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| On Sunday, we attended Asbury United
Methodist Church in Charles Town, West Virginia. Of interest - this is
the first church since we left home, in June, that had a male preacher. |
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| Then on to Maryland and
Antietam! |
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| While not nearly as big as
Gettysburg, the battle at Antietam marked the bloodiest one-day battle in
American history. General Lee took a gamble here, splitting off part
of his forces and sending them to Harper's Ferry to capture the armory.
Unbeknownst to Lee, one of his orders, detailing where his detachments would
be located, was inadvertently left behind and a Union private found it.
So the Union boys not only had twice as many troops as the Rebs, but they
knew exactly where all the Confederate troops were and what Lee's strategy
was. Hence the battle only lasted 23 hours before Lee was defeated. |
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| The Maryland State Monument is the
only monument at Antietam dedicated to both sides. Marylanders fought for
both the Union and the Confederacy. 20,000 people attended the dedication on
May 30, 1900. President William McKinley, a veteran of the Battle of
Antietam, was the keynote speaker |
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| 23,000 soldiers were killed,
wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17,
1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern
Virginia's first invasion into the North and led to Abraham Lincoln's
issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. |
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| We loved touring Antietam but
the best part of the day was that Harley got to go, too! Pets were
welcomed - how refreshing! Pictured here is Dunker Church. |
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| It is so moving to visit
battlefields such as Gettysburg and Antietam where so many brave men died. |
