Antietam

Having spent 4 days in York PA, it was time to move. So on Monday morning, I left Pennsylvania and headed for Washington County, Maryland, to Frederick which would be my base for 2 days.
There were 2 particular places I wanted to spend time at. Antietam Battlefield and Harpers Ferry.

Antietam was the site of the first major battle of the Civil War to take place on Union ground.
It is also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. It has also gone down as the bloodiest day in American history, with about 23000 soldiers killed, injured or listed missing.

It was difficult to imagine on the day I visited. An unusually warm sunny day. Even the Park Rangers were taking advantage of the day to do work around the site.

But the information boards managed to convey the terrible events which took place there.
I will briefly summarise the battle, and suggest you follow the links below to find out in greater detail the story which unfolded. There is much to read and ponder,

The Army of the Potomac, under the command of George McClellan, mounted a series of powerful assaults against Robert E. Lee’s forces near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862. The morning assault and vicious Confederate counterattacks swept back and forth through Miller’s Cornfield and the West Woods. Later, towards the center of the battlefield, Union assaults against the Sunken Road pierced the Confederate center after a terrible struggle. Late in the day, the third and final major assault by the Union army pushed over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek. Just as the Federal forces began to collapse the Confederate right, the timely arrival of A.P. Hill’s division from Harpers Ferry helped to drive the Army of the Potomac back once more. The bloodiest single day in American military history ended in a draw, but the Confederate retreat gave Abraham Lincoln the “victory” he desired before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. 



I add my own photos, including one of a large furry creature I almost walked into. I do not know who was more surprised or scared! I quietly and unhurriedly moved backwards away for him...still taking the odd photo. But he had teeth!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Antietam

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam.html

https://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A9mSs3LbRetU130AB0tLBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTB1cWQ5aHFmBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2lyMgR2dGlkA1ZJUFVLMTlfMQ--?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-699&va=the+battle+of+antietam
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battle-antietam-pictures.htm