American Adventure Day two : Antietam Battlefield

Well my first full day in the States saw me at Antietam (also known as Sharpsburg) battlefield. This is one of the 'big ones' both in terms of size and impact but also the level of interest and preservation. I can't really fault much, I had read and watched quite a bit on the battle in advance but they have an excellent orientation film and Ranger presentation to set the scene. I took far too many photos to share so just a couple of highlights....the battlefield is basically a dream for anybody interested in military history 😀 I basically downloaded a set of podcasts and used these to walk all the main sections of the battle.

 

Honestly a cannon display, four different types and the famous Dunker Church

 

Millers corn field site of the very fierce early Union attack.

 

A shot looking towards the confederate line from the edge of the Cornfield.

 

The aptly named 'bloody lane'

 

Burnside bridge under repair.

 

The scene of the final unsuccessful assault by the Federal forces.

It is a big battlefield but I had all day, according to my Fitbit thingy I walked 14 km! I only wish our civil war battlefields were preserved as well....but I know why they aren't. As you can see from the photos it wasn't busy and most people stay fairly close to their cars !