155 Years Later: On Hallowed Ground Honoring the men who Fought Here.

There is no doubt the land along the banks of Antietam Creek in Washington County, Maryland is hallowed ground to the ancestors of the men who wore both the blue and the gray.   More men were casualties here on that fateful day in September 1862 than in any other single day engagement in American military history.  Over 23,110 were listed as killed, wounded, missing or captured after more than 12 hours of fighting.

The battle started at dawn in farmer D. R. Miller's cornfield.

It ended at dark about 3 miles south of there on the hills above the west bank of Antietam Creek near the now famous Burnside Bridge.

This past weekend living historians from North Carolina and elsewhere came to Antietam National Battlefield to honor their ancestors and fellow Americans who fought here.  They conducted infantry, marching, deployment and small arms firing demonstrations representing the 28th, 18th and 11th North Carolina.

                              Marching According to Hardee's Tactics

                                         Firing by Company

               Calvert Arms Fife and Drum Corps joined them to play martial music

The living historians did a great job presenting programs for Antietam's visitors.  They marched to the Bloody Lane to fire a volley and later placed a wreath at Confederate Brigadier General Lawrence O' Bryan Branch's mortuary cannon on Branch Ave.  Calvert Arms Fife and Drum played music in Sharpsburg's town square on Saturday evening.  These programs are a great way to learn from history and also to honor the brave men who fought on these fields originally settled by pacifist German Baptist Brethren farmers.