The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862 was the deadliest single-day battle in the history of the United States. While the result of the battle was inconclusive, it did show that the Union could stand with the Confederates in the Eastern theater of the war. This gave President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a moment of strength rather than desperation.
Cannons on display at the Visitor Center, which was closed because of the government shutdown.Model 1841 6-pounder gun.Model 1857 12-pound Gun-Howitzer3-inch Ordnance Rifle10-pounder Parrott RifleThe Dunker Church was badly damaged during the battle, then blown down during a wind storm in 1921, then rebuilt with mostly original materials.Maryland monument.The West Woods area of the battlefield, where the Philadelphia Brigade lost more than 550 men were lost in 20 minutes of fighting.The East Woods. This is where the first shots of the battle were fired during the evening September 16, 1862.The “Bloody Cornfield”, where for four hours the battle raged – 25,000 troops fought, the field changing hands several times.The Final Attack trailKnown as the Rohrbach Bridge before the battle, it was renamed for General Ambrose Burnside who commanded the Union soldiers who fought to take this crucial Antietam crossing during the battle.Joseph Poffenberger FarmThere are more than 22,000 casualties at the Battle of Antietam. Doctors at the scene are overwhelmed. Badly needed supplies are brought in by nurse Clara Barton, known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.”Ohio monumentDelaware monumentNew Jersey monumentIndiana monumentTexas monumentGeorgia monumentMississippi monumentInfantry monumentsMajor General Joseph K. F. Mansfield was mortally wounded near this spot September 17, 1862 while deploying his corps in action.Irish Brigade monument.Ohio monumentGeneral Robert E. Lee statueMonument to William McKinley, our 25th President, who was a Commissary Sergeant with the 23rd Ohio of Colonel Hugh Ewing’s Brigade. During the battle he bravely served the soldiers in his regiment. As President he was assassinated in September 1901.
Fort Frederick was built during the French & Indian War as one of the forts in the northwest frontier (western Pennsylvania). The fort also saw action in the Revolutionary War and Civil War.
One of the inside corners.The main courtyard. There were originally 3 buildings here…This is the outline of the third building inside the fort.Quarters for the soldiers.Officers KitchenOfficer’s Quarters.British and French forts in the lead-up to the French & Indian War.We saw more detail about this incident in the post for Fort Necessity.
James Buchanan was our 15th President. He is considered one of our worst presidents, primarily because he did not stop the Civil War from erupting.This pyramid marks the actual location of Buchanan’s birthplace, a few miles west of downtown Mercersburg.This is Buchanan’s actual birth cabin, which now sits on the campus of Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg.Interior of the birth cabin.Buchanan spent much of his childhood in this building in downtown Mercersburg. His father ran a store here. It is now a boutique hotel.Portrait of Buchanan in the hotel lobby.Buchanan statue in downtown Mercersburg, across the street from the Buchanan Hotel.
Monument to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.Kentucky State Memorial at Gettysburg National Cemetery. This is the actual location where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.New York State Memorial at Gettysburg National CemeteryGettysburg National CemeteryMaryland State Monument on Gettysburg’s BattlefieldDelaware State MonumentMajor General John Buford, commanding 1st Division Cavalry Corps, selected this battlefield July 1, 1863. From this spot the first shot was fired at the Battle of Gettysburg.Position of the Fredericksburg Artillery at the battleNorth Carolina State MonumentTennessee State MonumentVirginia State Monument, General Robert E. Lee on his horse Traveller.The base of the Virginia State Monument. These seven men represent individuals who left various occupations to join the Confederate army: a professional man, a mechanic, an artist, a boy, a business man, a farmer, and a youth. According to a description published at the time that sculpture was completed, “the shattered cannon, broken wheel, discarded knapsack, swab and exploded shells which are scattered at the feet of the seven men would indicate that the place had been the scene of some desperate engagement, while the attitude of each of the character shows defensive, rather than offensive action.”These cannons face the field where Pickett started his infamous charge.Florida State MonumentGeneral James Longstreet monumentLouisiana State Monument.Mississippi State MonumentGeorgia State MonumentSouth Carolina State MonumentArkansas State Monument.Fraser’s Battery of the Pulaski Artillery’s position during the battle.Texas State MonumentAlabama State MonumentConfederate Soldiers and Sailors MonumentMinnesota State MonumentGeneral G. K. Warren looking down from Little Round Top toward Devil’s Kitchen.Devil’s Kitchen from Little Round Top.Pennsylvania State Memorial. This is the largest monument in the Gettysburg Battlefield Park.8th Pennsylvania Cavalry MonumentVermont State MonumentCopse of Trees. This is the Confederate High Water Mark of the battle.The Angle. Union troops under Major General Winfield Hancock defended the stone wall here. Confederate troops led by Brigadier General Lewis Armistead broke through lines and crossed this wall just west of the Copse of Trees, the Confederates High Water Mark.The Codori Farm. The open fields around this barn became bloody killing fields during Pickett’s Charge.Indiana State MonumentStevens Battery 5th Maine MonumentOhio State Monument.29th Ohio Infantry MonumentTammany Regiment Monument.Reverend William E. Corby, Congregation of the Holy Cross. Father Corby, a Chaplain of the Irish Brigade, gave general absolution and blessing before the Battle at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. He would later become President of Notre Dame University.General George Meade Monument.Cannon facing east on Hancock Avenue.Headquarters of General Robert E. LeeEternal Flame for Peace
The Gettysburg Museum is not a part of the National Historical Park, but it definitely worth a visit. It has many displays about the history of the lead up to the Civil War. But the real star of this museum is the “Cyclorama”, a painting in on a wall that encircles the entire room.
