Category: my favorites
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The Antietam observation tower and the birth of the Park
My project on the visual history of the Antietam National Battlefield continues, focused today on one of the most iconic features on the field – the Observation Tower. Since it was built in 1896 the tower has been a central memorial and educational feature of the National Battlefield, and it has always been a popular…
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From Antietam to the Arctic: A.W. Greely
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Adolphus Greely was only 18 years old but already a veteran of more than a year’s Army service by the time he was wounded in the face in combat in or near the West Woods at Antietam on the morning of 17 September 1862. He was a Corporal in Company B, 19th Massachusetts Infantry. Before…
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Saved by his steel vest
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Lieutenant Nathaniel Wales’ story at Antietam may be unique. It is certainly startling: he was saved from a fatal wound by wearing armor at the battle. I’ve not previously found anything else like this associated with Antietam. Having little experience with the subject, then, I went off to find out something about body armor of…
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John Saunders Taylor, USN, CSN, CSA
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At the very end of his life, in combat on the open ground south of the Miller Cornfield at Sharpsburg, John S. Taylor was entirely fearless … J.S. Taylor c. 1845 He was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1820 to a family with a tradition of military service. His grandfather John Saunders had been a…
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Just as surely dead
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I like to look beyond lists and rosters to flesh out the individuals who were at Antietam. An example of how this sometimes goes, with a bit of an unexpected twist, is the case of Sgt Hascall of the 61st NY Infantry.
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Patrick Clooney, 88th New York
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The life and passing of Patrick Phelan (Felan) Clooney. One of the heroes of the Irish Brigade at Antietam.
