Antietam & Harpers Ferry

Today's visit involved four states in one day.  We left the RV Park in Pennsylvania and made the drive into Maryland to visit Antietam Battlefield.

We stopped at the temporary Visitor's Center (the permanent center is closed for refurbishing) and watched the movie to give us an overview of the battlefield.

We decided that before we started on the Auto Tour, we'd take a walk down the street to Dunker Church.

The Battle of Antietam, fought September 17, 1862, was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the nation.  Dunker Church ranks as one of the most famous churches in American military history.  This historic structure began as a humble country house of worship constructed by local Dunker farmers in 1852.  It was Samuel Mumma, owner of the nearby farm that bears his name, who donated land in 1851 for the Dunkers to build their church.  In its early history, the congregation consisted of about six farm families from the local area.

During the battle, the church was the focal point of a number of Union attacks against the Confederate left flank.  Most reports by commanders of both sides, including Union General Hooker and Confederate Stonewall Jackson, make references to the church.

At the end of the battle the Confederates used the church as a temporary medical aid station.  One account states that after the battle the Union Army used the Dunker Church as an embalming station.  One tradition persists that Lincoln may have visited the site during his visit to the Army of the Potomac in October, 1862.

The church was heavily battle scarred with hundreds of marks from bullets in its white washed walls.  Likewise, artillery had rendered serious damage to the roof and walls.  By 1864 the church was repaired, rededicated and regular services were held there until the turn of the century.

The interior is not elaborate today.

We climbed in the truck and started the Auto tour.  One of the first stops was The Cornfield.

The Cornfield

As Union soldiers stepped out of the Cornfield at dawn on September 17, 1862, Confederate troops unleashed a barrage of rifle fire.  The single, bloodiest day in American History had begun in earnest.  For the next four hours the Cornfield was the center of activity as Federal soldiers clashed with Lee's men.  The Cornfield changed hands again and again as both sides attacked and counterattacked.

The only deliberate destruction of property during the battle was the burning of the Mumma Farm.  Confederate soldiers were ordered to burn these structures to prevent their use by Union sharpshooters.  Fortunately, Samuel Mumma and his family had fled to safety before the battle.  The Mumma family rebuilt the home in 1863.

Mumma Farm

After the war, the Federal Government compensated residents for damage caused by Union soldiers.  However, since this farm was burned by Confederates, the Mummas received no compensation.  Starting in 1870 the family deeded interest in this burial ground to local families.  Neighbors who suffered from war and came together to rebuild their community, now rest together in this peaceful place.

The Sunken Road served as a breastwork for the Confederate center.  For about three hours, 2200 Confederates, later reinforced by additional troops, held off the attacks of a combined Union force numbering nearly 10,000.  Just after noon, the thin gray line collapsed and fell back several hundred yards.  The Union attackers had suffered too many casualties to pursue their advantage.  Seeing the dead in the road an observer wrote, "They were lying in rows like the ties of a railroad, in heaps with cordwood mingled with the splintered and shattered fence rails.  Words are inadequate to portray the scene".  At the end, it was said that blood flowed like a river inside it, giving it the name "Bloody Lane".

Sunken Road/Bloody Lane

Sunken Road/Bloody Lane

At the end of the road was a tower where you could climb to the top to see the views of the battlefields.  

I stayed at the bottom while Ron climbed to the top.  There he met an intern, Sam.

Sam

They spent some time talking and it turned out that Sam and Brady (Gettysburg Cemetery) go to school together at Gettysburg College.  We're finding that the world of interns is pretty small.

He got some good photos from the top.

Sunken Road

I waited patiently down below.  In the hot sun.  

About 500 Confederate soldiers held the area overlooking a bridge over Antietam Creek for three hours.  Burnside's command finally captured the bridge and crossed the creek, which forced the Confederates back toward Sharpsburg.  The bridge is now known as Burnside's Bridge.

Known at the time of the battle as Rohrbach or Lower Bridge, this crossing over Antietam Creek was built in 1836 to connect Sharpsburg to Rohresville, the next town to the south.  It was actively used for traffic until 1966 when a bypass enabled the bridge to be restored to its 1862 appearance.

The Union soldiers are still patrolling.

Across the bridge is a witness tree.

The park sign in front of the tree reads:  "As a young tree, the Burnside Sycamore witnessed the battle of Antietam.  It still stands more than one hundred fifty years later and remains a favorite landmark for park visitors.  You can help preserve and protect this living relic by appreciating it from afar.  The fence here is to keep foot traffic from the base of the tree.  This will help reduce soil compaction and stream bank erosion that threatens the health of the Burnside Sycamore.  Let's do our part to preserve this tree for future generations".

The bridge and river aren't all about history.  These people were having fun floating down the river as they headed towards the bridge.

Then our journey took us through Virginia to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia (that's four states).  

Harpers Ferry National Park is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in West Virginia (formerly the Commonwealth of Virginia prior to the Civil War) and is more than just one date or individual but many people and events that influenced the course of our history.  Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Stonewall Jackson, John Brown, Merriwether Lewis, and Frederick Douglas are just a few of the individuals who left a mark on Harpers Ferry.

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown attacked Harpers Ferry hoping to inspire a revolt against slavery.  Brown wanted the arsenal's weapons to arm recruits.  Brown's band quickly seized the armory and rifle works but the invaders were immediately surrounded, first by local militia, and then by Colonel Robert E. Lee who commanded the U.S. troops in the area.  When Brown refused to surrender, Federal troops charged with bayonets and it was all over in less than 36 hours.

Musket and pike from John Brown's raid, seen at Gettysburg Museum

Brown's raid came to a bloody end but his actions helped propel the nation into the Civil War.  When fighting broke out in 1861, retreating US troops burned both arsenal buildings to keep the weapons from falling into Confederate's hands.  There were originally 100,000 weapons in the two arsenal buildings during John Brown's raid but 85,000 of them were distributed to the Confederate states from 1859 to the beginning of the Civil War by orders of the Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, who was a Southern sympathizer.  When the Civil War began, Confederate troops planned to seize the remaining 15,000 weapons from the arsenal buildings but the Union army destroyed them before they could arrive.

Foundation of one of the original arsenal buildings

John Brown's Fort was originally constructed in 1848 for use as a guard and fire engine house.  The building achieved fame when it was John Brown's refuge during his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry.  It is the only surviving building of the Armory; all others were destroyed during the Civil War.

The building quickly became a tourist attraction and the words John Brown's Fort - a new name - were painted over the three doors to attract tourists.  It has been moved four times, and for most of its history was preserved on the Harpers Ferry campus of Storer College, until it was moved back to near its+ original location by the National Park Service.

John Brown's Fort

The Commonwealth of Virginia executed Brown on December 2, 1859.

There were soldiers nearby.

The area around the rivers is beautiful.  

Actually, this is where three National Trails meet.

Harpers Ferry sits in about the middle of the 2200 mile Appalachian Trail that goes from Maine to Georgia.

If you hike the trail, you'll climb these stairs in Harpers Ferry.

We avoided the steps as we walked through town.

This was an interesting store.

You could go through the store and stop at different sections where candy was placed according to the year it was popular.

This reminded me so much of my dad.  He had a typewriter from his college days which he used until the day he died.  Man could he type fast on that thing!

The White Hall Tavern has quite a history in the town.

And with that it was time to leave.  After all, we had to travel through four states to get back!