behind AotW

Officers of the US Regular Army units present on the Maryland Campaign of 1862 have a staunch advocate in one of our loyal readers. He has been poking me to make up for obvious deficiencies in my understanding of those present, as seen in the Antietam on the Web database.

Officers of the 14th US Inf. camp near Alexandria, Va., March 1862 (USAMHI, T. Reese)

In addition to providing additional details for some of the officers we do cover on AotW, he's also challenged me to add a number of men not yet listed. I fear I am not doing this fast enough to suit, but have had a rewarding weekend doing further research on the Regulars at Antietam and these new candidates of interest ...

In spite of my recent neglect of the subject of the Battle here on the internets, the rest of the interested World continues to feed the machine. To all of you who've sent me things, I'm making some time now to catch up with getting all those gems online on AotW, and thanks very much to all for your patience and persistence!

Major John A. Reynolds, Chief of Artillery, XXth Army Corps (1864, courtesy Scott Hann Collection)

By way of immediate example, above are scans of a carte de visite (CDV) sent by Scott Hann to fill an empty spot on this officer's bio page. Scott has a massive collection of images and has been most generous in sharing some of the best with us to help put faces with the names of the men at the Battle.

John Reynolds was Captain of Battery L, 1st Regiment New York Artillery (Light) at Antietam. In this post, I'd like to tell you a little bit about the battery's commander, and feature a first hand - if dramatic and lengthy - description of their experience in Maryland in a contemporary letter written by one of his Lieutenants to a Rochester newspaper.

Eric Wittenberg has put up a fine post featuring James Childs, Colonel, 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, killed at Antietam on 17 September 1862. Elements of the Fourth were among the few Union cavalrymen engaged at Sharpsburg that day - the Federal mounted arm was not a major factor in the battle.

Eric's study - and that distinctive photograph of the Colonel - reminded me of a gap in my digital collection of portraits. In particular the face of the man who followed Childs in command of the unit, his Lieutenant Colonel James K. Kerr. As usual, looking for Kerr led to other serendipitous connections and people ... thanks Eric!

Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry [McClellan Drilling Troops, 1861] (artist unknown, Phila Museum of Art)

146 years to the day after the historical events, a lucky group of us tracked the unlucky 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers to the places and views of the Battle of Shepherdstown Ford (20 September 1862). Under the capable guidance of Dr Tom Clemens and members of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA), we waded the Potomac, scaled the heights, and walked the field.

ANB Visitor's Center - a postcard perfect day

We gathered Saturday the 20th at the Antietam Visitor's Center, drove in convoy to the Dunleavy spread near Shepherdstown, WV, and then carpooled to the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal Park [NPS site] back on the Maryland side of the Shepherdstown (Boteler's, Packhorse, Blackford's) Ford...