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Antietam National Battlefield

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Antietam National Battlefield
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Bloody Lane at Antietam
Bloody Lane at Antietam
Map showing the location of Antietam National Battlefield
Red pog
Location Washington County, Maryland, USA
Nearest city Sharpsburg, MD
Coordinates 39°28′12″N 77°44′24″W / 39.47°N 77.74°W / 39.47; -77.74Coordinates: 39°28′12″N 77°44′24″W / 39.47°N 77.74°W / 39.47; -77.74
Area 3,230 acres (1,310 ha)
2,742 acres (1,110 ha) federal[1]
Established August 30, 1890 (1890-August-30)
Visitors 384,987 (in 2011)[2]
Governing body National Park Service

Antietam National Battlefield is a National Park Service protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Washington County, northwestern Maryland. It commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862. The area, situated on fields among the Appalachian foothills near the Potomac River, features the battlefield site and visitor center, a national military cemetery, stone arch Burnside's Bridge, and a field hospital museum. Today, over 330,000 people visit the park each year.

Features[]

In the Battle of Antietam, General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North ended on this battlefield in 1862.[3] Established as Antietam National Battlefield Site August 30, 1890,[4] the park was transferred from the War Department August 10, 1933,[5] and redesignated November 10, 1978.[4] Along with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[6] Additional documentation on the site was recorded by the National Park Service on February 27, 2009.[7]

Cemetery[]

Antietam Natl Cemetery

U.S. Soldier Monument ("Old Simon"), Carl Conrads, sculptor, George Keller architect, dedicated September 17, 1880.

Antietam National Cemetery, covers 11.36 acres (4.60 ha) and contains 5,032 interments (1,836 unidentified), adjoins the park. Civil War interments occurred in 1862. The cemetery contains only Union soldiers from the Civil War period. Confederate dead were interred in the Washington Confederate Cemetery within Rosehill Cemetery, Hagerstown, Maryland; Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland; and Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.[8] The cemetery also contains the graves of veterans and their wives from the Spanish-American War, World War I and II, and the Korean War. The cemetery was closed to additional interments in 1953. Two exceptions have been made, the first in 1978 for Congressman Goodloe Byron and the second in 2000 for the remains of USN Fireman Patrick Howard Roy who was killed in the attack on the USS Cole.[9] The Antietam National Cemetery was placed under the War Department on July 14, 1870;[10] it was transferred to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933.[11] The gatehouse at the cemetery's entrance was the first building designed by Paul J. Pelz, later architect of the Library of Congress

Visitor Center[]

Antietam National Battlefield Memorial - Burnside's Bridge 06

Burnside's Bridge.

The Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center contains museum exhibits about the battle and the Civil War. The movie "Antietam Visit" depicts the battle and President Abraham Lincoln's visit to Union Commander General George B. McClellan. A documentary about the battle is also shown. Park rangers offer interpretive talks. An audio tour is available for purchase to accompany the self-guided 8.5-mile (13.7 km) driving tour of the battlefield with eleven stops.

The Visitor Center was constructed in 1962 as part of the Mission 66 plan. It is being considered for replacement with a visitor center that is more keeping with the historic nature of the Battlefield.[12]

Pry House Field Hospital Museum[]

The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is located in the house that served as Union Commander General George B. McClellan's headquarters during the battle. Exhibits focus on period medical care of the wounded, as well as information about the Pry House. The museum is sponsored by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.[13]

Battle of Antietam[]

Main article: Battle of Antietam

Morning phase[]

Antietam Dunker Church

Dunker Church

The Battle began at dawn on September 17, 1862, when Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker began the Union artillery bombardment of the Confederate positions of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in the Miller cornfield. Hooker's troops advanced behind the falling shells and drove the Confederates from their positions. Around 7 a.m. Jackson reinforced his troops and pushed the Union troops back. Union Maj. Gen. Joseph K. Mansfield sent his men into the fray and regained some of the ground lost to the Confederates.[14]

Midday phase[]

Antietam Sunken Road

Sunken Road.

As the fighting in the cornfield was coming to a close, Maj. Gen. William H. French was moving his Federals forward to support Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick and veered into Confederate Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill's troops posted in the Sunken Road. Fierce fighting continued here for four hours before the Union troops finally took the road.[14]

Afternoon phase[]

Antietam Burnside Bridge Union battery

Union positions below the Confederates at Burnside Bridge

On the southeast side of town, Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's XI Corps had been trying to cross Antietam Creek since mid-morning, being held up by only 500 Georgia sharpshooters. Around 1 p.m., they finally crossed Burnside's Bridge and took the heights. After a 2-hour lull to reform the Union lines, they advanced up the hill, driving the Confederates back towards Sharpsburg. But for the timely arrival of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's division from Harpers Ferry, Burnside would have entered Sharpsburg. Instead, the Union troops were driven back to the heights above the bridge.[14]

Conclusion[]

The battle was over with the Union sitting on three sides, waiting for the next day. During the night of the 18th, General Lee pulled his troops back across the Potomac River, leaving the battle and the town to General McClellan.

References[]

Nuvola apps kaboodle External video
Antietam National Battlefield Memorial - memorial 02
Nuvola apps kaboodle Maryland Monument of the Battle of Antietam (4:33), C‑SPAN[15]
  • The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

Notes[]

  1. ↑ "Listing of acreage as of December 31, 2011". Land Resource Division, National Park Service. http://irma.nps.gov/Stats/DownloadFile/107. Retrieved 2012-03-30. 
  2. ↑ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/Reports/National. Retrieved 2012-03-30. 
  3. ↑ Tilberg, Frederick (1960). "Across the Potomac". Antietam National Battlefield Site Maryland Historical Handbook. National Park Service. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/31/hh31a.htm. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "National Park System Birthdays". National Park Service History. National Park Service. April 13, 2006. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070216182733/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/hisnps/NPSHistory/birthdays.htm. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  5. ↑ Tilberg, Frederick (1960). "Antietam National Battlefield Site and Cemetery". Antietam National Battlefield Site Maryland Historical Handbook. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070206010830/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/31/hh31t.htm. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  6. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  7. ↑ "WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 2/23/09 THROUGH 2/27/09". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-06. http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20090306.HTM. 
  8. ↑ "Antietam National Cemetery". National Park Service. July 25, 2006. http://www.nps.gov/anti/historyculture/antietam-national-cemetery.htm. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  9. ↑ "Antietam National Cemetery, part 2". National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/anti/historyculture/antietam-national-cemetery-part-2.htm. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  10. ↑ Lee, Ronald F. (1973). "III. The First Battlefield Parks,1890-1899". The Origin and Evolution of the National Military Park Idea. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070213001744/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/history_military/nmpidea5d.htm. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  11. ↑ "1930 through 1939". NPS Chronological Timeline. National Park Service. May 19, 2006. http://home.nps.gov/applications/budget2/NPS1930.html. Retrieved February 2, 2007. 
  12. ↑ French, C. Madrid. "Visitor Centers at the National Parks". Mission66.com. http://www.mission66.com/centers.html. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
  13. ↑ Pry House Museum, accessed October 8, 2013
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland Brochure; National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; Harpers Ferry Design Center, Harpers Ferry, WV
  15. ↑ "Maryland Monument of the Battle of Antietam". C-SPAN. September 16, 2013. http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/307917-110. Retrieved March 16, 2013. 

External links[]

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