BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Visitor Center

MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Visitor Center:

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Description of Pictures: Including the flags being half-mast for the mass murder in Orlando.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. ANTIV1_160613_015.JPG: The flags were half-mast due to the recent mass murder at the Miami nightclub.
2. ANTIV1_160613_039.JPG: An Enduring Legacy The largest, most significant artifact of the soldiers' legacy is the landscape itself. In the 1880s, veterans from both North and South felt strongly that the fields of the American Civil War should be preserved. The battlefields would serve as outdoor classrooms to visit, learn and remember. The legislation that helped create this battlefield stated: "A nation should preserve the landmarks of its history. The field on which the battle took place is practically unchanged from what it was on the day of the action, save the cutting down of some trees, and presents today, as it did in 1862, the most open field on which was fought any of the great battles of the rebellion, a field of which the eye at one sweep can take in all points. It is proposed to maintain the field in the same condition as to roads, fields, forests, and houses." -- Committee on Military Affairs, February 28, 1891
3. ANTIV1_160613_049.JPG: Instruments of War: Music and the Civil War are inseparable. Thousands of musicians served in both armies. Buglers and drummers led men into battle. Soldiers sang around the campfires, and patriotic music boosted morale in the army and on the home front. The youngest soldier known to have been killed during the battle was Charles "Charley" King, drummer for Company F, 49th Pennsylvania Infantry. Wounded by an artillery shell, Charley would die three agonizing days later at age 13.
4. ANTIV1_160613_055.JPG: A soldier's pocketbook contained messages to boost morale
5. ANTIV1_160613_058.JPG: Hand-sewn, one-sided flag made by Union commander Gen. George McClellan's niece Elizabeth for him to carry during the war.
6. ANTIV1_160613_068.JPG: Nothing was Sacred: These items from the Dunker Church are a testament to the indiscriminate damage caused by the armies. The bible was taken after the battle by Sergeant Nathan Dykeman of the 107th New York Infantry. Dykeman carried the bible back to New York where it remained in his family until his death in 1903. After his death, Dykeman's sister gave it to the veterans of the regiment who returned the bible to its rightful place 41 years after the battle.
7. ANTIV1_160613_078.JPG: The smashing effects of this 6-pounder solid shot was effective against buildings, earthworks, fortifications and deadly when fired into men.
8. ANTIV1_160613_081.JPG: Schenkl percussion fuze also exploded on impact. Confederate Bormann time fuze could be set to explode from 1/4 of a second to 5-1/4 seconds.
9. ANTIV1_160613_086.JPG: Packet of time fuzes. Parrott fuze plug.
10. ANTIV1_160613_089.JPG: A thumb stall protected the gunner's hand from burns while servicing hot cannon barrels.
11. ANTIV1_160613_100.JPG: Infantry Weapons: The infantry or foot soldier made up the majority of Civil War armies. Fighting in long lines of men, loading and firing muzzle loading rifles 2 of 3 times a minute, soldiers would literally fill the air with lead bullets. Private George Kimball of the 12th Msssachusetts described the fire "as a perfect roar of muskets and a storm of bullets."
12. ANTIV1_160613_105.JPG: Civil War Relic: Section of wooden fence rail that Confederate forces under Gen. D.H. Hill used to entrench themselves against attacks by Union forces led by Gen. Wm. H. French at Sunken Road (Bloody Lane) on September 17, 1862 on the Antietam battlefield in Sharpsburg, Mayland. There are five iron cannister balls embedded in the rail. Four in the front and one in the back.
13. ANTIV1_160613_109.JPG: Lt. Henry Kyd Douglas: Lieutenant Douglas was 21 years old during the Battle of Antietam. Born just three miles from these fields, Douglas' knowledge of the local roads aided his commander throughout the Maryland Campaign. Douglas is remembered as the author of I Rode with Stonewall, a chronicle of Jackson and the Civil War years.
14. ANTIV1_160613_118.JPG: Officers in Blue and Gray: These uniforms and personal items were owned by Captain John A. Thompkins, a Union artillery officer from Rhode Island and by Henry Kyd Douglas, a local Marylander who served on "Stonewall" Jackson's staff.
15. ANTIV1_160613_146.JPG: Dear Folks, Sept 15 1862 Harpers Ferry has surrendered. Nobody hurt on our side. HK Douglas From this letter, Douglas' parents living at nearby Ferry Hill Place learned of General Jackson's capture of Harpers Ferry and 12,000 Union soldiers two days before the Battle of Antietam. General Jackson valued Douglas' dedication, and at Antietam gave the young man the Virginia map he had used during is daring Shenandoah Valley campaign.
