The National tribune., 1903-06-25
A Visit 10 Antietam and South Mountain.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: When at
tending the Encampment at Washington. L
ayailed myself of an opportunity to visit
the battlefeds of Antietam and South
Mountain. Early in the day / arrived at
KeedysvilIe, the extreme right of the An
tietam battlefield. With comrade from
a Pennsylvania regiment, l drove to
Sharpsburg, finding the town had not
changed materially since we were there in
'G2|40 years ago.
Driving to the burnside Bridge
where my division-"Cox's Kanawi.a''-
fought, scarcely recognized the locality,
having approached it from the rebel side.
However, when | had crossed the bridge,
turned. and approached it from the other
side, the landmarks appeared more famil-
lar. When the battle was fought, the
road forked just after crossing the bridge.
and during the night after the battle. and
n part of the next day, my regiment
camped on the space between the right
hand branch of the road and the creek. A
gate now closes the left-hand branch, and
the space upon which We encamped is al
most eliminated.
At the bridge l met the Colonel of a
New York regiment of ROdman's Division,
that was on the immediate right of our
respective positions. Our divisions had
forded the Antie:am some two miles be-
low the bridge, and, coming up on the
other side. threatened the enemy's flank,
leaving the remainder of the Ninth Corps
to charge at the proper time. While wan
dering around, l entered the lane that we
had crossed after starting down the hin
on our final charge. | remembered that
later in the evening. when we We're falling
back, Lieut.. Wilson, of my company, was
killed in this lane. Looking across the
hollow, saw the little stone fence up to
which we charged. and where both of our
Color Sergeants were shot dead. Fully
recognizing the ground, l called to the
Colonel, telling him l had found myself :"
The Colonel, however, was not yet able to
tell where he was at" Going down over
the route, as i remembered it, across the
corner of the plowed field, now in corn
thence across the corner of the 40-acre
cOrnted, now Il pasture, We came to the
stone fence. Looking over the fence into
the Government Road" which was not
there on the day of the battle, l saw a
tablet. The Colonel climbed over and read
the inscription: ''At this point Ewing
Brigade. Cox's Division, fought Mt ) p. m
Just across the road was another tablet,
upon which was inscribed the following:
''At this point A. =. Hills Division, G.. s.
A., fought at 5 p. m" Going to the right
we found n tablet indicating where the
ColonePs division had fought.
We went down the creek to Snavely
forded the creek. There being nothing ia
miliar about the place, l dscredited his
statement. Going up the creek about a
quarter of n mile found ian old familiar
spot" the general ''lay of the land'' re-
viving my fading recollection. The ford,
however, did not look natural. A farmer
showed us where the ford now unused
had been in former years. He indicated
the very place where we thought the ford
ought to be.
Returning to Sharpshurg we visited the
National Cemetery, which is excellently
wei! kept, the Superintendent being an e1-
ceedingly courteous gentleman.
On the following morning, starting from
Keedysville, accompanied by an intelligent
guide, l set out to visit South Mountain.
Near POrterstown, we turned into the old
road on which we marched from South
Mountain to Antietam. passing by a fed
where Corpr David Taylor, of my com.
pany. was killed, and w. s. Bower badly
wounded, by Il shell, the day before the
Antietam battle.
Climbing South Mountain by way of
Turner's Gap, had some difficulty, as ar
Antietam. in locating the places sought.
had again come upon the battlefield from
the Confederate side, and that fact con-
tribnted to make the appearance of things
unfamiliar. Time has wrought greater