Jackson's Command Major General Thomas J. Jackson, Commanding. (September 17, 1862.) Jackson's Command was in order of battle at 5:30 a.m. Jackson's Division, commanded by J.R. Jones, in two lines, its right resting on the Hagerstown Turnpike 230 yards north of this. Early's and Hay's Brigades of Ewell's Division were on the left rear of Jones, and the Brigades of Lawton and Trimble were in the fields between the Hagerstown Turnpike and the East Woods. Jackson's Command was assaulted in this position, between the hours of 5:30 and 8 a.m., by the First and Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac. At about 9 a.m., having been re-enforced by McLaws' and Walker's Division of Longstreet's Command, it repulsed an assault of Sedgwick's Division of the Second Corps. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 315.)  Thirty-Fourth Regiment N.Y.S.V Col. James A. Suiter Commanding Enlisted under President Lincoln's call, issued April 15, 1861, for 75,000 men, to serve two years. Mustered into the State service May 1, 1861 Mustered into the United States service June 15, 1861 Mustered out June 30, 1863 ———— First Brigade - Second Division Second Corps ———— The surviving members of the Regiment, aided by the County of Herkimer, and the State of New York, have erected this monument, to the memory of the gallant men who fell on this and other Historic fields. ———— The dead on this field were 43 and the wounded 74. The Story in Brief ———— At 7:30 on the morning of September 17, 1862, the Thirty-fourth Regiment left camp near Keedysville, crossed the Antietam Creek and marched westward into the East Woods, now extinct. Facing Westward being on the extreme left of Brigade line it emerged from the East Woods and soon became heavily engaged with the Confederate forces in its front. Crossing the open field and the Hagerstown Pike, it entered the West Woods, now also extinct, the line extending North and South of the Dunkard Church. The left of the Regiment being unprotected was in danger of being enveloped by the enemy, and a hasty retreat became necessary, the Regiment reforming near the East Woods with its organization intact. In a very brief time 43 men had been killed and 74 wounded, the killed being 13 percent of all engaged. (Back Side): Composition of the Regiment at the time of this Battle ———— Colonel James A. Suiter Lieutenant Colonel Byron Laflin Major John Beverly Adjutant George W. Thompson Quartermaster Nathan Easterbrook, Jr. Surgeon Socretes N. Sherman Asst. Surgeon Edward S. Walker Chaplain John B. Van Petten Co. Captain County "A" Benjamin H. Warford Albany "B" Wells Sponable Herkimer "C" Thomas Corcoran Herkimer "D" John A. Scott Clinton "E" Henry Baldwin Steuben "F" Charles Riley Herkimer "G" Joy E. Johnson Herkimer "H" Samuel P. Butler Essex "I" William H. King Steuben "K" Emerson S. Northrup Herkimer (Left Side): 1862 - 1902 After many years, we, their surviving comrades, journeying hither, and calling to remembrance their fortitude in the midst of hardships, and their courage in the midst of dangers, have reverently, and with loving hands, erected this noble shaft, overlooking the fields on which they fell in glory, to preserve their memory from decay, and to tell all the story of their sacrifice, their patriotism, and their valor. ———— Other Important Engagements Edward's Ferry - Glendale Siege of Yorktown - Malvern Hill Fair Oaks, 1st & 2nd Days - South Mountain Savage Station - Fredericksburg Chancellorsville Erected 1902 by State of New York.  Purnell Legion Infantry Maryland Third Brigade. 2nd Greene's Division. 12th Mansfield's Corps. Occupied a line running north from this marker. Loss 3 killed. 23 wounded. The monument to the Maryland troops is near the Dunkard Church. Erected 1900 by State of Maryland.  125th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Color Sergeant George A. Simpson Killed at Antietam (Front Plaque): 125th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 1st Brigade 1st Division 12th Corps ———— Recruited in Blair Huntingdon and Cambria Counties, Penna. (Left Plaque): Moved at early dawn from bivouac on farm of George Line to East Woods near point where Gen. J.K.F. Mansfield was mortally wounded, from there to support Monroe's First Rhode Island Battery on Smoketown Road, then to woods that stood here September 17, 1862. Was the first Union Regiment therein being far advanced and without sufficient support, it was outflanked by the enemy and retired behind batteries in field in rear and subsequently saved the guns of Monroe's Battery from capture. Remained in line until close of battle monument is near the left of its main line of battle. Loss at Antietam Killed and Died of Wounds 54 Seriously Wounded 91 Slightly Wounded and Not Reported 84 Total 229 Erected 1904 by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  C.S.A. Longstreet's Command. Kershaw's Brigade, McLaws' Division. Brig. Gen. J.B. Kershaw, Commanding. Organization. 