10/30/21

My day-long Civil War history tour took me backwards in time in terms of timing of the Civil War battles. Gettysburg, the first site I visited, took place July 1863. Antietam took place on September 15, 1862, two days after Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson captured Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Antietam marked General Robert E. Lee’s last siege during his initial campaign and invasion of the Union. He was under orders from Confederate President Jefferson Davis to obtain as many victories on Union soil as possible, in the hope that victories would lead to recognition and financial support from Europe. Following a delayed pseudo-victory at Harpers Ferry (I say pseudo-victory because the Union soon after was able to retake Harper’s Ferry), Lee and Jackson pushed into Sharpsburg, Maryland and were confronted by Union General George McClellan’s forces in the nearby field now known as Antietam. The 12-hour battle was horrendous, but McClellan came out on top using an effective but sloppy pincer-strategy. By the end of the battle, of the nearly 100,000 soldiers engaged on the field, about 23,000 were killed, wounded or missing. It was the deadliest single-day in American history, even worse than D-Day. Making it worse, this was still early in the Civil War. This was American brother fighting against brother, family against family, neighbor against neighbor, in conditions reminiscent to trench warfare. Unable to push beyond McClellan’s line, Lee was forced to retreat and re-gather his forces. McClellan failed to pursue the retreating army, and as a result (together with his other previous failures in the War), McClellan was fired. Antietam thus marks the end of the first act of the Civil War theater.

The battlefield today is largely tranquil and looks like this:

My time here was not all contemplation and reflection. Some of it was actually humorous. There was a family walking around the site as I did, and their little 4-year-old daughter had to be one of the funniest, most inappropriate kids that I have ever witnessed. Here is some of the commentary that I remember from her speaking with her parents:

Daughter: Hey mom, why’s that Church look so boring?

Mom: Well…it’s not boring. It’s just not lavish. It has to do with their faith. They believed things should be plain. Us Catholics like to build up our churches and make them fancy.

Daughter: Well yeah. That’s why we’re better, huh mom?

(Mom gives very concerned look at daughter.)

…a bit later:

Daughter: Whoa! Look at the cannons, dad! Can we get pictures by the cannons!?

Dad: Yeah, sure.

Daughter: Great. Is it okay for me to climb onto one so it looks like I’m using it to kill people?

Dad: Uhhhhhh…no. Just stand by it, dear.

Daughter: Ahhh, fine.

Following Antietam, I decided to travel back in time a bit further on the Civil War timeline: to nearby Harpers Ferry.

More to come…

Cheers,

Rob