Civil War History - The Eastern TheaterDiscuss any and all battles, movements, and events occuring in the Eastern Theater here! This includes any actions in tha area east of the Appalachian Mountains in the vicinity of the river capitals of Richmond and Washington D.C.
IMHO all those are excellent books on the battle. I have them all,including my beloved 25 year old paperbook copy of the late James Murfin's The Gleam of Bayonets.
Dear Readers: GO to this wonderful battlefield!
It is in a especially beautiful and fairly undevolped area of my state.
At the visitor's center the NPS offers a nice DVD on the battle. After you do your book shopping you may want to consider buying it. Several scenes from the battle were reproduced using authentic living historians.
My wife's great great grandfather Hershel V. Glenn from Barbour County, Alabama (15th AL Infantry) managed to find himself in enemy hands at the end of this battle.
He was later paroled and returned to the unit.
It is one of a handful of major battlefields that hasn't been totally gobbled up by urbanization. The private parts (I could have said that better) if not accessible, are still viewable from NPS property. In other words, you can see virtually everything you can't actually walk on.
Allow plenty of time because you'll be within a stone's throw of South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, Leesburg and Manassas -- all well worth visiting as long as you are there, but take at least one full day for the battlefield itself. If you're a walker, take two. You won't be sorry.
Ole
It was an overcast day on the battlefield this week as we remembered the 143rd recurrence of the Battle. In light of the carnage I had to think of the Ohio 25th Marine Regiment, 3rd Battalion that lost 20 boys in Iraq in the first week of August 2005. That occurrence brought Antietam to life for me again, and the heartbreaking loss of life. Here is a tribute I read about those Marines.
Quote:
For 20 Ohio Marines
[A Tribute from Butler, Pa.]
Did you feel the wave of sympathy
surging across the Pennsylvania line
and out to you,
the families left behind?
We know.
For we saw your boys
here among ours,
in our streets jogging,
in cars, in shopping malls,
in our churches, at picnics,
and High School proms,
and not too long ago
on the Fourth
as lads on Main Street
watching soldiers pass,
and even then they straightened
when the flag unfurled.
We saw them at gates
embracing parents
wives and families,
grandparents too
and friends who couldn't let go—
turning then to leave
with head held high,
yet looking back
at the ramp,
one last time.
Twenty, they reported, had fallen—
snatched from us, from us now so far.
We weep with you.
For yours are ours.
I visited Antietam and Harper's Ferry just the other week (right after Labor Day). A beautiful area. The NPS Rangers (if that's the right term) are extraordinary and deserve special mention. We (wife, mother in law and I) attended a group talk in the observation room at the Visitor Center, a group mini-tour in the Dunker Church area and a group tour of central Harper's Ferry. All were outstanding. The Rangers are clearly dedicated, know their subjects inside and out and love their work.
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