16. ANTIV1_160613_149.JPG: This map case was willed to Douglas by a fellow staff officer and close personal friend Lieutenant Colonel A.S. "Sandie" Pendleton who was killed in 1864 at Fishers Hill, Virginia.
17. ANTIV1_160613_153.JPG: These spurs were presented to Douglas by a captured Federal officer
18. ANTIV1_160613_162.JPG: Douglas used this shaving glass until he lost it near Richmond. It was returned to him twenty years later by a Confederate veteran who had found it at Antietam by the body of a Union soldier.
19. ANTIV1_160613_168.JPG: Legacy of Change: When the soldiers of two American armies converged on the peaceful village of Sharpsburg, they transformed the once tranquil farms that surrounded the town into horrific fields of combat. This community would never be the same. Five days after the guns fell silent, President Abraham Lincoln redefined the meaning of the war when he announced the Emancipation Proclamation. No longer was this conflict being waged solely to reunited a divided country, now this war would also be fought to abolish slavery. As the years passed, the site of the Civil War's bloodiest single-day battle evolved into a place of reflection and national remembrance. Though the scars of war have faded from the landscape, Antietam National Battlefield remains hallowed ground. It is a place where America forever changed -- a place to ponder the meaning of sacrifice and freedom. The Community: Sharpsburg citizens took shelter in basements to escape the battle. No civilians were killed during the battle, but the community suffered for years. The Nation: President Lincoln first introduced the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet in July of 1862, but he had to wait until the Confederate withdrawal after Antietam to present it to the nation. The Battlefield: Early commemoration efforts began with the dedication of the National Cemetery in 1867. President Andrew Johnson, seven governors, and over 10,000 people attended the event.
20. ANTIV1_160613_172.JPG: The Community: Sharpsburg citizens took shelter in basements to escape the battle. No civilians were killed during the battle, but the community suffered for years.
21. ANTIV1_160613_176.JPG: The Nation: President Lincoln first introduced the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet in July of 1862, but he had to wait until the Confederate withdrawal after Antietam to present it to the nation.
22. ANTIV1_160613_183.JPG: The Battlefield: Early commemoration efforts began with the dedication of the National Cemetery in 1867. President Andrew Johnson, seven governors, and over 10,000 people attended the event.
23. ANTIV1_160613_187.JPG: Deliver Us From This Terrible War -- Hagerstown resident Lutie Kealhofer Sharpsburg was settled in the mid eighteenth century when tihs land was the western frontier. For years, local residents worked the land, raised families, and worshiped in peace. On one terrible Wednesday in September, the terror of battle forced the 1,300 people of Sharpsburg to take refuge in cellars, caves, and nearby churches. Returning to their war torn farms, local citizens found extensive property damage and thousands of dead and wounded soldiers. Homes, barns and churches were converted to hospitals and needed supplies were taken for use by the army including food, clothing, blankets, and firewood. Graves replaced crops. Though no civilians were killed during the battle, many died afterward from diseases brought by 80,000 Union soldiers who stayed for six weeks. Residents comforted those searching for loved ones and guided visitors found walking across their farms trying to make sense of this battle. Amid this tragedy, the resilient people of Sharpsburg survived, endured, and rebuilt their community. The people of Sharpsburg fled the gathering armies and returned to find: Suffering: More than one hundred field hospitals were established in barns, churches and woodlots to care for approximately 18,000 wounded soldiers. Death: Bodies were gathered for burial. About 4,000 soldiers were killed during the battle. Destruction: The Mumma Farm was burned to the ground for Confederate soldiers during the battle.
24. ANTIV1_160613_190.JPG: Suffering: More than one hundred field hospitals were established in barns, churches and woodlots to care for approximately 18,000 wounded soldiers.
25. ANTIV1_160613_194.JPG: Death: Bodies were gathered for burial. About 4,000 soldiers were killed during the battle.
26. ANTIV1_160613_198.JPG: Destruction: The Mumma Farm was burned to the ground for Confederate soldiers during the battle.
27. ANTIV1_160613_206.JPG: Nancy Camel's manumission, for nineteenth century Americans of African descent freedom was proven by the possession of a document manumitting (or releasing) them from enslavement. This is the one carried by Miss Camel. The purchase and manumission of persons was recorded in the county property records office.
