ANTIETAM NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD
On September 17, 1862, the most savage 1-day battle of the Civil War took place here on the banks of Antietam Creek near the village of Sharpsburg, Maryland.

Lee had crossed the nearby Potomac with the intention of striking deep into Pennsylvania, but a copy of his plans had accidently fallen into Union hands and McClellan had his army in positioned on the east side of the creek, prepared to strike Lee on both flanks and then in the middle.

Of the three bridges Union forces used to cross Antietam Creek this was by far the most hotly contested.

There were nearly 100,000 soldiers engaged in this battle. As darkness finally brought an end to the fighting, battle lines had not shifted significantly, but, there were 23,000 killed, wounded or missing. It proved to be the bloodiest day of the entire Civil War. Like Gettysburg, the Antietam battlefield became a national shrine.

Day 39, Friday, Oct 10, Allentown to Gettysburg, PA

We had been at the Gettysburg battlefield for several hours and it was getting late in the day, but before we headed off to look for lodging for the night Linda prevailed on me to stop and take time to survey the National Military Cemetary, the dedication of which brought an invitation for President Abraham Lincoln to participate, and which gave to the nation and the world the words which are regarded as the finest expression of the English language in any time, place or age: The Gettysburg Address.

I am so glad we stopped and took the time to visit this historic place. This bust of Lincoln sits near the entrance to the cemetary. He was, in my opinion, a man raised up by God to preserve the Union, in a way similar to those great men, our founding fathers who established our country and framed our Constitution. I have the greatest admiration for him.

This is the monument in the center of the National Military Cemetary at Gettysburg, placed on or near the spot where Lincoln stood when he gave his "Gettysburg Address" at the dedication of the cemetary.

Surrounding this monument are concentric ring after concentric ring of stone markers, showing the burial place of soldiers from both sides of the conflict that perished on the battlefield and who could never be properly identified or claimed by their loved one.

From atop this boulder strewn position, Little Round Top, the far left of the Union forces withheld ferocious attempts by Virginians, Mississippians and North Carolinians to turn their flank. Their heroic counter-charge when all but out of ammunition drove the Confederates back, causing Lee to decide on the final day of battle to strike at the center of the Union position and not at the flanks.

This monument with the heroic size bronze of General Robert E. Lee astride his famous horse Traveler is located on Cemetary Ridge near the spot where Lee positioned himself to observe the battle.

General George Meade was the newly appointed commanding general of the Union Army. By a series of fortunate circumstances his army achieved the high ground on Seminary Ridge to the east of the little village of Gettysburg. There they awaited the attack from Lee's Confederate forces.

We opted for the self-guided 'Auto Tour" of the battlefield, following the directions on the map provided.

We were able to drive from point to point around the entire perimeter of the very large national military park that encloses the battlefield. Heroic monuments like this one erected by the State of Pennsylvania in honor of her civil war dead, grace the field. We couldn't begin to photograph all of them.