Celebrating America 250 by remembering our visit to a Civil War battlefield, Antietam - the deadliest one-day battle in American military history.
We're not big-time major travelers or vacationers in my family, but we have seen some pretty awesome American history sites. And we will hopefully see more coming up.
In the meantime...here's another historical vacation we took a number of years ago~~~
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Sharpsburg/Antietam, Maryland.
What thoughts conjure up when you hear that name?
The Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day of the American Civil War, and is considered one of the major turning points of the war. This battle was the first of two attempts by Robert E. Lee to go on the offensive and take the war onto northern soil and into the Union.
Around 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862, according to the National Park Service. The Battle of Antietam led President Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
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"Americans fought back and forth across the Cornfield for three hours. Those three hours may encompass the most concentrated fury in American History." We were there in April, so there was no corn growing at that time of year here. |
A little known local old farmer's sunken road became a bloody icon of American History:
During the early hours of the battle, Colonel 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.
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Approximately 5,500 to 5,600 soldiers were killed or wounded along the Sunken Road—later known as "Bloody Lane"—during the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. Right here on this very spot. |
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Seeing the dead in the road an observer wrote, "They were lying in rows like the ties of a railroad, in heaps like cordwood mingled with the splintered and shattered fence rails. Words are inadequate to portray the scene." As mentioned, the Sunken Road was forever after known as the Bloody Lane. I can't even imagine. |
One of the things rarely spoken about at reenactments and in history classes is the smell of battle. I mean...the smell alone must've been horrific. Civil War battlefields were defined by an overwhelming, sickening stench described as a mix of sulfurous gunpowder, rotting flesh, and stagnant filth. Witnesses frequently described the odor of decaying corpses, unburied animals, and open latrines as an "oppressive, malignant force" that hung in the air. Black powder created a pungent sulfur smell, which combined with the heavy, scent of blood and decaying human remains. Horses often littered the field, and their rapid decomposition added to the severe, nauseating odor. Disease-ridden, unburied bodies sometimes lay in the sun for days. In fact, there were witnesses who claimed that the smell was so dense it could be seen, felt, and even "cut with a knife"
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William Roulette bought this property before the Civil War. By Tuesday, September 16th, having heard the sounds of battle coming from South Mountain as early as September 14th, William Roulette took his family, including his six children who ranged in age from 1 to 14 years old, to the Manor Church, a Brethren church located six miles north of the battlefield. However, the farm couldn’t be left alone indefinitely, so William returned on September 17 to look after his stock. "When firing began he went into the cellar for safety, but when our boys cleaned out the Johnnies he quickly ran out, shouting excitedly: ‘Give it to ‘em!’ ‘Drive ‘em!’—'Take anything on my place only drive ‘em! Drive ‘em!’ " |
And so, to add to the stench already wafting about, think of the soldiers who lost arms and legs during the field hospital surgeries, the bloody screams as the surgeon's saws cut through flesh and bone. These appendages were tossed onto the nearby ground and left for rotting alongside the dead soldiers and horses killed in battle, as well as fecal matter. Disease-ridden, unburied bodies and the arms and legs taken from the wounded sometimes lay in the sun for days.
Worse yet, if the battle happened to be followed by a flooding rainstorm, and all of the muck and guck that lay rotting now mixes with the ground and groundwater.
Yeah...stories untold indeed...
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"It is A.P. Hill from Harper's Ferry!" "The first thing we saw appear was the gilt eagle that surmounted the pole, then the top of the flag, next the flutter of the stars and stripes itself, slowly mounting, up it rose, then their hats came in sight, still rising the faces emerged, next a range of curious eyes appeared, then such a hurrah as only the Yankee troops could give broke the stillness and they surged against us. Hastily emptying our muskets into their lines, we fled back through the cornfield. Oh, how I ran." |
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| The Battle of Antietam, fought September 17, 1862, was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of this nation. Yet, one of the most noted landmarks on this great field of combat is a house of worship associated with peace and love. Indeed, aside from The Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts, the Dunker Church ranks as perhaps one of the most famous churches in American military history. |
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During the battle of Antietam the church was the focal point of a number of Union attacks against the Confederate left flank. Most after action reports by commanders of both sides, including Union General Hooker and Confederate Stonewall Jackson, make references to the church. At battles end the Confederates used the church as a temporary medical aid station, and at least one account states that after the battle the Union Army used the Dunker Church as an embalming station. |
In 1921 a violent storm swept through the area flattening the church.