28. ANTIV1_160613_215.JPG: Nancy Camel
29. ANTIV1_160613_219.JPG: Samuel Mumma's pocket watch was the only heirloom saved by the family before their farm was burned during the Battle of Antietam. It features a fob made from his wife Elizabeth's hair. The original gold housing was removed and sold in the years after the battle.
30. ANTIV1_160613_223.JPG: Letter written by James F. Clark of New Bern, North Carolina, to the postmaster, Sharpsburg, Maryland, dated March 17, 1906. As a member of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry during the battle, Clark was involved in the burning of the Mumma house and farm buildings. In this letter, Clark asked for some information in order to apologize to the Mumma family. Coincidentally, the postmaster turned out to be Samuel Mumma Jr., who sent a return letter to Clark expressing no hard feelings since he was "just carrying out orders."
31. ANTIV1_160613_240.JPG: The portraits before you are of William and Margaret Ann Miller Roulette. The furniture is from their home, which stands today 700 yards behind the visitor center. The Roulette farm was one of the first established in the area and was known for successful production as well as for its serene beauty. The Battle of Antietam brought a sharp contrast, as the farm was in the path of thousands of Union soldiers marching towards the Sunken Road. Intense fighting swept through the area and the Roulette's lives would be forever changed. Union soldiers charge past the Roulette house and barn.
32. ANTIV1_160613_243.JPG: The Earl Roulette Collection: This case contains a portion of the battle relics collected by Earl Roulette. During his forty years of tilling the soil of his Sharpsburg farm, Mr. Roulette often said, "I must have been up and down off that tractor a thousand times," recovering bullets and other artifacts. He was also a historian and caretaker for the family letters, documents, and bibles that help us understand more about this community and the life of his great-grandparents, William and Margaret Roulette.
33. ANTIV1_160613_246.JPG: Photograph of the Roulette Farm taken just after the battle
34. ANTIV1_160613_249.JPG: "The Battle Caused Considerable Destruction of Property Here." -- William Roulette
35. ANTIV1_160613_254.JPG: Louis XV style lady's armchair, with matching side chair. Mahogany spool side table.
36. ANTIV1_160613_270.JPG: After the battle, William Roulette wrote: "The battle caused considerable destruction of property here. My nearest neighbor lost his house and barn by fire. I lost three valuable horses and sheep, hogs, poultry, vegetables, and indeed everything eatable we had about the house so that when we came back we was obliged to bring provisions with us." After the battle, the Roulette's home and barn were used as hospitals for wounded men and seven hundred dead were interred in their farm fields. The biggest impact, however, was felt through a direct loss to the family itself, as Mr. Roulette continued: "Our youngest died since the battle, a charming little girl twenty months old, Carrie May -- just beginning to talk."
37. ANTIV1_160613_275.JPG: Tea table, made by George Woltz, Hagerstown Pair of neoclassical Gondola mahogany side chairs
38. ANTIV1_160613_278.JPG: This quilt was made by local resident Barbara Miller in the early 1850s and signed by many local families. Her relatives' farm, including the infamous cornfield, was the scene of some of the most severe fighting of the battle.
39. ANTIV1_160613_288.JPG: Daniel Miller
40. ANTIV1_160613_291.JPG: David S. Miller
41. ANTIV1_160613_293.JPG: Eillen Bare
42. ANTIV1_160613_296.JPG: Sallie E. Kennedy
43. ANTIV1_160613_309.JPG: "A Nation Should Preserve the Landmarks of its History" -- Committee on Military Affairs, 1891 In 1890, legislation was passed to create Antietam Battlefield for the purpose of, "surveying, locating, and preserving the lines of battle." The US War Department was to supervise this undertaking not only at Antietam, but at four other Civil War battlefields. The Antietam Battlefield Board, composed of Civil War veterans, was established to research and oversee the early preservation efforts. The Board reached out to veterans for their assistance in creating a thorough history of the Maryland Campaign and began constructing tour roads and placing historical markers. Eventually, Antietam and the four other military parks were transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. An observation tower at Sunken Road was completed in 1897. Over 300 War Department tablets were placed on the new tour roads in the 1890s to mark the location of different parts of each army during the battle. Early military tours of staff rides to Antietam were conducted on horseback. This 1907 image shows the Army War college at the Burnside Bridge. From its inception in 1890 until today, military groups have trained at the park. In 1924 the US Marines marched here from their base in Quantico, Virginia. After arriving, they conducted exercises on the battlefield, which even included tanks and aircraft. The training concluded with a re-enactment on September 12th before a crowd of 40,000 spectators. The Battlefield Board established over five miles of tour roads to, "enable the visitor to reach, by public highways, the points of greatest military interest." Today, visitors still travel essentially the same roads created over one-hundred years ago to tour the field.