2d South Carolina Infantry, 7th South Carolina Infantry, 3d South Carolina Infantry, 8th South Carolina Infantry. September 17, 1862. Kershaw's Brigade crossed the Potomac at Blackford's Ford about daybreak of the 17th and halted in the western suburbs of Sharpsburg until nearly 9 a.m., when it crossed the fields and took position in the open ground southwest of the Dunkard Church from which, supported by Walker's Division and Early's Brigade, it moved to the attack of the 34th New York Infantry of Sedgwick's Division, Second Corps, and the 125th Pennsylvania of the Twelfth Corps, just west of the church, causing them to retire. Efforts to drive Greene's Division and the Federal artillery from the ridge east of the Hagerstown Pike were repulsed and the brigade fell back beyond the western limits of the West Woods. Later in the day it moved to the northern part of the West Woods, where it remained until the night of the 18th when it was withdrawn and recrossed the Potomac. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 361.)  C.S.A. Walker's Division, Longstreet's Command. Brig. Gen. John G. Walker, Commanding. September 16-17, 1862. Walker's Division left Harper's Ferry on the evening of September 15, crossed the Potomac at Blackford's Ford, and reached Sharpsburg during the afternoon of the 16th. It was held in reserve until daybreak of the 17th, when it took position on the extreme right, 1-½ miles south of the town, on the high ground overlooking Snavely's Ford. Between 8 and 9 a.m. it moved to the left under orders to support Jackson's Command. Arriving opposite the southwest edge of the West Woods, it supported McLaws in his attack on Sedgwick's Division and advanced nearly to the Hagerstown Pike where it was checked by the heavy fire of the Federal artillery. It repulsed an attempt of a portion of Gordon's Brigade to cross the Hagerstown Pike, north of the Dunkard Church, and assisted in repelling Greene's Division, Twelfth corps, from the woods beyond the church. The right of the division crossed the Hagerstown Pike, in the vicinity of the church, but was compelled to retire to the woods and open ground to the south where it remained until it recrossed the Potomac on the night of the 18th. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 360.)  C.S.A. Longstreet's Command. Kershaw's Brigade, McLaws' Division Brig. Gen. J.B. Kershaw, commanding. Organization. 2d, 3d, 7th, and 8th South Carolina Infantry's (September 17, 1862.) About 9:45 a.m. the 2d, 7th, and 8th South Carolina of Kershaw's Brigade charged out of the woods and across this road upon Tompkins' Rhode Island Battery on the ridge about 220 yards east of this. The charge was repulsed by the battery and Green's Division of infantry, and the brigade fell back beyond the western limits of the West Woods. Nearly one-half of the officers and men of the Brigade were killed and wounded in less than fifteen minutes. This tablet marks the point where the center of the brigade crossed the road, its left reached nearly to the church. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 387.)  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6886 U.S.A. Twelfth Army Corps Stainrook's Brigade, Green's Division, Col. Henry J. Stainrook, 100th Penn., Commanding. Organization. 3d Maryland Infantry, 102d New York Infantry, 111th Pennsylvania Infantry. (September 17, 1862.) After the Confederate right flank had been turned, Stainrook's Brigade pursued through the East Woods, cross the fields to the left of the burned buildings on the Mumma Farm and halted behind the ridge a few yards east of this point where with the assistance of Monroe's and Tomkin's Rhode Island Batteries, it protected the right of Frenche's Division of the Second Corps, and repulsed several assaults of the enemy. About 10:30 a.m., the brigade crossed this road and entered the woods on the left of the Dunkard Church its left on the road directly opposite this tablet where it remained until noon when it was compelled to retire to the East Woods. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 52.)  U.S.A. First Army Corps Christian's Brigade, Rickett's Division, Col. W.A. Christian, 26th New York, Commanding. Organization. 26th and 94th New York, 88th and 90th Pennsylvania Infantry. (September 17, 1862.) Christian's Brigade advanced from the Poffenberger woods in support of Hartsuff's left. The 90th Pennsylvania was detached to the support of Matthews' Pennsylvania Battery in the field between D.R. Miller's and the East Woods, but soon thereafter rejoined the Brigade, which moved through the East Woods and came into line on either side of the Smoketown Road, the 26th and 94th New York forming on the west edge of the East Woods, south of the Smoketown Road. The 88th Pennsylvania fought on the line of and, finally relieved, the 83rd New York, which was the left of Hartsuff's Brigade, the 90th Pennsylvania relieving the right of Hartsuff's Brigade and charging about 40 yards beyond it. The Brigade fought until its ammunition ws nearly exhausted when it was relieved by the advance of the Twelfth Corps. This tablet marks the point reached by the 90th Pennsylvania. Erected by Antietam Battlefield Board. (Marker Number 9.) |
And I'm sure I'll be back for even more soon...
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