Dunker Church

The Battle of Antietam marked the single bloodiest day in American history. Some 23,110 men were killed or wounded in action here on September 17, 1862. The fighting here was a result of Robert E. Lee's first attempt at taking the war north and the Union's attempt, under George McLellan, to stop him. The battlefield preserves such famous landmarks as the Dunker Church, the infamous Cornfield, the Sunken (or Bloody) Lane, and Burnside's (Lower) Bridge. This album follows the course of the battle as told along the self-guided auto tour that circles the park. Where I have been able to find pictures from the time of the battle I have included links to accompany my shots and descriptions...

Battle Statistics

United States of America

Armies Engaged: Army of the Potomac

Commanding Officer: Major General George B. McLellan

Strength: 75,500 Casualties: 12,401 or 16.4% (2,108 killed, 9,540 wounded, 753 captured/missing)

Confederate States

Armies Engaged: Army of Northern Virginia

Commanding Officer: General Robert E. Lee

Strength: 45,000 Casualties: 10,316 or 22.9% (1,546 killed, 7,752 wounded, 1,018 captured/missing)

6-27-2009

Antietam National Battlefield (MD)

Visitor Center
The visitor's center which, due to our lack of time, we spent very little time at...
Antietam National Battlefield Map
Antietam National Battlefield
One of the cannon near the visitor's center, overlooking State Route 65 (Sharpsburg Pike)...
Antietam National Battlefield
Entering the battlefield...
Sharpsburg Pike
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
Dunker Church
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
Poffenberger Farm
Union General Joe Hooker occupied this farmhouse the evening prior to the battle. Skirmishers placed by Hooker in the nearby North Woods were the first engaged in the battle...
The North Woods
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
East Woods - 6:00am
The battle started to get serious here at the East Woods. Eventually Union forces gained control of the woods and pushed forward to the adjacent cornfield...
The Cornfield (Confederate Lines) - 6:00 am
The modern-day Cornfield Avenue marks the approximate front of the Confederate lines the morning of September 17th. Hookers men advanced upon this position across the soon-to-be infamous cornfield just to the left of this photo...
The Cornfield
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
West Woods (15th Massachusetts Monument) - 9:00am
The 15th Mass. was one of the leading Union brigades to penetrate the woods suffering horrific casualties as Confederate forces converged on the advance...
The West Woods
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
Mumma Farm
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
Mumma Farm & Lane - 9:00am
As Union forces under General Sumner advanced south they passed the burnt remains of the Mumma Farm. Only the lane in the foreground and whitewashed shed in the center are original remnants from the battle...
Union Advance - 9:30am
Over 10,000 Union soldiers advanced along this lane passing the Mumma and Roulette Farms. Their objective was the center of the rebel line positioned along an old sunken road to the south. In 1862 this line of trees did not exist and the Union troops would have had a clear view of the Confederate lines at the edge of the field just visible in the distance between the trees...
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
The Union Army advanced across these fields around 9:30am the day of battle...
The Sunken Road (Bloody Lane)
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
The Sunken Road (Bloody Lane) - 9:30am to Noon
This is the view the Confederate forces manning the sunken road would have had of the advancing Union troops. While the Federal soldiers would have been in plain sight of the rebels as they topped the rise in the distance the Union troops would only have sight of thousands of muskets pointing at them from behind the fence...
The Sunken Road (Bloody Lane)
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg)
The Sunken Road - 9:30am to Noon
Another look at the Sunken Road looking northwest from the base of the observation tower. The Union advance would have been perpendicular to the angle of this photo directly against the Confederates positioned at the road. Nearly 6,000 men (30%) died or were wounded during the three hours of fighting here...
Battlefield Observation Tower
The observation tower at the east end of Bloody Lane was constructed in 1897 to give visitors a birds-eye view of the battlefield...
Observation Tower View - Looking East(?)
I didn't take good notes on this shot but I believe it to be to the east from the tower along the approximate route of the Boonsboro Pike towards the site of Middle Bridge... Middle Bridge in September 1862.
Observation Tower View - Looking Southeast
Looking in the general direction of Frederick, MD (about 17 miles distant beyond the near ridge). Antietam Creek runs through the middle of the shot in the low tree covered valley...