[snippy_about_it]

My lanyard....*big grin*

Thank you.

[colorado tanker]

Another terrific post. It's really interesting to combine the modern tour and perspective with the historical facts.

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.

McClellan. Grrrrrr!

Why is Antietam overlooked by comparison to Gettysburg? The victory, if you can call it that, was not as clearcut. The Gettysburg story is full of drama, heroics and luck, although there is plenty of all three at Antietam. I think the main reason is that Antietam leaves us with a sense of sadness, the same sadness we feel when we think that Americans were once so divided that fought and killed each other is horrific numbers. Antietam is a story of two armies clawing, hacking and killing each other in what still stands as the bloodiest day in American military history. The tactics were frontal attack, brute force. Little credit goes to either General. Lee was saved by great good luck and McClellan's incompetance. McClellan's dithering prevented a great victory. I think all this is why when people visit Gettysburg they feel exhilerated while at Antietam people feel sadness and become silent.

[Darksheare]

I'm in, finally.
*snerggle*

Been bad over on the Caption Popeye the Fatah Man thread...
Been weird over on my 'home thread'.
And been bouncing around various and sundry threads since.

Had a great-great-(or so) grandfather on mom's side of the family in the Civil War.
He was blind in one eye and still had shrapnel in one leg.
He was a grizzled old man by the time mom heard about him.
He lived until the 1900's, and was about a quarter mile from home on foot when he was killed by a new infernal engine, the automobile.
I'll have to ask mom about hard data, like exact dates and such, but that won't be too hard.