The land and church ruins were put up for sale and purchased by Sharpsburg resident Elmer Boyer. He salvaged most of the undamaged material of the building and in turn sold the property. The new property owner built a home on the foundation of the old church and in the 1930’s operated a gas station and souvenir shop on the site. This structure was removed in 1951 when the property was purchased by the Washington County Historical Society. They in turn donated the site, then just a foundation, to the National Park Service. The Church was restored for the 100th Anniversary of the Battle in 1962 on the original foundation with as much original materials as possible and now stands as a beacon of peace on the battlefield.
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| When I hear the word Antietam, a photograph comes to mind first — the bodies of fallen soldiers and a horse near the damaged Dunker Church. Tintype photographer, Alexander Gardner, summed up both the horror of the day and the effect on individual people in a single well-composed scene. |
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Union side The Burnside Bridge spans the Antietam Creek. Confederate General Robert Toombs and fewer than 500 Georgia soldiers held the area overlooking the Lower Bridge for three hours. Union General Ambrose Burnside's command finally captured the bridge and crossed Antietam Creek, which forced the Confederates back toward Sharpsburg. |
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Confederate side Known at the time of the battle as the Rohrbach or Lower Bridge, this picturesque crossing over Antietam Creek was built in 1836 to connect Sharpsburg with Rohrersville, the next town to the south. It was actively used for traffic until 1966 when a bypass enabled the bridge to be restored to its 1862 appearance. |
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Union side About 1:00 p.m., with Union soldiers crossing downstream and another attack made on the bridge, Toombs and his men had to retreat. However, the strong delaying action provided much needed time to allow Gen. A.P. Hill's Confederate soldiers, marching from Harpers Ferry, to arrive on the field. |
My one regret is not touring the town of Sharpsburg to hear about and see the history that took place for the citizens of town, similar to what the citizens of Gettysburg would experience in only a few short months. I have a book on what occurred, so there's that, which does help. But it's something to see it all first-hand.
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But wait---there's more:
As a youngster, we did not take too many vacations. We went to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio, Mackinac/Mackinaw City and Island in northern Michigan (of which I intend to return to soon), and Niagara Falls in Canada. As a young man - late teens - I did go to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. That was a good time. In fact, my wife and I took our honeymoon partly in Nashville and partly in Gatlinburg a few years later.
But other than that - going all far from home for a vacation was not a thing. You see, we had a family cottage on Lake Huron and that's where we spent our vacations and weekends.
That, too, was wonderful. I mean, we were only steps from the lake and beach.
However, later on, as our oldest kids grew into teens, we began to reenact, and that's when we did take a few pretty cool vacations based in history---check out the links below:
~Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - three times
~Harper's Ferry, West Virginia
~Sharpsburg / Antietam, Maryland (today's post!)
And then, a number of years later, we took our two youngest to
~Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
More recently, Patty and I and our son Miles took a trip to
~Massachusetts ---- Boston, Lexington & Concord, Concord Museum, Mayflower II, The Pilgrim Hall Museum, and Plimoth Patuxet Village and more locally, we often visit The Henry Ford Museum Revolutionary War Exhibit , other cool items in the Henry Ford Museum, and also historic open-air Greenfield Village.
Plus, my wife & I also did our own daytrip tours of some historic structures built in Michigan Territory during that covid summer of 2020.
My wife and I have other vacation destinations in mind over the next few years - God willing it'll come to pass.
When we do go, you can bet I'll write about it here, being that they are based in American history.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this.
Until next time, see you in time.
Interested in the Citizens of Gettysburg and their plight? Click HERE
This year is the Semiquincentennial - America's 250th birthday celebration. I have numerous blog posts you might enjoy checking out:
To begin with, here are a couple of postings I did consisting of links connecting you to a few of my Revolutionary War posts. Sort of an all in one package.
Interested in Revolutionary War era flags?
Click HERE to see my collection of replications.
Click HERE to see my collection of replications.
How about my collection of Paul Revere collectibles and a 250th commemoration - - click HERE
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