Great American Vacations: Travel to Antietam Civil War Battlefield

Typically, important battles have winners and losers. Antietam had no clear winner, at least tactically speaking, but it may be history's most important tie.

The battle at Antietam - also known as the battle of Sharpsburg - took place on September 17, 1862. The fighting took place in three separate phases, in the north, center and south parts of the battlefield respectively. The Union's General McClellan didn't plan it this way - the fighting was supposed to take place in all three spots simultaneously. If they had, the Union would have likely broken the Confederate line and devastated General Lee's army.

Unfortunately for the Union, McClellan's plans and the lower commanders' communications and leadership failed, and so the different phases happened sequentially rather than simultaneously. This allowed Lee to shift his reserves around the battlefield to support the troops under attack, holding off the Union forces barely long enough for General A. P. Hill's Light Division to arrive on the scene at the last moment, following an exhausting 17 mile march from Harpers Ferry. Hill's soldiers blindsided General Burnside's forces at their moment of victory, breaking the momentum of their attack and effectively ending the battle. By the end of the day, both sides were essentially at the same positions on the field that they were when fighting started that morning. It was a tactical draw.

That's not to say the battle of Antietam wasn't significant. This battle was one of the most important of the Civil War, in several ways. The most obvious impact of the battle at Antietam was the sheer human toll it exacted. The day saw 23,000 men killed, wounded or missing in action - the largest single-day casualty count in the entire Civil War. It's difficult to grasp the significance of that number, so I'll put it into context. There were more soldiers killed and wounded in a single day at Antietam than in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Spanish-American War - COMBINED.

Second, while the battle ended in a draw and both sides suffered terrible casualties, General Lee had fewer soldiers to lose. The loss of troops, ammunition and weapons effectively ended his first northbound campaign through Maryland, forcing his return to Virginia.

The battle of Antietam had far larger ramifications than turning back the Confederate army. By September, 1862, Abraham Lincoln desperately needed a Union victory. Morale in the North was low, many in Congress wanted a negotiated peace and foreign nations were deciding whether or not to recognize the Confederacy as a separate nation. Lincoln wanted to release his Emancipation Proclamation, but his cabinet convinced him that he needed a military victory first to counteract the political turmoil the proclamation would cause. Antietam wasn't a victory, but it wasn't a loss either - and it did force the Confederates out of Maryland.

That was enough for Lincoln, and because of this battle he released his draft of the Emancipation Proclamation - a document with no legal significance, but one with massive political impact. The proclamation changed the entire dynamics of the war, and convinced France and Britain - who were sitting on the fence - NOT to become allies with the Confederacy. Had those countries joined the Confederates, the South almost certainly would have won the war. So, while the battle at Antietam was a tactical draw, it was ultimately a major strategic victory for the Union that changed the course of the Civil War.

As with many Civil War battlefields, the fight that took place outside of Sharpsburg, Maryland in 1862 has two names: The Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Sharpsburg. The reason for this is that the North and South referenced the battles in different ways. The Confederates would identify a battlefield by the town it was close to - Sharpsburg. The Union would often refer to a battle by the closest body of water - in this case, Antietam Creek. Another example of this is the First and Second Battles of Bull Run, which are also referred to as the Battles of Manassas. This influenced the names of the armies as well; General Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia, while the Union fielded the Army of the Potomac.

Captain James Hope, a professional artist, was 43 years old and a member of the 2nd Vermont Infantry. Hope had taken part in a dozen engagements prior to Antietam, but disabled by illness in September, 1862. The day of the battle at Antietam, he was kept out of the fighting. Instead he was tasked to be a scout and mapmaker. As he watched the battle unfold, he recorded the battle scenes in his sketchbook, and then after the battle converted his sketches into a series of five large panorama paintings. Survivors from the battle raved about the accuracy of the paintings. One veteran said that the only thing he saw wrong with the paintings was that there weren't enough bodies on the ground.

