July 20, 2017, Antietam-
Visiting the site of the bloodiest single day battle in American history was not something I particularly relished, but in these days of sanitizing history, I am doubly determined to not ignore any lesson- nor will I pretend the horrors never happened.
Antietam Creek, the farms that surrounded it and the rowdy townsfolk who, then and now, challenge those from somewhere else, make for a difficult and compelling story.
I arrived here, right around 1:30 p.m. A twenty minute walk around the Visitor Center, and its immediate surrounds, gave me a sense of the field of vision that was afforded Generals McClellan and Lee, as they prepared for the horrific face-off of September 17, 1862.
The most intense initial fighting took place around a church- shades of Brandywine. Like Birmingham Hill Friends Meeting House, during the Revolutionary War, the Dunker Church served as a makeshift hospital, for wounded of both sides.
Many of the states which sent troops to battle have monuments at Antietam, just as they do at Gettysburg. Here are photos of several monuments, from both sides. Pennsylvania, followed closely by Ohio, has the largest number of monuments here. The Philadelphia Brigade’s monument is the tallest of any at Antietam.
Indiana’s monument is also quite formidable.
New York has several, including two which align with one another.
The Texans, who fought perhaps more ferociously than most, have their state memorial, across the road from the New York pair.
Georgia, likewise, has honoured its soldiers,with a monument facing those dedicated to the Union cause.
Clara
The reality of defeat, along with the vow to regroup and press on, is signified by these stacked rifles of the Pennsylvania regulars.
There were several farms in the area, all of whose owners stood with the Union. At the Popfenberger Farm, however, Clara Barton set up a full field hospital, to treat the wounded of both sides.
The Mumma Farm was a key supplier of provisions to the Union Army, and as such was a thorn in the side of Robert E.Lee. His troops took possession of the farm, in midday, and burned it to the ground. The Mumma family had, of course, fled to a church, six miles away, well before the Confederates arrived.
A sunken road, to the south of the property, built by Joseph Mumma, served as a trench for the Rebels, and became known as Bloody Lane, for the thousands of casualties that occurred there.
The David Miller Farm, west of the Mumma property, was likewise, a key supplier of the Union effort, and was also the scene of some of the most intense fighting of the day.
Miller’s cornfield became known as “The Bloody Cornfield”, for the fighting that ensued there, from three directions. Anyone who has ever been in a corn maze knows how confusing it can get, to navigate a dense field.
As I continued on, to the southern and western segments of the Battlefield, just southeast of Bloody Lane, there is a tower, from which one can spot twenty miles, in any direction. This was built in 1890, to provide such a bird’s eye view,
Here is a southeastward view, from the tower’s observation deck. The town of Sharpsburg is seen, eight miles away.
The Irish Brigade, composed of immigrants from that country, has its own memorial, at the base of the Observation Tower. It was commanded at Antietam, by Gen. Thomas Meagher (“Marr”), a refugee from the United Kingdom. This unit also formed part of the Zouaves, who have their own, collective monument, on the east side of Sharpsburg. Here is the Irish Brigade’s monument.
Lastly, here is a look at Burnside Bridge, named for the Union general, Ambrose Burnside, who miscalculated the difficulty of crossing Antietam Creek, just to the south of the bridge, and cost his troops a chance to ambush the Confederates, who were waiting in Mumma’s Lane.
With the end of the day, there was a consensus that the Union Army, by staving off Lee’s invasion of Maryland, had turned the tide of the war. Although the Confederates would go on to attack Gettysburg, PA, a relatively short distance to the northeast, a year later, Lee’s army would never again have the upper hand.
The legacy of war is often more war. People can’t be forced to change their hearts, though I am certainly glad that government-sanctioned slavery, at least, has been brought to an end. Having had enough of the Civil War for one day, I found a place to rest, in Charles Town, WV,
NEXT: Harpers Ferry
Wow, lovely historic moments.
LikeLike
They are lovely monuments, but the MOMENTS the place describes were hideous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We visited there when we were traveling to GeoWoodstock in 2015. It has so much history. We were lucky to have a park ranger who gave us some details and insights concerning the battle. It was a great visit. Glad you were able to take it all in!!
LikeLike
I approach historical sites which include the Confederacy with an open heart, though I do not have an open mind, when it comes to systemic mistreatment of masses of people. I do learn as much as I can, about those whom I would have opposed, in a different time, because the only way to not revert to odious practices, is to know what caused them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That place has a great view 🙂
LikeLike
It certainly does, in several spots.
LikeLike
My mate would be very interested in this Civil War thread especially, and I’ve advised him of your WP name, so that he can read, at his leisure. He has a Springfield rifle with a bayonet, leaning in the corner of the library, here. Not to mention the Confederate flag hanging outside. You’re right about history, of course. We’re both adamant at this point that people remember, more of it, rather than just the last, say, fifty years. That flag was created as a battle flag, because the two sides at first had such similar flags that they were shooting at their own men. The KKK has co-opted it for their own ugly purposes. My mate (something of a historian, btw) insists that the Civil War was not fought over slavery.
But I digress. (-;
Thank you for all of these posts, walking us through time.
LikeLike
The mountain folk, in the Appalachians and the swamp folk, of Louisiana and east Texas, did not regard slavery as worth the fight. It was, for them, a battle against far-off Washington. The Mexican- American merchants and traders, of south Texas, likewise were not concerned with slavery. They just wanted to rake in the bucks. The plantation class, though, definitely were concerned with continuing slavery- especially the cotton planters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You got some nice photos. I live only 15 minutes from the battlefield. I was just recently there over the summer taking photos.
LikeLike