Tour Photos from McClellan's Observation Post and the Pry Ridge

     The more I study the Battle of Antietam, I realize that the battlefield does not end where the National Park Service boundary does. Going even further, the battlefield is not almost entirely on the west side of Antietam Creek. With the exception of the action at Burnside Bridge, the creek is usually seen as a boundary of the battlefield. Instead, the creek actually splits the battlefield. There were plenty of events that transpired on the east side of the creek that influenced how the battle played out and many Union forces, mostly artillery, east of the Antietam that had an impactful role in the battle.
     Thankfully, over the past few years, I have had the opportunity of visiting battlefield sites that are privately owned. Specifically, both last winter and now this one, I have been able to walk the positions of the Federal artillery east of the Antietam. Last winter's hike prompted the Guns of Position series. Last weekend, thanks to fellow Battlefield Guides Tom Clemens and Joe Stahl, I was able to walk the Union artillery positions north of the Boonsboro Pike. I will refer you to the Guns of Position series for my takeaways from last year. For this hike, I wanted to share some of the photos I took from the various spots I visited. Enjoy!

McClellan's Observation Post

McClellan's Guns of Position: Part 4

     An image is worth one thousand words, so the saying goes. Well, it has taken 3,684 words and numerous pictures and graphics to bring us to Part 4 (and the conclusion, sort of) of the "McClellan's Guns of Position" series. Hopefully, this series has opened readers' eyes to the importance of the guns of position at Antietam. Putting together this series has been revelatory for myself and I am walking away from it with a much greater appreciation of the role they played during the Battle of Antietam.
     When originally envisioning this series, I wanted the conclusion of it to not be filled with so many heavy-hitting statistics (that is what parts 1, 2, and 3 are for) but rather with modern pictures from the guns of position locations that drive home the points made in the first three parts. Last winter, I had the pleasure of accompanying many of Antietam Battlefield Guide friends onto the former Ecker Farm to take a gander at what those artillerists saw of the Confederate positions from September 16 to 18, 1862. That trip was the genesis of this series. And while there are many more trees crowning the Ecker Farm Ridge south of the Boonsboro Pike today than there were in 1862, the views were still spectacular.
     I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

McClellan's Guns of Position: Part 2

     In Part 1 of this series, I examined the makeup of the Army of the Potomac's "guns of position" during the Maryland Campaign before focusing on the core of that artillery grouping, the 20-lb. Parrott rifle. For Part 2, I will look at the effectiveness of these guns and their importance to the Federal army at Antietam.
     First, it is important to establish the fact that even though these guns remained on the east side of Antietam Creek for the entirety of the battle, they did not sit out the fighting. There is a tendency among people visiting the battlefield to think that Federal soldiers positioned east of the creek (with the exception being those around the Burnside Bridge) were merely spectators to the action on the other side of the creek. This is not true, especially in the case of the "guns of position." Even the Union infantry east of the creek fell victim to enemy artillery shells and did sustain minor casualties.
     With their extensive range and excellent fields of fire, McClellan's and Hunt's heavy guns played a large role in the battle and in McClellan's planning during the actions along Antietam Creek. According to the Table of Fire for 20-lb. Parrotts, they had a maximum reach of 4,400 yards or 2.5 miles. This distance could be reached by a shell fired at 15 degrees and would take the shell over 17 seconds from the time it was fired to reach its target.