The paintings were damaged by a flood, but they have been restored and now hang in the small museum in the basement of Antietam's Visitor Center.

Below you can see Hope's five paintings, with a description of each as provided by the National Park Service.

The Antietam battlefield is stitched by thousands of yards of split rail fences, which are ugly rows of x-shaped split logs. My visit to Antietam marked the first time I'd ever seen these fences up close.

I'm not a religious person, but when I saw the lines of split rail fences running across the battlefield (see the picture to the right), my first thought was of the thorny crown put on Christ's head before his crucifixion.

Later, as I saw the long rows of fence along either side of Bloody Lane from the top of the observation tower (as shown in the picture to the right), I thought they looked like long wounds that had been stitched close, wood-laced scars that ran across the battlefield.

Given the pain, violence and terrible loss that took place around the battlefield, I can't help but find a metaphor in those fences.

Antietam's visitor center is so much smaller than the one at Gettysburg. Given the significance of this battlefield, you'd think a more substantial facility would be justified. Basically the center consists of a small lobby where park rangers answer questions, a gift shop, bathrooms and a movie room that seats (on fairly uncomfortable chairs) about 100, I'd guess. Down the stairs is a one-room display of a few artifacts and Captain Hope's mural paintings. Upstairs is an observation deck. That's it!

The Park shows two different films in the Visitor Center. "Antietam Visit," is shown on the hour and the half hour, except at noon. This film is more about Lincoln's visit following the battle, and wasn't really worth the time to me. Every day at 12:00 noon a one-hour documentary about the battle of Antietam narrated by James Earl Jones is shown in the visitor center theater. This is better quality and gives more information about the battle. If I had to choose between enough time on the battlefield or going to this film, I'd definitely give up the film. If you've got the time, however, it's worth watching.

The visitor center doesn't do this battlefield justice.

One of the best websites for Civil War enthusiasts is CivilWarTraveler.com. They have a tremendous amount of historic information on virtually all aspects of the war in a website that is well designed and easy to use. My favorite part of the website is their section of podcasts.

For those of you still living in 1994, a podcast is a recording (usually just audio) that can be played on an Ipod or any other portable music player. The podcasts on CivilWarTraveler.com are perfect for someone going to Antietam on vacation. Each podcast focuses on one spot on the battlefield. A park ranger describes what took place at that particular location. You'll start in one place, listen to the ranger speak for a bit, then pause the recording and move to another vantage point and start up the recording again. The podcasts are walking tours that escort you around the location, offer a fantastic explanation of what happened from various positions. The paths from one stop to the next are easy to follow, usually marked with sign posts, and you can print out a map that shows the route and keep that with you. The routes are typically 1/2 to 1 1/2 miles so the walks are easily manageable as well.

Did I mention that these podcasts are FREE? Yep - they're well produced, extremely informational and entertaining, superbly narrated, and they're yours to download.

As you learn more about the battle at Antietam, you'll discover that the fighting was extremely chaotic. It's difficult to understand exactly what happened at each place and why the different locations were so important. The podcasts break it all down and make each location easier to understand.

Can you tell I'm a big fan of these podcasts? Before our trip I downloaded the podcasts and listened to each one several times, following along on the provided maps. When we got to Antietam, I picked one of the podcasts - the Cornfield- and walked the route while listening again. My wife and I both did the walk, so we used Ipod speakers on our Ipod. After that, we played other podcasts in our car as we drove around the park. It was like hiring a private tour guide to accompany us in the battlefield.

CivilWarTraveler.com has podcasts for many battlefields. For Antietam, they have podcasts for the Cornfield, Burnside's Bridge and the Final Attack. They're all great. Here is a link to the CivilWarTraveler.com - Audio Battlefield Guides.

When you see an inverted cannon with a black oval plaque on it at Antietam, you are standing in a very important place. According to the National Park Service, the spot where a general officer was killed is marked by a "Mortuary Cannon," which is a cannon tube, muzzle down in a block of stone.