44. ANTIV1_160613_313.JPG: An observation tower at Sunken Road was completed in 1897. Over 300 War Department tablets were placed on the new tour roads in the 1890s to mark the location of different parts of each army during the battle.
45. ANTIV1_160613_316.JPG: Early military tours of staff rides to Antietam were conducted on horseback. This 1907 image shows the Army War college at the Burnside Bridge. From its inception in 1890 until today, military groups have trained at the park.
46. ANTIV1_160613_321.JPG: In 1924 the US Marines marched here from their base in Quantico, Virginia. After arriving, they conducted exercises on the battlefield, which even included tanks and aircraft. The training concluded with a re-enactment on September 12th before a crowd of 40,000 spectators.
47. ANTIV1_160613_324.JPG: The Battlefield Board established over five miles of tour roads to, "enable the visitor to reach, by public highways, the points of greatest military interest." Today, visitors still travel essentially the same roads created over one-hundred years ago to tour the field.
48. ANTIV1_160613_335.JPG: Mapping the Battle: Ezra Carman, former colonel of the 13th New Jersey Infantry, was appointed as "historical expert" on the Antietam Battlefield Board. Carman wrote the text for the tablets and helped in the production of fourteen maps published by the Board in 1904 to document troop movements during the battle. Carman claimed that it was the "best map ever made." These maps are still used by the park today to restore and interpret the battlefield.
49. ANTIV1_160613_346.JPG: Reunions and Dedications: The designation of Antietam as a War Department battlefield not only brought active duty soldiers to the battlefield, it also increased the number of veterans who returned to Sharpsburg. States and surviving veterans began placing monuments near the locations where they fought. In many instances, medals, ribbons, and books were created to remember these gatherings. One of the last and largest reunions at Antietam was held in 1937 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the battle. An address by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a re-creation of the battle drew 25,000 people to Sharpsburg. Twenty-one of the sixty-five known living veterans of the battle attended the event.
50. ANTIV1_160613_351.JPG: Veterans of the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry return to dedicate their monument.
51. ANTIV1_160613_354.JPG: President Theodore Roosevelt at the dedication of the New Jersey Monument, 1903
52. ANTIV1_160613_357.JPG: Veterans meet in peace at the National Cemetery
53. ANTIV1_160613_370.JPG: Section of the color staff of the 5th New Hampshire, presented to Lt. Col. C.E. Hapgood at a reunion in 1888.
54. ANTIV1_160613_381.JPG: Ribbon from veteran's excursion of the 15th Massaachusetts Infantry, 1886
55. ANTIV1_160613_385.JPG: Ribbon from reunion of 125th Pennsylvania Infantry, 1888
56. ANTIV1_160613_388.JPG: Souvenir commemorative pins, featuring the Dunker Church
57. ANTIV1_160613_391.JPG: Ribbon from reunion of 130th Pennsylvania Infantry, 1891
58. ANTIV1_160613_394.JPG: henceforward and Forever Free: President Abraham Lincoln altered the course of the Civil War and he nation when he issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation five days after the battle. During the summer of 1862, he agonized over issuing a proclamation to abolish slavery in those states in rebellion. Some of his cabinet thought that such a move would look like an act of desperation in the face of Union military setbacks. The president needed a victory to give him the opportunity for such a move. The Battle of Antietam, followed by Lee's withdrawal to Virginia, was the decisive moment. The proclamation was issued in two parts. The preliminary document was introduced on September 22, 1862 and the final on January 1, 1863. Both documents freed slaves in those states in rebellion. In addition to setting the stage for the abolition of slavery in 1865, it was a decisive war measure. The proclamation went far in discouraging European nations from allying with the Confederacy. It also deprived the South of valuable labor for their war effort and led to the recruitment of almost 200,000 African American soldiers for the Union cause.
59. ANTIV1_160613_398.JPG: Deed to Philadelphia Brigade Park, 1933 Pin from the dedication of the Philadelphia Brigade monument, 1896.
