Antietam and Harpers Ferry

I had an agenda for my first several days visiting with Paul and Lee. The first day I was going back to Harpers Ferry, then Antietam to retake pictures I had taken a few years ago then subsequently lost to a computer crash. I'd take what I could get at Harpers Ferry, but I was going to limit my attention at Antietam to the Burnside Bridge. After that, I'd chek out the Cool Springs battlefield. So I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and hit the road.

Harpers Ferry itself, in my humble opinion, has been ruined for anyone who's not a hiker. I had been anticipating my return for weeks, looking forward to taking lots more pictures of one of my favorite places. Tourist traffic was light to non-existent when I arrived, found no place to park, even momentarily, to snap a few pictures. They have ruined it, I say! On to Antietam.

My GPS got me to the parking lot above the Burnside Bridge without a hitch. The hill overlooking the bridge is where 400 or so Georgians under BGen Robert Toombs, CSA, defended the bridge all morning long. Eventually, the 2nd Brigade (51st NY Inf and 51st PA Inf) under BGen Edward Ferraro, USA, forced a crossing about 1 o’clock. This was my view from the sniper's nest. I suspect there was a lot less foliage and a much better view of the approaching Union troops on September 17, 1862.

I thought for a good while about the short walk down to the bridge and decided that, since I didn't have any particular schedule, I could take as long as I needed climbing back up to the parking lot. I made it down to the bridge in fine fettle. I'd question my decision about the descent shortly; in any case, this is the view looking south along Antietam Creek from the Burnside Bridge.

I was excited when I crossed the bridge and took a look at the “I will Union view”. The lighting at 10 o'clock in the morning was terrific, with reflections off the water lighting the underside of the bridges arches. I took several shots of the bridge and the many monuments to the different Union regiments involved in the battle for the bridge, then started back.

It first occurred to me that I might be in trouble after I'd broken out in a heavy sweat. Then, of course, my legs started shaking and threatened to fold up on me. I stopped to collect myself four times on the climb back to the truck and had plenty of time to consider the wisdom of my decision to go down to the bridge for pictures. By the time I got back up to the truck, it was clear that I should have eaten a better breakfast if I was going to do any exercise. My blood sugar had taken a nosedive. I headed immediately into Sharpsburg and found a convenience store filled with everything I needed to put it right. My very own battle at the Burnside Bridge. . . and I came away with a few commendable shots.

Besides Harpers Ferry and Antietam, I wanted to see the places Arthur Conlin had trod in 1864 July when he was with the 170th Ohio. Pulled out of the defenses around Washington and sent to the area around Harpers Ferry, he might have seen a view similar to this. Harper's Ferry is at the center of the picture, Loudoun Heights on the left, and Maryland Heights on the right. The picture was taken from the US Highway 340 bridge looking upstream over the Potomac.I planned this shot weeks before while studying Google Maps.

This one is taken from the same spot with the telephoto zoomed all the way in on Harpers Ferry. So I got Harpers Ferry pictures after all. Above-ground power/telephone lines ruin more photographs.

This last one, also taken from the bridge, looks back at Sandy Hook, Maryland, where the 170^th OVI was first sent on the 4^th of July, 1864, after leaving Washington. The rest of my expedition that day took me across the Potomac at Point of Rocks, then down through Leesburg, west to Purcellville, through Snickers Gap to the area around Cool Springs. I drove around as much of the area as I could (which wasn't much), but there were no pictures to be had. Plans are in the works, however, by Shenandoah University and the Battlefield Trust to develop the Cool Springs battlefield over the next several years.