BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Middle Bridge (Sunken Road)

MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Middle Bridge (Sunken Road):

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1. ANTIMI_130804_008.JPG: 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
2. ANTIMI_130804_012.JPG: 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.
3. ANTIMI_130804_072.JPG: Irish Brigade at Antietam Second Brigade, First Division Second Corps, Army of the Potomac On 17 September 1862, the Brigade crossed Antietam Creek (9:30 a.m.) at Pry's Ford. As it formed at the edge of a cornfield, Father William Corby, Chaplain, rode along the line giving absolution to the soldiers. The 69th New York occupied the right, then the 29th Massachusetts, the 63rd and 88th New York. Crossing the cornfield, the command encountered a rail fence which was torn down under severe fire. An opposing Confederate column advanced within 300 paces of the Brigade. After several volleys, the Irish Brigade charged with fixed bayonets. At 30 paces it poured buck and ball into General George B. Anderson's Brigade (2nd, 4th, 14th, and 30th North Carolina Infantry Regiments) which fell back to "Bloody Lane." After fierce combat, its ammunition exhausted, the Irish Brigade was relieved. The Irish Brigade's losses were. 69th New York - Officers [Killed] 4, [Wounded] 6, [Missing] 0, [Total] 10 Enlisted [Killed] 40, [Wounded] 146, [Missing] 0, [Total] 186 88th New York - officers [Killed] 2, [Wounded] 2, [Missing] 0, [Total] 4 Enlisted [Killed] 25, [Wounded] 73, [Missing] 0, [Total] 98 63rd New York - Officers [Killed] 4, [Wounded] 5, [Missing] 0, [Total] 9 Enlisted [Killed] 31, [Wounded] 160, [Missing] 2, [Total] 193 29th Mass - Officers [Killed] 0, [Wounded] 0, [Missing] 0, [Total] 0 Enlisted [Killed] 7, [Wounded] 29, [Missing] 3, [Total] 39 Staff Officers [Wounded] 1 Totals [Killed] 113, [Wounded] 422, [Missing] 5, [Total] 540
4. ANTIMI_130804_079.JPG: Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meager The Irish Brigade commander was born in Waterford City, Ireland on 23 August 1823. A well-educated orator, he joined the Young Ireland Movement to liberate his nation. This led to his exile to a British penal colony in Tasmania, Australia in 1849. He escaped to the United States in 1852 and became an American citizen. When the Civil War broke out he raised Company K, "Irish Zouaves" for the 69th New York State Milita Regiment, which fought at First Bull Run under Colonel Michael Gorgoran. Subsequently Meagher raised the Irish Brigade and commanded it from 3 February 1862 to 14 May 1863. He later commanded a military district in Tennessee. After the war Meagher became secretary and acting Governor of the Montana Territory. He drowned in the Missouri River near Fort Benton on 1 July 1867. His body was never recovered. Granite from County Wicklow, Ireland
5. ANTIMI_130804_144.JPG: McClellan's headquarters is the green-roofed building
6. ANTIMI_130804_199.JPG: Irish Brigade Formed in November, 1861, the Brigade was largely recruited in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Its initial regiments were the 69th, 88th, and 63rd New York State Volunteers. Other units identified as part of the Brigade included the 29th Massachusetts, 116th Pennsylvania, and 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiments. The Brigade fought in all of the major campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. It lost over 4,000 men during the war. This total is larger than the number of soldiers who served in the Brigade at any single time. Eleven Brigade members were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Of the five officers who commanded the Brigade, three were killed or mortally wounded. Colonel Richard Brynes (Cold Harbor), Colonel Patrick Kelly (Petersburg), and Brigadier General Thomas A. Smyth (Farmville). The Brigade was mustered out in June 1865.
7. ANTIMI_130804_239.JPG: Major General Israel Richardson USA mortally wounded 45 yards N. 52 degrees E
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Middle Bridge (Sunken Road)) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2012_MD_Antietam_Middle: MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Middle Bridge (Sunken Road) (29 photos from 2012)
- 2008_MD_Antietam_Middle: MD -- Antietam Natl Battlefield -- Middle Bridge (Sunken Road) (3 photos from 2008)
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Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [(NPS) Antietam Natl Battlefield] [Display ALL (NPS) Antietam Natl Battlefield photos] [Civil War] [Park (National Park Service)]
2013 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used my Fuji XS-1 camera but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000 and Nikon D600. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Memphis, TN, Jackson, MS [to which I added a week to to visit sites in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee], and Richmond, VA), and my 8th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Nevada and California). Ego Strokes: Aviva Kempner used my photo of her as her author photo in Larry Ruttman's "American Jews & America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball" book. Number of photos taken this year: just over 570,000.
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