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.
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.
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
With the sun glistening off rainwater on the tall, waving cornstalks this clear September morning, David Miller could have no way of knowing that soon his cornfield would become the most dangerous place to be on earth. By David A. Welker Tuesday, September 2nd, 1862 dawned bright and clear on the rolling hills of western … Continue reading Farming the Cornfield: D. R. Miller’s 1862 Harvest of Death
Antietam's Cornfield 