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The Sunken Road at the Battle of Antietam. The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and was the first major battle in the Civil War to take place in the North. This battle was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties. The Sunken Road was worn down by years of wagon traffic, which formed a natural trench for the men.

Sunken Road at Battle of Antietam

The Sunken Road at the Battle of Antietam. The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg,…

Scene at the Sunken Road at the Battle of Antietam. The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and was the first major battle in the Civil War to take place in the North. This battle was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties. The Sunken Road was worn down by years of wagon traffic, which formed a natural trench for the men.

Sunken Road at Battle of Antietam

Scene at the Sunken Road at the Battle of Antietam. The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle…

"Battle of Antietam, Md. Burnside's division carrying the bridge over the Antietam Creek and storming the Confederate position, after a desperate conflict of four hours, Wednesday, September 17th, 1862. On the left, during the afternoon, Burnside carried the bridge, after an obstinate contest of four hours' duration and a loss of about five hundred killed and wounded. Hawkins's Zouaves then crossed, and finding the enemy ready drawn up under cover of the hills, advanced in line of battle on their new position, about half a mile distant. The ground over which they advanced was open clover and plowed fields, the latter very difficult and fatiguing to march in, owing to the softness of the ground. The enemy's guns, fourteen in number, kept up a terrible fire on the advancing line, which never wavered, but slowly toiled along, receving shelter, however, when they were in the hollows. They were halted a few moments to rest in the hollow nearest the enemy's position, and then were ordered to charge with a yell. As they came up the hillin front of the enemy's batteries they received a heavy volley from a large force of infantry behind a stone wall about two hundred feet in front of the enemy's batteries. The Federals, though terribly decimated, gave them a volley in return, and then went on with the bayonet. The enemy did not stay to contest the ground, and although two to one, broke and ran, leaving their guns." — Frank Leslie, 1896

Battle of Antietam

"Battle of Antietam, Md. Burnside's division carrying the bridge over the Antietam Creek and storming…

Scene by rail-fence, Antietam after the Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and was the first major battle in the Civil War to take place in the North. This battle was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties.

Battle of Antietam

Scene by rail-fence, Antietam after the Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg.…

The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and was the first major battle in the Civil War to take place in the North. This battle was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties.

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was fought on September 17, 1862, near…

"Battle of Antietam, Burnside's Division, left wing- brilliant and decisive bayonet charge of Hawkins's Zouaves on the Confederate battery on the hill, right bank of Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, September 17th, 1862, utter route of the Confederates. This brilliant and decisive charge was made about five o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, September 17th. Our correspondent thus described the charge: 'On the left, during the afternoon, Burnside carried the bridge after an obstinate contest of several hours duration, and a loss of about five hundred killed and wounded. Hawkins's Zouaves then crossed and found the enemy ready drawn up under cover of the hills, and advanced in line of battle on the enemy's new position, about a half a mile distant. The ground over which they advanced was open clover and plowed fields, the latter very difficult and fatiguing to march in, owing to the softness of the ground. The enemy's guns, fourteen in number, kept up a terrible fire on our advancing line, which never wavered, but slowly toiled along, receiving shelter, however, when they were in the hollows. They were halted a few moments to rest in the hollow nearest the enemy's position, and then were ordered to charge with a yell. As they came up the hill in front of the enemy's batteries, they received a heavy volley from a large force of infantry behind a stone wall, about two hundred feet in front of the enemy's batteries. Our men, though terribly decimated, gave a volley in return, and then went on with the bayonet. The enemy did not stay to contest the ground, and, although two to one, broke and ran, leaving their guns.'"— Frank Leslie, 1896

Battle of Antietam

"Battle of Antietam, Burnside's Division, left wing- brilliant and decisive bayonet charge of Hawkins's…

"Battle of Antietam. The centre and right wing of General McClellan's Army, commanded by Generals Hooker, Sumner and Franklin, engaged with the Confederate Army, led by Generals Longstreet, Jackson and Lee, September 17th, 1862. Our sketch was taken about ten o'clock in the morning of the 17th of September, and represents the centre and right wing of the Federal army engaged with the Confederate centre and left, commanded by Generals Longstreet and Jackson. Hooker's division was then just on the point of crossing the creek, which they did in splendid style. Thus at the close of the engagement the federal troops occupied every position held in the morning by the Confederates, who retreated behind Sharpsburg, from which they escaped over the Potomac next night. Our illustration gives an excellent idea of the nature of the struggle, and the ground over which it was fought, which admitted of much fairer fighting than the jungles of Virginia. Since Waterloo there has been no struggle so long and so fiercely contested, and with an army spread over so wide an extent- the extreme end of the right wing, under Hooker, being three miles distant from the extreme left of Burnside, whose Hawkins's Zouave charge concluded this hard-fought day. At seven o'clock the last gun was fired, and the armies, victorious and vanquished, rested for the night."— Frank Leslie, 1896

Battle of Antietam

"Battle of Antietam. The centre and right wing of General McClellan's Army, commanded by Generals Hooker,…

