Posted on 12/29/2017 4:21:53 PM PST by Textide
MORE than anything else, the battlefield at Antietam, site of the bloodiest day in the nation's wartime history, is a monument to the American private soldier who stands in the rear rank on parade but in the front rank on attack.
Here, on Sept. 16, 1862, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, commanding the Union's Army of the Potomac, stood in a grassy field atop a hill overlooking the shallow valley of Antietam Creek and watched Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia move into position on the opposite ridge. Then the Union general went back to his headquarters in the Pry house behind the hill and wrote, ''All felt that a great and terrible battle was at hand.''....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It was somewhat cold at about 25F and windy. The sun was out and there were several groups walking the fields as I was. The plaques were numerous and compelled one to read, as they each spent a paragraph describing which group stood on this exact piece of ground at what time, and what their fate would be. Looking up at the lay of the land, the distance of opposing fire and the sheer number of casualties made the walk quite memorable. The cold numbness became an afterthought as my mind's eye imagined what must've been a terrific display.
Anyways, enjoy the article. I'd highly recommend visiting the site. Great battlefield and well maintained.
Also, the concept of Nationalism, which the Left demonizes today, was the very reason for the battle and the war.
The soldier who stands in the rear rank on parade but in the front rank on attack.
You’d never catch the NYT doing something this close to patriotic these days.
That was one reason I posted this article. It’s striking, isn’t it?
I’ve been there a few times, riding back from DC after Rolling Thunder. It’s a beautiful, haunting, place.
A friend and I did a CW battlefields tour a few years ago. Two guys, eight days, starting at Appromattox, then to Lexington, up the Valley, Harper’s Ferry, Antietam, Gettysburg, Manassas, Wilderness/Chancellorsville, Richmond, Petersburg. What a great time! Antietam and Gettysburg were the best, but everything was terrific. Sacred ground.
Non Sibi Sed Patriae
Been to Shiloh several times. Its not far from Memphis. Sobering the amount of causalities.
I have also been to Chattanooga. Seeing the locations of some of the battles and realizing they were trying to go up a mountain in $hitty terrain was eye-opening.
The slaughter was terrible on both sides.
And that was about the sum total of his contribution. Great at parades, lousy at fighting.
I understand this battle is still studied at West Point as an example of how to violate several of the Army Principles of War.
The monument is fitting. This truly was the soldiers' battle because most of the leadership was poor. Still the bloodiest single day in the history of the Army.
Have not been to Shiloh, but have been to Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and Chickamauga.
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