By David A. Welker With my book on Antietam's Cornfield finally published, click here for a brief taste of some of the big themes it discusses: "The Cornfield – Inside the Action at Antietam’s Bloody Turning Point" And if you'd like a preview to read a few pages, here's another link you can click on … Continue reading The Cornfield – Inside the Action at Antietam’s Bloody Turning Point
An original regiment in the storied “Iron Brigade,” the 19th Indiana is perhaps best known for its role during the opening hours of the Battle of Gettysburg, which has for too long overshadowed its actions in Antietam’s deadly Cornfield…
Nearing the end of 2018, we’ll be bombarded by the annual parade of “top ten” lists counting down everything from the year’s news events to songs and online fads. For those of us interested in understanding and preserving the events of the Civil War and Antietam’s Cornfield, here’s our own such list – the Cornfield casualty top ten.
Abner Doubleday may not have invented baseball, but his actions amidst Antietam’s deadly Cornfield rightly cement his place in American history. This is that story... By David A. Welker Born on 26 June 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York to Ulysses F. and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday, Abner joined a respected family with deep ties to … Continue reading Abner Doubleday in Antietam’s Cornfield: No Day in the (Baseball) Park
The 1st Georgia Regulars’ Sergeant William Andrews and the 1st Minnesota’s Sergeant Sam Bloomer traveled from very different worlds, and over many miles, to share a moment of grace and humanity amidst the terror of Antietam’s bloody Cornfield. This is that story…
Travel back in time to see Antietam's battlefield as it looked 134 years ago. Our first stop is D. R. Miller's farm, around which swirled fighting in the bloody Cornfield...
The 5th Virginia's Ezra Stickley awakened and realized the firing had picked up considerably. Gathering up his gear...Ezra discovered he’d misplaced the right glove of his newly-purchased pair, a loss that troubled him considerably. Within the hour Ezra would be troubled by a much greater loss...and discover the ultimate irony of Antietam's bloody Cornfield.
John Cook swung his bugle over his shoulder and wrested from the dead man his leather pouch, bearing the undelivered shell without which the cannon was useless. From that moment on, John Cook worked a gun alongside the trained artillerymen to face down the onslaught of Wofford’s attacking Texas Brigade. It was an act that earned John Cook—who had turned fifteen years old barely a month before—the Medal of Honor.
The 5th North Carolina’s Captain Thompson “came up to me in a very excited manner and tone cried out to me “They are flanking us! See, yonder’s a whole brigade!” I ordered him to keep silent and return to his place…but, when this act of indiscretion occurred, they began to break and run…” By … Continue reading Garland’s Brigade at the Cornfield: The Death of a Reputation…and Much More
Now was the moment of truth for Major George Gile and his new command, the 88th Pennsylvania. Instantly Gile’s “stentorian” voice “rang out, “88th. On first division, deploy column, march. Forward, guide centre, halt. Commence, firing!” And with that the 88th Pennsylvania entered the fight for Antietam’s Cornfield... By David A. Welker The 88th Pennsylvania … Continue reading The 88th Pennsylvania at Antietam: A Cornfield Invalid Saves Washington
Antietam's Cornfield 