Some pictures from a recent trip to Antietam Battlefield about 20 minutes west of Frederick. At top is the infamous Cornfield, where the day's fighting started for the most part. Next is a monument dedicated to Clara Barton who worked to help the wounded and dying throughout the day (and later to found the Red Cross).
Three ways of looking at Burnside's Bridge: 1) looking across the bridge north-westish, where Union troops spent ours trying to cross over to the east bank, 2) looking south from the bridge itself over Antietam Creek, where further down there were other fords that Burnside was criticized for not utilizing, and 3) looking west at the bluffs where Confederates were happy to sit and pick off anybody trying to get across the bridge, along with pre-sited artillery.
With the new job starting I've been trying to be productive. I actually visited Antietam about forty years ago with my Mom. A lot of it still felt familiar, but I'll be damned if I'd forgotten just how perfect the defensive positions around Burnsides Bridge were for the Confederates. Burnside went on to infamy as a Civil War general but I don't think he can be blamed too harshly for what happened here. Getting across the bridge must have been a nightmare. Getting up the hills after the bridge must have also been hell.
In any event, here are my pics from the Battle of South Mountain, which took place just prior to Antietam.
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