Millers Cornfield

[Manassas 1861]

Did Miller's cornfield at Antietam play any part in feeding either the ANV, or the AoP? Completely random question

 

[Kurtlg]

Did Miller's cornfield at Antietam play any part in feeding either the ANV, or the AoP? Completely random question

I think they had other things on their minds .

 

[bankerpapaw]

Did Miller's cornfield at Antietam play any part in feeding either the ANV, or the AoP? Completely random question

I don't believe there was any useable corn left after that exchange.

 

[frontrank2]

IIRC, General Hooker said after the Battle that every stalk of corn in that field had been cut down as if with a knife.

 

[Joe Whitworth]

I think they had other things on their minds .

You took the words right out of my mouth....

 

[rpkennedy]

Hartwig's book on Antietam makes it clear that the Confederates were raiding the area's fields and orchards during their stay around Sharpsburg. I don't see why Miller's cornfield would have been any different. With that said, after mid afternoon on September 16, that particular field was on the front lines with active fighting nearby. Unless a soldier was stationed there, I would guess that safer fields would have been more inviting.

Ryan

 

[Bruce Vail]

It's possible. Elements of DH Hill's Division were bivouacked at the Mumma Farm on the evening of Sept, 16th and a number of war memoirs have stated that rations were not delivered to those Hill brigades on that day. The commanding office of the First North Carolina Infantry Regiment (Ripley's Brigade) reported, for example, that his men received no rations and instead "feasted" on roasted corn and pumpkins that night. Those edibles were presumably gathered from local farm fields, which would have included nearby Miller's Cornfield. The officer did not specifically identify the source of the corn and pumpkins, however, so additional research is needed.

It's also worth noting that any number of Confederate units had moved close by Miller's Cornfield in the two or three days before the battle, so there was ample opportunity for soldiers to have pilfered any edible corn at that time.