Thoughts on Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Antietam

I realize that I am a day late with this post but must say that after recovering from what proved to be a great weekend at Harpers Ferry and Antietam, I am truly glad to say that I was a part of it all!  When I first became interested in the Civil War in the spring of 2002, never did I imagine that I would participate in the events commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, a battle that changed the course of the war and changed the nation forever.

Briefly, I took part in the living history programs at Harpers Ferry all weekend, including a very touching moment at the site of the pontoon bridge over the Potomac River where 1,500 Union cavalrymen escaped Jackson's Confederates at Harpers Ferry 150 years to the minute as the escape was getting underway (more on that in an upcoming post).  During the 150th Anniversary of the bloodiest single day in American history, I participated in the all day battlefield hike, which nearly 600 people attended (again, more on that in a later post).  Great job and thank you to everyone at both parks for making the weekend one of the most memorable of my life.

Alexander Lawton's Brigade (CS)

Alexander Lawton’s Brigade

Commanded by Col. Marcellus Douglass (13^th Georgia Infantry)

Ewell’s Division, Jackson’s Command

13^th Georgia Infantry

361 men commanded by Capt. D.A. Kidd

26^th Georgia Infantry

188 men commanded by Col. Edmund N. Atkinson

31^st Georgia Infantry

145 men commanded by Lieut. Col. John Terrell Crowder

38^th Georgia Infantry

123 men commanded by Capt. William Henry Battey

60^th Georgia Infantry

154 men commanded by Maj. Waters Burras Jones

61^st Georgia Infantry

242 men commanded by Col. John Hill Lamar

Lawton's Brigade War Department Tablet located on the south side of Cornfield Ave.

           

Truman Seymour's Brigade (US): Part 2 (September 17, 1862)

“… The men slept on their arms, ready at a moment’s notice to repel an attack.  The gray dawn at last appeared, and every man nerved himself for the conflict.  The death-like stillness was at length broken, … and the sharp report of musketry soon marked the commencement of this fierce battle.”  That is how Samuel P. Bates, author of History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 described the opening of the Battle of Antietam on the morning of September 17, 1862.  The troops that “marked the commencement” of the battle were the Pennsylvanians of Truman Seymour’s Brigade, who were bivouacked in the East Woods after their fight with Confederate forces on the previous evening (see http://antietambrigades.blogspot.com/2012/06/truman-seymours-brigade-us-part-1.html).

Truman Seymour's Brigade (US): Part 1 (Septemner 16, 1862)

Truman Seymour’s Brigade

1^st Brigade, 3^rd Division, I Corps

1^st Pennsylvania Reserves (30^th Infantry)

167 men commanded by Colonel R. Biddle Roberts

2^nd Pennsylvania Reserves (31^st Infantry)

171 men commanded by Captain James N. Byrnes

5^th Pennsylvania Reserves (34^th Infantry)

100 men commanded by Colonel Joseph W. Fisher

6^th Pennsylvania Reserves (35^th Infantry)

250 men commanded by Colonel William Sinclair

13^th Pennsylvania Reserves (1^st Rifles) (42^nd Infantry)

110 men commanded by Colonel Hugh W. McNeil (KIA 9/16), Captain Dennis McGee

Brigadier General Truman Seymour

           

Abram Duryee's Brigade (US)

Abram Duryee’s Brigade

1^st Brigade, 2^nd Division, I Corps

97^th New York

201 men present commanded by Major Charles Northrup

104^th New York

Approximately 246 men present commanded by Major Lewis C. Skinner

105^th New York

Approximately 236 men present commanded by Colonel Howard Carroll

107^th Pennsylvania

190 men present commanded by Captain James MacThomson

Duryee's Brigade, located north side of Cornfield Avenue.