The Battle of Antietam

In 2005 when we were on vacation here we visited the Antietam Battlefield. Back then I really knew nothing about the Civil War. Back then I wasn't even sure who were the confederates and who were the Union. I knew the North won the Civil War, but that was about it. Boy have times changed. Over the last year of actually living here I have visited some civil war sites, read a few books on it, and have done a lot of research. My latest book was about Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Very Very interesting. Stonewall Jackson was assigned to protect the Shenandoah Valley. (Where we live). The places in the book are towns I have been to or I have at least heard of. In fact Stonewall Jackson's headquarters is right here in Winchester.

Today we took Corrie to Frederick so she could hitch a ride with a friend to Maryland for the weekend. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to go see the Battle of Antietam again. If you remember when we did Ashlie's College visit to Shepherd University I wanted to visit the town of Sharpsburg where the Battle of Antietam took place but we ran out of time. Visiting the battle also went along with my reading of Stonewall Jackson as he fought at the battle.

Before I get into the actual battle I have to set the stage for the battle. It is Aug-Sept 1862. About 1 1/2 years into the war. All of the war to this point has been fought in Southern Territory. Mainly Virginia. The south (confederates) with Robert E. Lee in charge and Stonewall Jackson under him have just won some major battles in Manassas Virginia. On a Confidence high, Robert E Lee wanted to take the war into northern territory. He marched his army to Frederick, MD (where we dropped Corrie off). Robert E Lee made a risky move and decided to split his army. Some of the army headed west from Frederick over South Mountain while Jackson took his men south to overtake Harpers Ferry. (I have blogged about Harpers Ferry before). While crossing South Mountain the confederates ran into trouble and ended up loosing many men in the battles. A beaten Robert E Lee has now decided to retreat back to Virginia. Jackson on the otherhand easily overtook Harpers Ferry, but Robert E Lee does not get the news until Lee arrives in Sharpesburg. After hearing the news of the victory in Harpers Ferry Lee decides to stand his ground against the union just outside of Sharpesburg. Meanwhile McClellan and his Union army have found secret orders left in a conferderate campsite in Frederick stating the confederates intentions and how they were split. The Union advances and catches up with Lee and his army just outside Sharpesburg. Fortunately for the confederates the Union is slow in acting which gives Jackson time to get up to Antietam before the union army arrives. The stage is now set.

Keep in mind when viewing the pictures the National Parks System takes pride in keeping the battlefield as it was 146 years ago.

The battle begins on the morning of Sept 17 1862. Most of the morning consisted of fighting in a cornfield. This is a view of the cornfield from the perspective of the union.

The second phase of the day revolved around a sunken road. The road is just beyond this fence. it is so sunken from caring farm goods along the road you can't even tell there is a road there from this perspective.

In fact in this picture Austin is actually standing in the road and you can barely see his head. On the left his a square looking something. That actually is a railing for stairs that goes down to the sunken road. From there the fence on this side of the road begins. Austin is to the left of the second post waving

The confederates hid in the road and killed the unions as they came over the hill. There was such a loss of lives on both sides along this road it was called Bloody lane.

At the end of the lane is an observation tower. I took these pictures from the tower which are very good views of the battlefield.

View of the sunken road from the tower

In this picture, the sunken road is to the left. In the middle of the picture is a white building. That is where the cornfield is. The union is marching towards the camera. The confederates are marching from the left towards the cornfield. The white farm on the right of the picture is the Mumma Farm. The only farm the confederate destroyed on purpose so the union would not use it for defense. For the second phase of the day, the union is marching from the right of the picture to the sunken road. The confederates are in the sunken road.

The picture in this view is to the left of the sunken road. The fence in this picture is not the sunken road. The sunken road is to my back in this picture. It is the scene of the 3rd phase of the battle.

The confederates are coming towards the camera and being pushed back by the union. Until they get to this bridge. Which is in among the trees in the above picture.

After several delays and attempts the Union lead by Ambrose Burnside finally take over the bridge and force the confederates back towards the town of Sharpesburg. Night fell upon them so the battle of the day ended. During the night Lee retreated back to Virginia.

The casualties of the day ended up being 23,100 for both sides. It is the bloodiest day in history. Including all wars since the Civil War.

FYI, when we were here in 2005 the kids were less than thrilled to be on this particular adventure. The auto tour takes a couple of hours. When we finally arrived at this bridge I made the kids actually get out of the car. They reluntantly made their way down to the bridge. When Austin saw the bridge he got very excited. He had just learned about this bridge in school. He couldn't remember anything about the bridge or the battle but remembered the picture. We then looked at the bridge and you could see where they have patched the bridge from all of the bullet holes. History now came to life for Austin. He now wanted to know what this whole battle was about. This time I think he actually paid attention to the auto tour. He was very excited when he got to the bridge again.

I of course want to go back (WITHOUT screaming babies in the car). The next time I might ride a bike around the battlefield. I will definitely go on some of the walks. For example, one of the paths is actually through the cornfield so you can really get a feel and a view of what it was like.

I really don't fully understand why there such a loss at this battle. Some of the shows I have seen on the history channel talked about the terrain and how deceiving it is. For example around the cornfield the confederates where walking and had no idea the union was right there until they were right ontop of them. It had nothing to do with the cornfield but everything to do with the terrain.

If you ever get a chance you really must go to this battlefield. Pictures can't do this justice. There also are so many other things learn about at this battlefield. Stories of Clara Barton, the artillery, the use of photography, and yes even the carnage. I am trying to find a really good link to websites on this battle, but haven't found one I really like. Keep checking back. I am sure I will find one. Here is a map that can help you with the layout of the battlefield