Battle of South Mountain, Maryland

Buckeye Bill

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The Washington Monument State Park (Signal Station)

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The View from the Observation Platform (Antietam National Battlefield - Left and Boonsboro - Right)

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The Old South Mountain Inn (General D.H. Hill, CSA H.Q.)

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The Battle of South Mountain Marker (Turner's Gap)

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Major General Jesse Reno, USA Monument at Fox's Gap

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Brigadier General Samuel Garland, Jr., CSA Monument at Fox's Gap

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17th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Marker at Fox's Gap

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North Carolina Monument at Fox's Gap

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War Correspondents Memorial Arch and Markers at Crampton's Gap

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Close-Up of War Correspondents Memorial Arch

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Crampton's Gap Marker

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Mell Rifles & Troup Light Artillery Marker

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* Photos courtesy of William Bechmann (2013)
 
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The Old South Mountain Inn was also George Meade's headquarters on the night of July 8, 1863, during the pursuit of Lee's army after Gettysburg. The 11th Corps artillery deployed in that area to support Buford's dismounted troopers during the Battle of Boonsboro on July 8.

Did you happen to stop and see the Dahlgren Chapel across the road? It was built by Admiral John A. Dahlgren's second wife, Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren, who was a devout Catholic. After the Admiral's death in 1870, she took up residence on South Mountain, and the handsome little chapel she built still stands to this day. It's often used for weddings and the like. The specific piece of ground where it sits was heavily fought over in the September 1862 battle.
 
The Old South Mountain Inn was also George Meade's headquarters on the night of July 8, 1863, during the pursuit of Lee's army after Gettysburg. The 11th Corps artillery deployed in that area to support Buford's dismounted troopers during the Battle of Boonsboro on July 8.

Did you happen to stop and see the Dahlgren Chapel across the road? It was built by Admiral John A. Dahlgren's second wife, Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren, who was a devout Catholic. After the Admiral's death in 1870, she took up residence on South Mountain, and the handsome little chapel she built still stands to this day. It's often used for weddings and the like. The specific piece of ground where it sits was heavily fought over in the September 1862 battle.

Affirmative, Eric......

I love viewing vintage structures surrounding Civil War battlefields.

Adds spice to a tour!

Bill
 
Affirmative, Eric......

I love viewing vintage structures surrounding Civil War battlefields.

Adds spice to a tour!

Bill

That it does. Susan and I spend a lot of time with our friends Tom and Angela Clemens, who live in Keedysville, which is between Sharpsburg and Boonsboro. Consequently, we get to spend a pretty fair amount of time prowling around South Mountain. It's a fascinating place.
 
By the way, be careful not to go too much beyond that North Carolina monument along the road at Fox's Gap. They do stuff up there they cannot talk about, and you're likely to find yourself greeted by large black vehicles with government license plates that very politely but firmly tell you to move on, if you catch my drift.
 
I didn't see any large black vehicles near the stone wall south of the NC monument. I did see a couple of black helicopters flying overhead and an older man wearing overalls told me I had a pretty mouth. What a rascal......
 
You wouldn't have a order of battle for this battle of Union and Confederate forces would you?
 
Lovely pictures! I'm heading up to Maryland in October, though I won't have time to stop by South Mountain. If I did, I'd have to cut time off from my visits to Monocacy and Antietam. Ah, the difficult decisions!
 
South Mountain is where the Iron Brigade earned their nickname.
Gen. George B. McClellan remarked of the “terrible work” at the Battle of South Mountain: “Gen. Gibbon … handled his brigade with as much precision and coolness as if upon parade, and the bravery of his troops could not be excelled.” McClellan recalled that while observing that battle he declared to Gen. Joseph Hooker, “They must be made of Iron,” bestowing on the brigade its ultimate nom de guerre: the Iron Brigade. As McClellan reported:

The brigade advanced steadily, driving the enemy from his positions in the woods and behind stone walls, until they reached a point well up toward the top of the pass, when the enemy, having been reenforced by three regiments, opened a heavy fire on the front and on both flanks. The fight continued until nine o’clock, the enemy being entirely repulsed; and the brigade, after having suffered severely … continued to hold the ground it had so gallantly won until twelve o’clock.
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I purchased John's book at the Antietam National Battlefield visitor center bookstore last September. John personally autographed my copy. And Ranger Mannie Gentile also autographed my copy. Wonderful and very knowledgeable NPS Rangers. I highly recommend John's book......

Bill
 
As for books on South Mountain I feel Scott Hartwig's book "To Antietam Creek" is by far my favorite on the battle.It is a big book of 793 pages superly referenced and the appendices are first rate including a full order of battle, comparative strengths of both sides and also a complete casualties for both sides down to regiment level.mysecond choice that I like is Ezra Carman's "The Maryland Campaign" vol.1 which is edited and annotated by Tom Clemens.if you like this prelude battle before Antietam this is well worth your expense to read.
 
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