The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) 9/17/1862 Part II - Sep. 18th, 2004

http://www.texasrifles.com ^ | July 30, 1995 | Peter Carlson

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

The Battle at Antietam, Part II

'If you turn around, folks, you'll see a road like most of you have in your own home town,' says Jerry Holsworth.

Union Generals William French and Israel Richardson moved their divisions up this elongated ridge to assist Sedgwick but veered slightly to their left and directly into the center of the Confederate line under General Daniel Hill who was reinforced by General Richard Anderson. An 800 yard long sunken road, worn deep over the years by heavy grain wagons made an ideal defense for Hill's troops to aim at Union forces marching toward them in almost parade rank formation. The roar of gunfire was loud and long. Anderson's backup division of 3,400 troops was mostly destroyed. One Union officer later wrote: “For three hours and thirty minutes, the battle raged incessantly without either party giving way.” Over 5,500 men died in the area of Bloody Lane.

He points south, to a sunken dirt road set behind a snake-rail fence about 500 yards from the Dunkard Church. "See, back in the Civil War, folks didn't like to get caught in traffic any more than we do today. So what do you do? Why, you build a bypass, that's what you do. This is the Sharpsburg, Maryland, Civil War bypass. Over the years, it had worn down from heavy use, and folks called it the Sunken Road."

The Confederates were crouched in that Sunken Road. It made a good natural trench -- even better after the Rebels tore down William Roulette's fences and piled the rails in front of them. Dug in, they waited for the Federals to attack.


Remembering his assurance to General Lee that the Confederate center would be defended against the Federals, Colonel John B. Gordon in the oppressive heat near the noon hour stumbles from one flank of his fighting regiment to the other. With blood flowing from his wounds, he inspires the Sixth Alabama to fight on. As he inspects the determined Gray line, Colonel Gordon notices a wounded father holding his lifeless son and also the many devoted Southern soldiers ensuring that the promise to General Lee will be kept. He has sent a young messenger toward the right flank to remind the men of their duty to General Lee, but the messenger has fallen dead. Colonel Gordon knows if the message is to be delivered, he alone must take the risk. Surppressing his pain, he pushes on, knowing he can never abandon his men unless his will is stripped from him by a bullet. This is shortly to occur when a shot strikes him in the face, rending him unconscious. Nevertheless, his men will stand steadfast.

Just as the battle in the Cornfield died out, the attack came. Gen. William French's division was supposed to follow Sedgwick's troops to the Dunkard Church, but French's men got lost in the smoke and confusion and marched, shoulder to shoulder, right toward the Sunken Road. The Confederates waited silently, watching the Yankees march over the crest of a hill that ran parallel to the road about a hundred yards away -- first the American flags appeared, then their heads and shoulders. Finally, when the Rebels could see the bluecoats' belts, they rose and fired, blasting away 150 men in French's front line.

The Federals retreated, regrouped, then returned. Again the Rebels blew them away. Again they fell back. Again they attacked. Again they were driven back, suffering terrible casualties. Finally, after three hours of fighting and the arrival of reinforcements, the Yankees seized a little hill above the Rebels' right. From there, they could fire down into the Sunken Road, killing Confederates by the score. It was, one Union soldier said, like "shooting sheep in a pen."

The Rebels fled, leaving behind so many dead comrades that, as one Union soldier put it, a man could have walked the road from end to end without ever touching ground. The Sunken Road had earned a new nickname: Bloody Lane.



Now, the Confederate line was broken in its center. With one quick push, McClellan could have cut Lee's army in two, then destroyed it. He had fresh troops ready to go. But he never gave the order to attack.

"It would not be prudent," he explained.

A battered old school bus now painted the color of dried blood bounces into the parking lot and rumbles to a stop at Bloody Lane.

Inside are 20 members of the Civil War Society, a group based in Berryville, Va., that sponsors battlefield tours and seminars. These are hard-core buffs. They've come from Ohio, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, even Bermuda to ride canoes down Antietam Creek with historian Dennis Frye. Last night, Frye, who grew up near Antietam and has been studying it since was 4 years old, delivered a long, passionate lecture on the battle. This morning, he marched the group across the battlefield so he could explain exactly what happened to Sedgwick's division. Now, he has stopped the bus for a few words about Bloody Lane.

"These attacks were never ordered by McClellan," he says. "They were accidental. They happened because they couldn't see Sedgwick. They were lost."

Frye isn't thrilled to be explaining all this from the bus. "The only way you can understand a battlefield," he likes to say, "is to stand on the battlefield." But he's eager to get his students into canoes for their trip down the creek, so he has to cut this lecture short. He asks if there are any questions.

"How many casualties were there here at Bloody Lane?" asks Lawrence Donohoe.

