A cool breeze drifts over the Antietam National Battlefield Park in the late afternoon one daybefore Sept. 17 — the anniversary of the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. Showers appear headed for the site — fitting, as rain-soaked Union and Confederate soldiers had to fight the elements 147 years ago, when 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing during the battle.
Antietam, in Sharpsburg, Md., is one of about a half-dozen Civil War battlefield sites within 100 miles of Washington. The sites offer a variety of weekend excursions for history buffs and families alike as the war that divided the nation approaches its 150th anniversary.
There is a “huge, huge richness” of battlefield sites in the area, said Mary Koik, a spokeswoman for the Civil War Preservation Trust and editor of Hallowed Ground magazine.
“It’s definitely an interesting story — Manassas, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg” for a day trip, Koik said.
At Manassas National Battlefield Park, about 30 miles from Washington, a statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson towers over would-be foot soldiers on his horse, gazing out over what is still largely countryside near the visitors center.
But as museum specialist James Burgess points out, that’s not actually where Jackson started out at the battle. Rather, the Confederate army launched a sneak attack on the Union soldiers from nearby.
“The landscape artists thought it would be the [best] place to put it,” he explained.
“I’ve been here since 1980, and I’m still learning stuff,” Burgess continued. “There’s so much we still don’t know about the battles.”
Burgess estimated that the park attracts about 600,000 annual visitors, though he said the numbers have waned a bit during the recession.
He is gearing up for the 150th anniversary of the war, noting a surge of interest around the war’s 125th anniversary, as well as the centennial.
Gettysburg, of course, is the most famous of Civil War sites, immortalized in novels such as Michael Shaara’s “The Killer Angels,” as well as on stage and screen. The park, 80 miles north of the District, offers numerous guided tours and youth programs, as well as frequent re-enactments and “living histories” of different battle elements.
This weekend, volunteer groups will conduct programs on the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry camp at the Pennsylvania Monument, and the Stonewall Brigade camp at Spangler’s Spring. Encampment times are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
Beyond re-enactments, the sites are, indeed, living history. For example, the remains of an unknown New York soldier found at Antietam were taken this week to Saratoga National Cemetery for burialwith full military honors. And Friday morning, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is set to join local groups to highlight recent preservation efforts at the Third Winchester battlefield near Winchester, Va.
Peering back onto the vast field from atop the foothill at Antietam, one can empathizewith the words of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Fredericksburg.It is well that war is so terrible, he noted. Or we would grow too fond of it.