60. ANTIV1_160613_406.JPG: Medal from the 20th New York Infantry monument dedication in 1910 and a photograph of the veterans and their families returning for the 50th Anniversary in 1862.
61. ANTIV1_160613_410.JPG: Medal from the dedication of the Maryland Monument. Ribbon from the dedication of the Maryland Monument
62. ANTIV1_160613_417.JPG: Ribbon from a reunion of the 5th New York Infantry, 1890
63. ANTIV1_160613_424.JPG: Souvenir ribbon from the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, and a half-dollar, struck by the US Mint to commemorate the event.
64. ANTIV1_160613_432.JPG: An Enduring Heritage: As part of congressional legislation to mark and preserve Antietam Battlefield, the Committee on Military Affairs noted in 1891 that "the field on which the battle took place is practically unchanged from what it was on the day of the action. It is proposed to maintain the field in the same condition as to roads, fields, forests, and houses." Since becoming a national park, the mission has been to preserve and protect the battlefield and restore the landscape to its September 1862 appearance. 1933: The battlefield was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service in 1933. At the time of the transfer, the park was owned only sixty-five acres. [sic] 2012: One hundred and fifty years after the battle, Antietam National Battlefield has grown to more than 3,000 acres, making possible the restoration of significant parts of the battlefield. 1862: Dunker Church: 1961: The church blew down in a wind storm in 1921. Today: The church was reconstructed for the 100th anniversary of the battle. 1862: Sunken Road or Bloody Lane: 1961: Souvenirs and snacks were sold on private property next to the Sunken Road. Today: As the park expanded, modern intrusions were removed. 1862: Burnside Bridge: 1961: Cars drove across the bridge until 1964. Today: A bypass was built and now the bridge is a preserved walkway.
65. ANTIV1_160613_434.JPG: 1933: The battlefield was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service in 1933. At the time of the transfer, the park was owned only sixty-five acres. [sic]
66. ANTIV1_160613_437.JPG: 2012: One hundred and fifty years after the battle, Antietam National Battlefield has grown to more than 3,000 acres, making possible the restoration of significant parts of the battlefield.
67. ANTIV1_160613_441.JPG: 1862: Dunker Church
68. ANTIV1_160613_445.JPG: 1961: The church blew down in a wind storm in 1921
69. ANTIV1_160613_449.JPG: Today: The church was reconstructed for the 100th anniversary of the battle.
70. ANTIV1_160613_454.JPG: 1862: Sunken Road or Bloody Lane
71. ANTIV1_160613_457.JPG: 1961: Souvenirs and snacks were sold on private property next to the Sunken Road.
72. ANTIV1_160613_463.JPG: Today: As the park expanded, modern intrusions were removed
73. ANTIV1_160613_467.JPG: 1861: Burnside Bridge
74. ANTIV1_160613_470.JPG: 1961: Cars drove across the bridge until 1964
75. ANTIV1_160613_474.JPG: Today: A bypass was built and now the bridge is a preserved walkway
76. ANTIV1_160613_478.JPG: "Antietam symbolizes something even more important than combat heroism and military strategy. It marks a diplomatic turning point of world-wide consequence. From this point onward our Civil War had a new dimension which was important to the whole course of human liberty." -- John F. Kennedy
77. ANTIV1_160613_489.JPG: Friend or Foe? This photograph, taken by Alexander Gardner a few weeks after the battle, shows President Abraham Lincoln conferring with General George McClellan, commander of Union forces at Antietam. Commander-in-Chief Lincoln spent four days visiting Union troops and the wounded of both sides. Lincoln wanted McClellan to chase and destroy Robert E. Lee's tired and battered army. McClellan's failure to pursue Lee into Virginia eventually cost him his job. Lincoln relieved him of command one day after the fall Congressional elections. His military career over, McClellan turned to politics and ran against Lincoln for the presidency in 1864. Lincoln, the war president, won reelection in a landslide.