So what's the big deal about that? 23,000 men were killed or wounded at Antietam - over 5,000 men lost their lives that day. How special could the death of a general be?

To understand, let's put it in perspective by comparing this day to other military conflicts. In the four years the United States fought in World War II, 18 American generals died in combat. That included 11 generals killed in action or from wounds taken in combat, two executed while POWs, four killed in plane crashes, and one killed by friendly fire. That's 18 generals in four years.

In only one day of battle at Antietam, SIX generals - three from each side - were killed. Another 12 generals - six from each side - were wounded in the battle. Only three days before Antietam, another battle was fought nearby at South Mountain; one general from each side was killed in that battle. All told, 20 generals - 10 from each side - were killed or wounded in three days of fighting in this area.

It must be acknowledged that American Civil War generals led from the front far more than generals in more recent conflicts. Without the communications or reconnaissance technology more modern generals have at their disposal, Civil War generals were forced to stay closer to the battle to monitor the fight and communicate their instructions. Still, the fact that six generals were killed in one battle indicates the remarkable level of violence that took place on this day, and provides just one more indication of how the battle at Antietam influenced the direction and leadership of both armies for months and years to come.

The pattern of the mortuary cannon monuments also indicates the order of battle at Antietam. Two markers may be found around the Cornfield - one just north of the East Woods and one in the West Woods. Two markers are located within 150 yards of each other, along Bloody Lane. The last two markers are located in the south part of the battlefield where the final phase of the battle took place.

At 9 a.m. the morning of the battle, the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment advanced to a point just north of the A. Poffenberger farm and the Cornfield. Within twenty minutes, 330 of the 606 15th Massachusetts - more than HALF - had fallen; 75 were killed and 255 wounded, 43 of those later died their of wounds.

Even with these terrible losses, the 15th Mass. continued on and fought at other major battles, including Gettysburg.

The monument for this courageous regiment at Antietam shows a lion, wounded and lying on its side but still snarling, raising its paw in defiance. It is one of the more moving monuments you will find, and sadly, most visitors don't even see it. The monument is located on Hagerstown Pike (State Highway 65), on the right when traveling north, up on a hillside.

Make sure to find this monument when you travel to Antietam. Park the car along the road and walk up the hill so you can see it up close. It's a powerful tribute to courageous soldiers who suffered a terrible toll in defense of the Union. Visit the Historical Marker Database for more information about the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Wounded Lion Monument.

History finds the strangest reasons for immortalizing some individuals. A case in point is Major General Ambrose Burnside.

General Burnside was a Union officer who - by his own admission - rose to ranks far exceeding his abilities. A man with limited military leadership experience, his friendship with General George McClellan and other factors resulted in his promotion to the rank of general and his appointment to division and corps commander positions . . . for a time, he was even in charge of the entire Federal Army of the Potomac.

At Antietam, Burnside was commander of the IX Corps, and was tasked to lead his 11,000 men on a diversionary attack on the south side of the battlefield. As the day wore on and fighting to the north stalemated, his attack grew in importance and ultimately became the primary front for the Union battle plan. Burnside's attack hinged on crossing Antietam Creek via Rohrbach's Bridge. The IX Corps paid a terrible price to take the bridge, which ultimately became known as Burnside's Bridge because of that fight. Burnside's Bridge is now the visual symbol of the battle of Antietam, a fight that ended up a draw primarily due to the incompetence of the Union's generals (like Burnside).

Most people think this battle, and the notoriety of the bridge, is Burnside's sole contribution to history. But he is also remembered for another reason, a part of our modern lexicon, even though you may not have made the connection.

As you can see by the photo, Burnside had a . . . unique way of wearing his facial hair. Burnside's "follicle fashion statement" actually became very popular in 1860s America. Thousands of men adopted these hair-halos, which became known by the general's name - they were called burnsides. Over time, the name for this facial hair got changed around as the general faded into history, until they became known by the term we use today.