About 3,000 for the Federals, Frye replies, more than 2,000 for the Confederates.

"In three hours?" Donohoe asks.

"Right," Frye replies.

"Incredible," Donohoe says.

He's a 68-year-old lawyer from Louisiana, a short, portly gentleman with glasses and a gray mustache. This is his second trip with the Civil War Society. He went to Gettysburg last year. His interest was sparked by Ken Burns's Civil War series on PBS. "All those old pictures intrigued me," he says.

Now, as the bus chugs down the road, Donohoe recalls the day some 60 years ago when he met his grandmother's uncle, who had fought for the Rebels at Vicksburg. "He was kind of a scary fellow. He wore dark clothes and had a long gray beard and a walking stick, and he was frightening to a little fella like me."


General Burnside

After the fall of Vicksburg, grandma's uncle got home to Louisiana by grabbing hold of a big log and floating across the Mississippi. Or so the family legend goes.

"I'm intrigued by the fact that: Here I am, alive, and I talked to a fellow who actually fought in that war 130 years ago," Donohoe says. "It's amazing."

"Don't forget your great-great-grandfather," says his son, Tim Donohoe, a psychologist and Civil War buff who has researched the family tree.

"My great-great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Mansfield," Donohoe says, referring to the fighting along the Red River in Louisiana in 1864. "We tried to find his grave, but we couldn't . . . All we know is that we could trace him to the battle and he never came home. He was a young man who just never came home."

The bus stops at the Pry house, where McClellan made his headquarters during the battle. Frye wants to show the group what McClellan could and could not see from his command post.

Donohoe is talking about a book on Antietam that he tried, and failed, to read. It contained those Alexander Gardner photographs of the battlefield. "I would take a look at that book in bed," he says, "but I found I could not look at it without crying. I'd look at those faces and read the names of these kids 17, 18, 19 years old and I'd get tears in my eyes. I was touched by the fact that so many of these young kids got killed there. It's such a sad thing."

Donohoe shuffles off the bus with the other buffs and starts up the hill to the overlook where McClellan watched the carnage unfold in the valley below.

"This is quite an emotional thing for me right now," he says softly.

---

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[Chieftain]

Hey all you 'FReeper Foxholers'! Stand Watie told me last Sunday at the 'Kerry Lied' rally that many of y'all may be interested in these.

Swiftee stickers. It gets the word out to the driving public and displays your public support for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth! It even displays their website address!

Swiftee sticker thread! Freep mail for details on how to get yours!

[stand watie]

i'm not sure. as of Saturday last week the total was EIGHT (8)pairs. so far she hasn't updated the list.

lolrotf.

she told me a minute ago that she was "really good, in that she did NOT buy MUCH 14K jewelry this time, though it was really hard NOT to buy a ring with a 1 caret center stone & numerous emerald cut stones surrounding it!!!!!" (emphasis: HERS!)

< the ring as ONLY about 2.75 carets of diamonds!!!!!!

btw, she said the food was "awful" THROUGHOUT THE CRUISE, Nassau WAS "HORRIBLE, HOT,DAMP & i'll never go back there". Cozumel otoh was "NICE"! she was especially impressed with the Mayan ruins, near Cozumel.

duckie said, "you would NOT have had a good time. i'm glad you didn't go."

based on what she said, i wouldn't have eaten & would have LOST weight.

i asked her if she would go again & she said, "NOT on Carnival!!!!"

free dixie,sw

[stand watie]

see #42!>P>free dixie,hugs, duckie/sw

[w_over_w]

Morning Glory Snip & Sam~

I'm taking a breather between golf and yard work this AM and thought I'd drop in. As much as I'd like to comment more about the horrific battles that took place at Antietam, I was very moved by the section on Dennis Frye and the Civil War Society based in Berryville, VA. My family is planning a trip next Spring to Richmond, VA. My hope is to visit Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Manassas and Sharpsburg. I was going to wait until then and get as many FReepers advise as to the best tour groups, et al. (with SamWolf at the top of the list). But if Mr. Frye is still alive, he sounds like an awesome source to contact and make reservations.

Anyway, I've really enjoyed the two posts thus far on Antietam . . . they've added much to my existing books on the CW. Look forward to next Friday’s third installment.

BTW, I'm traveling to Miami, FL tomorrow for a national conference on Db security for patient medical records (they're really lining up for this one . . . yawn.). I'll be back Thursday night and jump into the Foxhole Friday evening. Looks like Jeanne is heading northward and staying in the Atlantic so my trip is a "go". I'll check back on this thread later today but otherwise keep your powder dry and I'll talk to ya on Friday.