78. ANTIV1_160613_499.JPG: Secession from Union Begins: December 1860 Lincoln Inaugurated: Confederates Attack Fort Sumter: March-April 1861 First Battle of Manassas: July 1861 Maryland Campaign (1862): Army of Northern Virginia enters Frederick: September 6
79. ANTIV1_160613_501.JPG: Battle of Shiloh: April 1862 Seven Days Battle: June - July 1862 Second Battle of Manassas: August 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg: December 1862 Maryland Campaign (1862) Battle of South Mountain: September 14 Capture of Harpers Ferry: September 15 BATTLE OF ANTIETAM, September 17
80. ANTIV1_160613_508.JPG: Battle of Fredericksburg: December 1862 Siege of Vicksburg, December 1862 - July 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863 Battle of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, September - November 1863 Maryland Campaign (1862) BATTLE OF ANTIETAM, September 17 Battle of Shepherdstown, September 19-20 Lincoln Issues Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, September 22
81. ANTIV1_160613_511.JPG: Battles of Wilderness and Spotsylvania, May 1864 Siege of Petersburg, June 1864 - April 1865
82. ANTIV1_160613_518.JPG: Fall of Richmond: Surrender at Appomattox: Lincoln Assassinated: April 1865 Ratification of the 13th Amendment: December 1865
83. ANTIV2_160613_002.JPG: Witness to Battle: The story of September 17, 1862, as told through the paintings of James Hope and objects from the battle. The soldiers who fought here, these witnesses to battle, recorded for posterity their impressions of Antietam. Captain James Hope, 2nd Vermont Infantry, sketched much of the Battle of Antietam as it unfolded before him. After the war, Hope rendered a series of panoramic paintings based on his sketches and interviews with veterans. Each painting illustrates a major phase of the day's struggle. Other soldiers left diaries, letters, weapons, equipment, and bits of clothing as tangible reminders of moments of fear, valor, and everyday soldier life. Such bits and pieces of individual memories help historians piece together the mosaic of our past. These remnants bear witness to just one terrible day in a four-year struggle to define a nation.
84. ANTIV2_160613_018.JPG: A Crucial Delay 10am - 2pm With only a small force, but holding higher ground, Lee's men were able to defend this crucial Antietam crossing for nearly three hours. Union Gen. Amrbose Burnside's men launched a series of attacks to break the bottleneck at the bridge. About 1:00pm, the Confederates, outflanked, outnumbered and running low on ammunition, began to retreat. The Federals stormed the bridge, finally crossing Antietam Creek. This painting shows Union reinforcements crossing the bridge in preparation for the final advance. However, the time taken to cross and resupply the troops provided Lee with the opportunity to bring his final reserves onto the field and turn back Burnside's attack.
85. ANTIV2_160613_026.JPG: Confederate soldiers were positioned on high ground overlooking the bridge. Union reinforcements crossed Antietam Creek in preparation for the final advance. Burnside Bridge, originally known as Rohrbach Bridge, was built around 1836. It was renamed after Union General Ambrose Burnside, who launched a series of assaults against the bridge. This remarkable sycamore, called a "witness tree," survived the battle and may still be seen today. Union Gen. Burnside and his staff.
86. ANTIV2_160613_043.JPG: Road to Sharpsburg
87. ANTIV2_160613_058.JPG: Artillery Hell 6:00am - 10:00am There were over 500 cannons at Antietam. The intensity of the artillery fire led Colonel Stephen D. Lee, commander of the Confederate cannons shown here, to describe the battle as "Artillery Hell." Lee's guns were instrumental in helping the Confederates hold this vital ground. This painting depicts the earliest part of the battle. The artist's perspective is close to the present-day location of the Visitor Center. This painting, like the others, does not represent a moment in time or one event, but a series of events. For example, when the Union infantry on the right side of this painting advanced, the Confederate artillery on the left had already withdrawn.
88. ANTIV2_160613_066.JPG: Confederate infantry defended the high ground around the Church. Hagerstown Turnpike. Confederate artillery batteries were positioned near where the Visitor Center is today. These guns resisted numerous Union advances early that morning, and were instrumental in helping the Army of Northern Virginia hold this vital ground. The Dunker Church, a battlefield landmark then and now, became a focal point for repeated Union attacks. The West Woods provided cover for Confederate troops.
89. ANTIV2_160613_080.JPG: Just beyond this high ground lies the famous Cornfield, scene of the worst fighting that morning. At dawn, Union troops launched the first attack from the North Woods. The East Woods provided cover for Union soldiers. Union artillery fired over the heads of their own infantry. Approximately 5,000 men fro Sedgwick's Division of Union Gen. Edwin V. Sumner's 2nd Corps advanced toward the West Woods at about 9:00am.
