Anteitam

Antietam also known by the South as the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland. 1861 Lee tried to invade the north and just get the war done. In one day Antietam became the bloodiest one day battle of the whole war. The battle went back and forth all day. Just when the North, lead by General McClellan, was forcing Lee's army back, a bridge that Lee had instructed to hold at all cost in case they did need to retreat, received reinforcements from the South, allowing Lee's army to escape. This bridge became known the Burnside Bridge after the General who battled there for the North. Antietam was a stalemate at the end of the day. Neither side could claim victory.

McClellan was also reprimanded for not following Lee's army and squashing it as it was pinned and waiting to cross the Potomac. This conservative choice is blamed for extending the war another 3 years. McClellan was later replace by a succession of Generals as Lincoln searched for someone to give him the victories he needed.

Lee was trained at West Point and all these men knew one another before the war. They knew their strength and weaknesses. It was a hard decision for Lee, but he loved his Virginia State, and when asked to lead he could not say no. For Lee this war was about States rights. Their right to make their own decisions. The Slavery issue was the point of contention.

Buchanan was the President prior to Lincoln. He was a Northerner who believed in states rights being more powerful than the Federal Government. He also believed in Slavery. He got elected because he was in Europe traveling during the debates. He was an unknown entity and thus the Polarised North and South both thought him acceptable. Once in office he tried to pass laws to expand the slave trade into the Northern states. When the debates occurred over the states rights, his opinion was the federal government could not force issues, but a state also did not have the right to leave the union either. He felt his hands were tied and as a result did nothing. He did not calm the waters, and his preferences only fed the flames for the North.

The South had made it clear that if Lincoln, whose views on slavery were very clear, became President they would leave the union. It was within days of the inauguration, that the first southern states announced their succession.

So the groundwork was laid for the Civil War. For the south it is still as if it were a recent thing rather than over 145 years ago. The Ranger who spoke to us of the battle at Antietam became a Ranger of this Park because his Great Great Great Grandfather lost his life on this battle field. He told of the battle of the cornfields that started the day. The fields of uncut corn that September 17 day, 1861, would have been higher than the soldiers. By the end of the day the fields looked as if they had been cut with a scythe.

Who had the tops of the rolling hills was crucial with the placements of the batteries. One farm was burned so snipers would not be able to use the roofs. The boys, feeling the heat wonder about the heavy wool uniforms the soldiers on both sides wore. I told them to feel the corn leaves. The sharp edges cut our skin. Without that heavy wool, the soldiers would have been sliced by the edges of the stalks. Angled batteries were the best. If you lined up right in fron you could over shoot or under shoot the line. An angled attack never missed.

A good soldier took 30 seconds to load his rifle. It had a long barrel and was awkward. A man would be exposed while doing it. You can almost hear the screams and rifle shots along with cannon roars. In the corn fields it was hand to hand.

Meanwhile at the bridge it was a duck shoot. After the battle the men at the bridge that had fallen where buried right where they fell against the stone wall used to shelter them. Later they were dug up and moved to a cemetery , perhaps Gettysburg.

There was a cemetery at Antietam, but it was a farm cemetery. Full of families of the farms in the area. Surrounded by a stone wall and big trees to shade the graves, it was a peaceful location on the top of a hill with a view of the whole area. The families had all evacuated prior to the battle. I can't imagine what it was like to come back to the carnage and smell. To have to participate in the clean up and burial of the bodies and horses.

Tom points out a deer crossing a field on the next hill. You can see his antlers above the tall grass. The area probably hasn't changed that much in 145 years. We are driving the battle field area in a car. The heat is over 80 degrees. The soldiers had to walk these distances, or run them, shooting as they went.

I asked Tom what happened to the rule of law? Why couldn't this have been resolved in court, rather than take such aggressive action right away. The courts did not have the precedents that they do now, was his reply. They did not have the trust or strength to make rulings that would stand. Our country was not quite 100 years old yet. Communication was slow, and so was Justice. Lewis and Clark had only crossed America 50 years earlier. The Oregon Trail was in progress.

There was no train connection crossing America yet. That construction started in 1863 and wasn't finished until 1869. There was a wire for the battle fields, but it could be cut or even tapped into for listening. By 1862, the north had encoded Morris code, so their correspondence couldn't be listened in. Foot soldiers and horses brought instructions to the battle fields. An interception of any missive could change the course of the battle.

We spent hours wondering the battle fields until our stomachs called. We had dinner in the air conditioned restaurant across from the hotel. The boys and I swam in the pool and hung out in the barely hot hot tub for the evening.

We met another family at the pool whose sixteen year old daughter was in a softball tournament. They had driven 8 hours from New York to participate. College recruiters would be watching. I think about that eight hour drive and pat myself on the back that we took the two hour and thirty minute train, plus a two hour drive in the rental car.

The drive had not been too bad. We had passed Oriole stadium on our way out of Baltimore. It had been rush hour, but that was about it for the traffic once we got on the freeway.
Tomorrow we drive to Gettysburg for our reenactment.