[stand watie]

BUMP!

for a FREE DIXIE,sw

[stand watie]

BUMP!

for a FREE DIXIE,sw

[stand watie]

BUMP!

for a FREE DIXIE,sw

[stand watie]

BUMP!

for a FREE DIXIE,sw

[stand watie]

BUMP!

for a FREE DIXIE,sw

[Soaring Feather]

bump!!

free dixie, bf



thanks for the duckie gram!!

[stand watie]

you are most welcome!

free dixie,HUGS,duckie/sw

[Professional Engineer]

On this day...

2004 Freeper Airman Kidlette reports.

Hey dad, is my gig line straight? Is my haircut 35-10?

Practice at blending into her environment.

Picture taken by her proud big brother.

[Professional Engineer]

Hi miss Feather, we're doing well here. How about yourself? Is it still raining?

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Cushing (TB-1)

Cushing class torpedo boat

Displacement. 116 t.
Lenght. 140'
beam. 15'1"
Draft. 4'10"
Speed. 23 k.
Complement. 22
Armament. 3 8-pdr., 3 torpedo tubes

The USS Cushing (TB-1) was launched 23 January 1890 by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, R.I.; sponsored by Miss K. B. Herreshoff; and commissioned 22 April 1890, Lieutenant C. M. Winslow in command.

The first torpedo boat built for the Navy, Cushing was attached to the Squadron of Evolution and equipped for experimental work to complete the development of torpedo outfits and to gather data for the service. On 8 September 1891 she reported to Newport for duty at the Naval Torpedo Station, and except for a brief period out of commission, 11 November 1891-11 January 1892, Cushing continued her torpedo experiments in this area until 1893.

Cushing arrived at Hampton Roads 31 March 1893 for temporary duty with the Naval Review Fleet, and in April she escorted HMS Blake and HMS Caravels to New York. Cushing returned to duty at Newport 6 May, working with the Whitehead torpedo. Based on Key West from 31 December 1897, Cushing reported to the North Atlantic Fleet's Blockading Force for picket patrol in the Florida Straits and courier duty for the Force. On 11 February 1898 while making a passage to Havana, Cushing lost Ensign J. C. Breckinridge overboard in heavy seas. For their heroic efforts to save him, Gunner's Mate Third Class J. Everetts and Ship's Cook First Class D. Atkins were awarded the Medal of Honor.

Upon the declaration of war between the United States and Spain, Cushing was assigned to patrol the Cays, and on 7 August captured four small vessels and towed them to her anchorage at Piedras Cay. Four days later armed boats from Cushing and Gwin captured and burned a 20-ton schooner. Returning north in August, 1898, Cushing resumed her operations at the Newport Torpedo Station 14 September until decommissioned 8 November 1898.

From 1901 to 1911 she was attached to the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla at Norfolk, and was sunk 24 September 1920 after use as a target.

[snippy_about_it]

She's adorable! Looks like she'll get to keep that hat for awhile. I almost couldn't see her on that navy blanket, LOL. She's looking good. Thanks PE.

[snippy_about_it]

for a national conference on Db security for patient medical records (they're really lining up for this one . . . yawn.).

Oh no, does this have to do with HIPAA, ugh!

Sam was my tour guide. We just got back from Manassas. The morning started out with rain again so we put off the long trip to Gettysburg or Aberdeen, the rain stopped about noon and we took off to tour Manassas. Tomorrow to the Washington Mall to see all the monuments/memorials and Arlington. Then we have to tend to business all next week. At least my legs will get a rest. :-)

Have a safe trip, see you next week.

[snippy_about_it]

I love those slippers. It's the counting sheep from the mattress comercial, or is it Lambchop?

[snippy_about_it]

Tell duckie I hear "Royal Caribbean" is the only way to go cruising.

[w_over_w]

Hey Ms. Snip~

I can't help but feel a little foolish that once again I've missed a big trip you guys have taken. I'm talking about going to Virginia and you guys are already there. Doink! Well, at least you'll have plenty of advise for me next May/June '05 when we go.

Oh no, does this have to do with HIPAA, ugh!

LOL! While I'm sure we'll here plenty on Federal Regulatory matters this conferance has more to do with both NPDB (National Practitioners Data Bank) and HIPDB (Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank). Bottom line is it will be four days of relentless bombardment on the latest ways to evaluate user's request for new data elements and systems and incorporate into the existing shared data environment.

But just between you and me [this is classified]; the real reason I'm going is I'll get to play the "Blue Monster" at Doral Country Club. This has always been one of the Top Ten Courses I've always wanted to play before I go to heaven (and then it won't matter!). But! Shssssssh! Don't let my CIO know.

Hey Sam! How's the weather!?! ;^)

[snippy_about_it]

...once again I've missed a big trip you guys have taken

LOL. Hey, we pinged you! Good luck playing the Blue Monster. Let us know what your score was when you get back. :-)