90. ANTIV2_160613_103.JPG: A Fateful Turn 10:00am - 2pm Amid the smoke, noise and confusion on the northern end of the field, Union troops turned south toward an old sunken farm lane. The rolling terrain helped hide the Southern troops until the Northerners were almost on top of them. Suddenly, the Confederates unleashed a withering fire, leading to a desperate three-hour struggle for control of what came to be known as Bloody Lane. This painting and the one of the left form a continuous panorama of the northern and eastern portions of the battlefield.
91. ANTIV2_160613_111.JPG: Copyright April 14, 1892 All rights reserved, James Hope
92. ANTIV2_160613_121.JPG: The East Woods are the continuation of the woods seen in the painting to your left. Samuel and Elizabeth Mumma's farm buildings were set ablaze by Confederates early in the morning to prevent their use by Union sharpshooters. Gen. George McClellan, Union commander, made his only visit to the battlefield that day at about 2:00 pm. South Mountain was the scene of heavy fighting three days before the battle of Antietam.
93. ANTIV2_160613_133.JPG: After the battle, more than 700 soldiers were buried on William and Margaret Roulette's farm. Gen. Richardson's Division was the second Union division to attack Bloody Lane. On Red Hill, the Union Army had a signal station. Confederates took position in Bloody Lane, and held it against repeated attacks for nearly three hours. Gen. French's Division, in line of battle, was the first Union division to advance on Bloody Lane.
94. ANTIV2_160613_149.JPG: Hope Restored. This remnant is all that could be preserved of James Hope's dramatic view of the aftermath of Blood Lane. Hope was a professional artist who first rendered a series of portrait size paintings and then created these large panoramic works. The photograph surrounding the painting was taken from one of Hope's smaller versions of the same work. The paintings were first exhibited in his gallery in Watkins Glen, New York. After Hope's death in 1892, the gallery was closed and fell into disrepair. A flood in the 1930s destroyed much of his work and severely damaged the battle panoramas. The Antietam scenes were purchased by an art collector and stored in a church for many years where the paintings were further damaged by birds and rodents. In 1979, the National Park Service purchased the paintings and began a rescue effort. Now painstakingly restored, the four complete painting and this fragment provide us one veteran's vision of the Battle of Antietam.
95. ANTIV2_160613_175.JPG: Wasted Gallantry 4:30pm - 5:30pm This painting shows a gallant but futile charge by the 7th Maine Infantry. Several hours after the fighting had ended at Bloody Lane, a Union officer ordered Major Thomas Hyde to advance his men through the Piper cornfield and attack. The men from Maine faced a galling fire from the Confederate infantry and artillery. Major Hyde, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions, said all of the color guard was "shot down but one, who brought off our flag riddled with balls." In 20 minutes, this regiment suffered more than 50 percent casualties, yet the charge did nothing to advance the Union plan of attack. This was not the first or last time in the Civil War that misguided officers squandered the lives of brave men.
96. ANTIV2_160613_183.JPG: South Mountain After retreating from Bloody Lane, the Confederate infantry and artillery rallied at Piper farm and fired on Maj. Hyde's advancing infantry. Maj. Hyde's 7th Maine Infantry marched across Bloody Lane, through Piper cornfield and into a deadly crossfire. Henry and Elizabeth Piper's Farm was the temporary headquarters of Confederate Gen. James Longstreet.
97. ANTIV2_160613_200.JPG: Confederate soldiers In 1862, Sharpsburg was a small farming community of about 1,300 people. Confederate infantry along the Hagerstown Turnpike fired on the advancing 7th Maine. Confederate dead lined Bloody Lane.
98. ANTIVC_160811_030.JPG: Antietam Survivors More than 23,000 were killed or wounded at Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. All of the people depicted here, whether military or civilian, experienced the personal tragedy of the conflict.
99. ANTIVC_160811_033.JPG: Gen. Robert E. Lee: Even after losing one-fourth of his men at Antietam, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia continued to fight for two and one-half years.
100. ANTIVC_160811_037.JPG: Col. John Gordon 6th Alabama Volunteer Infantry Civilian turned solider, Gordon survived five wounds here at Bloody Lane to become a general in the Confederate army, a U.S. Senator, and Governor of Georgia.
101. ANTIVC_160811_041.JPG: Samuel and Elizabeth Mumma: The Mummas and their thirteen children fled their farm as the two armies approached. Soldiers burned the house and barn, tore down fences, and trampled crops. The Mummas eventually rebuilt, but the U.S. government would not compensate them for damage inflicted by the Confederates.