Sideburns.

And now, as the late, great Paul Harvey would have said, you know the rest of the story.

If you go to the Hoover Dam or Empire State Building, it doesn't take much effort to be impressed. You don't have to know anything about these structures to look at them and say "That's a big dam to build!" or "That's a big damn building!" (respectively).

"A battlefield isn't a tangible place of great creation and invention, but an intangible place of great accomplishment and valor. You aren't there to witness the show but to view the empty stage and honor what took place there."Civil War battlefields aren't as easy. The soldiers are long gone, the flags are showcased in museums, and the cannon have been silent for almost 150 years. There are no super structures or fireworks or acrobatic demonstrations. All you'll see are hills and fields, farm houses and small buildings, memorials and plaques. All you hear is quiet. A battlefield isn't a tangible place of great creation and invention, but an intangible place of great accomplishment and valor. You aren't there to witness the show but to view the empty stage and honor what took place there.

To appreciate a battlefield you need two things. First, you need a fundamental understanding of what happened at that location. Without that knowledge, Bloody Lane is nothing more than an abandoned old cart path. I grew up in the cornfields of Iowa but visiting the Cornfield was something completely different - because I understand what happened there. That's why the research I mentioned above is so important. The battlefields have real human and historical significance; if you don't understand that significance, the places simply appear mundane and random.

The second thing you need is imagination. With imagination you can look out in awe from The Angle to see 12,000 Confederate soldiers, marching inexorably towards you through the merciless canister explosions and musket fire. You can stand in Bloody Lane and feel the terror of those soldiers, trapped in a gully that became a shooting gallery . . . where they were the sitting ducks. Or walk across Burnside's Bridge and feel the frustration and helplessness of the Union soldiers who scrambled to cross that 12' wide bridge, only to be easy targets for the Georgia sharpshooters on the hill.

You visit a battlefield to see the stage. You research a battlefield to understand what took place. But with imagination, you experience the emotions, sights and sounds of the battles themselves. You FEEL it.

On our vacation at Antietam Battlefield, I walked across Miller's Cornfield. In actuality, what I saw was a lot of grass, weeds and old fences. It wasn't even a cornfield - it was empty and barren. Look at the photo to the right - that's what I SAW.

But I experienced much more than what my lying eyes took in. Out there in that quiet, awful field, I could see and feel what it must have been like as the waves of soldiers swept back and forth over that sacred patch of land, driving the enemy back to one side, only to be brutalized and slaughtered as they were pushed back the other way. Fifteen times they went back and forth, leaving 13,000 casualties in its furrowed rows in a few short hours. The cannon may have been silent that day, but I could hear them, their desperate blasts ripping away as the forces battled each other at almost point-blank range across Hagerstown Turnpike, just to my west.

Ahead of me, Dunker Church. My eyes saw a glorified wood shed. My mind witnessed the wave of General Hood's angry Texans roiling past the church and onto the Cornfield, the parrot rifles belching out deafening roars of cannister from a small rise behind them, to wreak havoc with the Union forces . . . only to lose more than half their men in a matter of minutes. After the fight, General Hood was asked where his division was and he responded, "Dead on the field." Closing my eyes, I stood amongst those embattled Texans on that bloody field, if only for a moment. I felt the scene in Don Troiani's awesome painting "Lone Star" to the right.

I didn't see The Cornfield - I experienced it.

You take as much from a visit to a battlefield as you're willing to bring with you. Don't be ashamed to try. Learn about what took place before you go. When you get to the battlefield, stand at a famous spot, close your eyes, and think about what took place there. Then open your eyes and see it play out before you. Listen for the sounds of cannon and rifle and men, imagine the smell of the smoke and gunfire. You will see AND feel that place, and the memories you take with you will be far more rich and powerful than you can imagine.