An Antietam Moment

September 7, 2014 in Attractions, History, Travel

Since getting Lynndee and Yogi here from the Philippines, we’ve been on several road trips and I’ve made it a point to introduce them to their new country’s history. One such trip took place in the spring of 2012. First, a little background on this destination, which was actually a side-trip opportunity we took on the way home from our primary destination.

There have been moments throughout American history that a particular generation experiences a singular tragic loss of life. In my mother’s case it was Pearl Harbor. For my daughter it was the attack of 9/11. But these were instances of aggressive acts by foreign entities. There was, however, another day known as the bloodiest one ever on American soil which, ironically, had nothing to do with an alien force; we did it to ourselves. This event took place in that traumatic time of brother against brother: the Civil War.

Initially, we went to Baltimore, Maryland to attend the christening of one of her hometown friend’s children. And isn’t that an irony, two ladies who grew up and went to school together in the Philippines find themselves getting together again after years of not seeing each other in a country thousands of miles away from where they began their friendship. While in Baltimore, I got to show them a great historical site, Fort McHenry, where our national anthem was born. It was on the way home that another chance to see history presented itself which I made sure not to pass up: The Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland.

I have a love of history, and since I was a child, I’ve studied much about the Civil War. Not only have I visited Antietam twice, I’ve also been to the battlefields at Fredricksburg and Gettysburg. What stands out about Antietam is that it was the bloodiest single-day battle ever fought in the US. Sure, there was almost 50,000 casualties at Gettysburg and over 17,000 at Fredricksburg as opposed to 22,720 at Antietam. But the number for Fredricksburg was a 5-day total and Gettysburg lasted three days.

The conflict took place on September 17, 1862. There are many iconic sites on this field of battle. The Dunker Church; the Cornfield; the Sunken Road; and Burnside’s Bridge, to name a few. We took numerous photos but at Antietam, the first ever battlefield photographs were taken by Alexander Gardner, later displayed by his employer Mathew Brady, introducing the realities of war to the American public for the first time in his New York exhibition “The Dead of Antietam.”

I have a particular interest in the Sunken Road. The 2nd and 4th North Carolina Infantry Troops of the Confederate Army were part of the men who made the heroic stand here. Funny thing, even though I am a North Carolina boy, two of my Great-Great-Great Grandfathers actually fought in the Union Army. Still, it is part of my state’s legacy. And even more legacy abounds because of the valiant attack on the Sunken Road by the Irish Brigade; two sets of my ancestors came from Ireland.

Me and Lynndee at the Sunken Road

Yogi at the Sunken Road

The Sunken Road then. You can see why it was also called Bloody Lane.

The Dunker Church is probably the most famous church, a place of peace and love, to be tied together with the horrors of war. It was one of the main points of the Union’s attack against the Confederate left flank early in the battle. After the battle, the Rebels used it as an aid station for their wounded.

The Dunker Church now.

The Dunker Church then.

The battle opened early in the morning at a location now known as The Cornfield. It was a virtual slaughter as both sides surged back and forth across the field and one account said that the corn was cut down by bullets as if reaped closely by a knife. After three hours the troops broke off but the battle intensified elsewhere.

The Cornfield area now.

The Cornfield area then.

But enough of the photos and history lesson. I have way too many to share them all. But I did want to show a few with now-and-then comparisons just to let you know what a terrible and chaotic day it was. It’s so strange to see the graphic photos and have them in your mind while standing there in real life seeing such beautiful, peaceful countryside. We did share a wonderful day of exploring and I was able to give them a description of what went on there that day for I have the entire story engraved in my mind from all my years of reading and research. And we did have what we now fondly call our own personal “Antietam Moment,” which we now use to describe Mommy Lynndee when she has a lapse of memory or a moment of confusion.

While making our way to the end of the battle area at Burnside’s Bridge, we stopped to take a photo. All of a sudden, she exclaimed, “Where are my sunglasses?” And believe me you, she loves her sunglasses! I had bought them especially for her when she found them while we were out shopping one day. Me and Yogi just stood there looking at her with smug smiles on our faces before we burst out laughing. While looking at some of the monuments, she had slid them on top of her head and forgot to slide them back down over her eyes. One of those classic moments, and memories, that we will forever share, and never let her forget about, either…(“,)

Lynndee and Yogi…after she’d found her sunglasses.

About Harry

There's really nothing special to share about me. I'm a simple man who leads a simple life, still in search of knowledge and the enlightenment it gives to my still-growing mind. And I do believe in magic, for it is out there, waiting to be discovered by those whose hearts and minds are open to the possibility, and whose eyes are willing to look past the obvious and seek the realm of the mystical. As I once read in a description of my traits based on my birthdate, I'm a dreamer of dreams, a teller of tales whose mystic mind knows that truth prevails. And as the great poet Robert Frost said:
"...I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."