- Joined
- Jul 28, 2015
Our group is very honored to portray Parker's Virginia Battery at Antietam Battlefield for the NPS, in the exact position of 9/17/1862. A brief history of the battery, they were organized in Richmond, VA 3/14/1862 and due to the lateness of their organization they enrolled numerous young men, at least two were 14. There were numerous others 15 & 16, it has been said that since their Captain, William W Parker, was a physician in civilian life, he asked families of the young men he had delivered, to trust them to his care. William Parker had previous service in the 15th VA as a Jr Lieutenant, resigning after 6 months to form his battery.
After completing its organization at Richmond, Virginia, in March, 1862, it served in S.D. Lee's, E.P. Alexander's, and J.C. Huger's Battalion of Artillery, Army of Northern Virginia. The company was included in the surrender on April 9, 1865, but only 3 members were present. Captains J.T. Brown, Jr. and William W. Parker were its commanders.
During the battle of Sharpsburg, the battery lost 21 killed and wounded men or boys, plus over a dozen horses. They were positioned just East of the Dunker Church on the ridge that commands the battlefield. The commanding position was a blessing and a curse; they could see movements all around them, but were also a target for every enemy battery in the vicinity.
The famous Dunker Church photograph is testimony to the horror the battery experienced on that ridge:
We will be there again on the anniversary weekend 9/18 & 9/19 (Parker's battery the 19th), so if you are in the vicinity come on out!
After completing its organization at Richmond, Virginia, in March, 1862, it served in S.D. Lee's, E.P. Alexander's, and J.C. Huger's Battalion of Artillery, Army of Northern Virginia. The company was included in the surrender on April 9, 1865, but only 3 members were present. Captains J.T. Brown, Jr. and William W. Parker were its commanders.
During the battle of Sharpsburg, the battery lost 21 killed and wounded men or boys, plus over a dozen horses. They were positioned just East of the Dunker Church on the ridge that commands the battlefield. The commanding position was a blessing and a curse; they could see movements all around them, but were also a target for every enemy battery in the vicinity.
The famous Dunker Church photograph is testimony to the horror the battery experienced on that ridge:
We will be there again on the anniversary weekend 9/18 & 9/19 (Parker's battery the 19th), so if you are in the vicinity come on out!