"Battle of Antietam, Burnside's Division, left wing- brilliant and decisive bayonet charge of Hawkins's Zouaves on the Confederate battery on the hill, right bank of Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, September 17th, 1862, utter route of the Confederates. This brilliant and decisive charge was made about five o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, September 17th. Our correspondent thus described the charge: 'On the left, during the afternoon, Burnside carried the bridge after an obstinate contest of several hours duration, and a loss of about five hundred killed and wounded. Hawkins's Zouaves then crossed and found the enemy ready drawn up under cover of the hills, and advanced in line of battle on the enemy's new position, about a half a mile distant. The ground over which they advanced was open clover and plowed fields, the latter very difficult and fatiguing to march in, owing to the softness of the ground. The enemy's guns, fourteen in number, kept up a terrible fire on our advancing line, which never wavered, but slowly toiled along, receiving shelter, however, when they were in the hollows. They were halted a few moments to rest in the hollow nearest the enemy's position, and then were ordered to charge with a yell. As they came up the hill in front of the enemy's batteries, they received a heavy volley from a large force of infantry behind a stone wall, about two hundred feet in front of the enemy's batteries. Our men, though terribly decimated, gave a volley in return, and then went on with the bayonet. The enemy did not stay to contest the ground, and, although two to one, broke and ran, leaving their guns.'"— Frank Leslie, 1896

Battle of Antietam

"Battle of Antietam, Burnside's Division, left wing- brilliant and decisive bayonet charge of Hawkins's…

"Battle of Antietam, Burnside's Division, left wing- brilliant and decisive bayonet charge of Hawkins's Zouaves on the Confederate battery on the hill, right bank of Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, September 17th, 1862, utter route of the Confederates. This brilliant and decisive charge was made about five o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, September 17th. Our correspondent thus described the charge: 'On the left, during the afternoon, Burnside carried the bridge after an obstinate contest of several hours duration, and a loss of about five hundred killed and wounded. Hawkins's Zouaves then crossed and found the enemy ready drawn up under cover of the hills, and advanced in line of battle on the enemy's new position, about a half a mile distant. The ground over which they advanced was open clover and plowed fields, the latter very difficult and fatiguing to march in, owing to the softness of the ground. The enemy's guns, fourteen in number, kept up a terrible fire on our advancing line, which never wavered, but slowly toiled along, receiving shelter, however, when they were in the hollows. They were halted a few moments to rest in the hollow nearest the enemy's position, and then were ordered to charge with a yell. As they came up the hill in front of the enemy's batteries, they received a heavy volley from a large force of infantry behind a stone wall, about two hundred feet in front of the enemy's batteries. Our men, though terribly decimated, gave a volley in return, and then went on with the bayonet. The enemy did not stay to contest the ground, and, although two to one, broke and ran, leaving their guns.'"— Frank Leslie, 1896

Battle of Antietam

"Battle of Antietam, Burnside's Division, left wing- brilliant and decisive bayonet charge of Hawkins's…

Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland. During the Battle of Antietam of the Civil War, the bridge played a key role in September of 1862 when a small number of Confederate soldiers from Georgia for several hours held off repeated attempts by elements of the Union Army to take the bridge by force. The Federals seized it but not before the attack was delayed for several hours beyond what Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside had expected. The bridge now bears Burnside's name.

Burnside's Bridge

Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland. During…

"Confederate cavalry driving stragglers and skulkers back to their duty at the Battle of Antietam. One of the greatest evils in a volunteer army is the practice of straggling. This decreases under the elevating process of discipline; but all our artists agree in declaring that they have seen nearly one-fourth of a regiment, including officers, dropping off one by one at convenient opportunities. In some cases this may have proceeded from sheer exhaustion, but generally it was for the purpose of cooking their rations, taking a nap, or for shirking a battle. Federal discipline was very lax in this respect, and more stringent regulations were imperatively demanded. The Confederate generals, whom no consideration of humanity ever restrained from making the most cruel examples, treated stragglers without mercy, and hundreds of these miserable men were cut down or shot by their own officers in their attempts to evade the stern necessity of battle. The result was that the Confederate troops very often fought with a desperation unknown in the modern warfare. Our artist, who from a hill at Antietam had a capital view of the field of battle, saw many instances in which some mounted Confederate officers rode amid a body of stragglers and drove them back into the conflict. Our sketch illustrates this peculiar mode of Southern drilling."— Frank Leslie, 1896

Confederate Cavalry

"Confederate cavalry driving stragglers and skulkers back to their duty at the Battle of Antietam. One…

"Killing's Cave, on the banks of the Potomac, near Sharpsburg, the place of refuge of many citizens during the battle of Antietam. A glance at the map of the battle of Antietam will enable our readers to perceive how terribly exposed the little town of Sharpsburg was during the conflict, situated as it was almost between two fires; for, however anxious the Federal generals might be to spare the town, it was impossible to prevent many of the shot and shell from falling into its midst. In the cellar of the Kretzer mansion were congregated men, women and children, all spellbound as they listened to the terrible thunder of the battle. They could tell by the whiz and the awful explosions every now and then how near to them was the work of destruction; and their terror rose to perfect agony whe a shell exploded before one of the opening which gave them a dim light and was the chief means of ventiliation in this chamber of horrors. Of a similar character is our sketch of the cave of refuge near Sharpsburg, and situated on the banks of the Potomac."— Frank Leslie, 1896

Killing's Cave

"Killing's Cave, on the banks of the Potomac, near Sharpsburg, the place of refuge of many citizens…

General James Longstreet (1821 - 1904) was a famous Confederate general of the American Civil War and principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee. General Longstreet was called "Old War Horse" by General Robert E. Lee.

General James Longstreet

General James Longstreet (1821 - 1904) was a famous Confederate general of the American Civil War and…

George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly (November 1861 to March 1862) as the general-in-chief of the Union Army.

George McClellan at Battle of Antietam

George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was a major general during the…