102. ANTIVC_160811_048.JPG: Pvt. Jacob Madert 2nd United States Infantry After part of an artillery round struck his wrist, Jacob had his arm amputated and was discharged on March 2, 1863. Despite his injury, he reenlisted a month later as a messenger in the War Department where he worked for thirty-five years.
103. ANTIVC_160811_053.JPG: Lt. John T. Gay 4th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Wounded at Antietam, Gay returned to his regiment only to be wounded a second time at Fort Stevens outside Washington, DC, in July 1864. He returned again to his unit, but did not survive his third wound near Petersburg, Virginia, and died 19 days after the surrender at Appomattox.
104. ANTIVC_160811_062.JPG: Clarissa Harlowe Barton Clara Barton brought several wagons of badly needed medical supplies to the battlefield. She survived a bullet that tore through her sleeve and killed the soldier for whom she was caring. Known as the "Angel of the Battlefield," she later founded the American Red Cross.
105. ANTIVC_160811_069.JPG: Capt. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Holmes' father received a telegram: "Hagerstown 17th Capt. Holmes Wounded, shot through the neck, though not mortal..." Holmes survived his wound to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
106. ANTIVC_160811_075.JPG: Oliver Thomas Reilly: Known as O.T., he was just 5-1/2 years old when he witnessed both armies pass his home on their way to battle. Reilly spent the rest of his life studying the battle, visiting with returning veterans, and leading battlefield tours from his museum in Sharpsburg.
107. ANTIVC_160811_083.JPG: Pvt. Benjamin Franklin Price 30th Virginia Infantry After being wounded in the leg near the Dunker Church, Price returned to his regiment five months later. He survived the war, returned to Virginia as a teacher and merchant, married twice, and had fifteen children.
108. ANTIVC_160811_089.JPG: Hand-sewn, one side flag made by Union commander Gen. George McClellan's niece Elizabeth for him to carry during the war.
109. ANTIVC_160811_103.JPG: Civil War Relic Section of wooden fence rail that Confederate forces under Gen. D.H. Hill used to entrench themselves against attacked by Union forces led by Gen. Wm. H. French at Sunken Road (Bloody Lane) on September 17, 1862 on the Antietam battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland. There are five iron cannister balls embedded in the rail, four in the front and one in the back.
110. ANTIVC_160811_106.JPG: Infantry cartridge box, containing 10 cartridges for a .52 caliber Sharps breech loading rifle.
111. ANTIVC_160811_114.JPG: This homemade pike head, fixed to a flagstaff in this unusual instance, gave the color bearer and effective hand-to-hand weapon.
112. ANTIVC_160811_119.JPG: Souvenir commemorative pins, featuring the Dunker Church
113. ANTIVC_160811_122.JPG: Artifact pyramid made by Sharpsburg resident Eugene Marks in 1889
114. ANTIVC_160811_126.JPG: Medals from the dedication of the New York state monument, 1920
115. ANTIVC_160811_136.JPG: Medal from the dedication of the Maryland Monument. Ribbon from the dedication of the Maryland Monument.
116. ANTIVC_160811_140.JPG: Medal from the 20th New York Infantry monument dedication in 1910 and a photograph of the veterans and their families returning for the 50th anniversary in 1912.
117. ANTIVC_160811_143.JPG: Ribbon from a reunion of the 4th New York Infantry, 1890
118. ANTIVC_160811_147.JPG: Souvenir ribbon from the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, and a half-dollar, struck by the U.S. Mint to commemorate the event.
119. ANTIVC_160811_150.JPG: 1862 Dunker Church
120. ANTIVC_160811_153.JPG: 1961 The church blew down in a wind storm in 1921
121. ANTIVC_160811_156.JPG: Today The church was reconstructed for the 100th anniversary of the battle.
122. ANTIVC_160811_160.JPG: 1862 Sunken Road or Bloody Lane
123. ANTIVC_160811_162.JPG: 1961 Souvenirs and snacks were sold on private property next to the Sunken Road
124. ANTIVC_160811_165.JPG: Today As the park expanded, modern intrusions were removed
125. ANTIVC_160811_169.JPG: 1862 Burnside Bridge
126. ANTIVC_160811_172.JPG: 1961 Cars drove across the bridge until 1964
127. ANTIVC_160811_176.JPG: Today A bypass was built and now the bridge is a preserved walkway
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