Friday, May 11, 2007

Antietam - The Morning Phase

A good walk, that Mike and I did before the group arrived and then later with the group, is the Cornfield loop. You park on the north end of the park tour in what was the North Woods. The North Woods is being replanted, below is a picture showing the early progress.From there you walk east past several monuments marking starting positions for Hooker's Corps. After a little jaunt you turn south and walk towards the East Woods. Here is a picture of the view looking roughly south-southwest from between the East and North Woods. The farm in the distance was not there in 1862. The cornfield would have been between us and the non-historic farm.
Mike and I walked the road the first time so we went past Mansfield's monument and then turned onto Cornfield Avenue. The group made a short cut into the East Woods and then across the field to the avenue. From an area near the non-historic farm from the previous pictures I took this picture looking back north. Above the fence post can be seen, barely, the Joseph Poffenberger farm. The parking lot is next to that farm. For our photos crops would have looked more scenic but it was nice that there was so little to interfere with those long views. A better feeling for the distances involved is possible and if picturesque crops blocked the view some of that would be lost.
From here you can either go back to the parking lot by going directly north through the Cornfield or follow the Hagerstown Pike back. Both times I took the Hagerstown Pike route, I have a thing for the Iron Brigade (family is from Wisconsin, even had a relative in the brigade but not until 1864) and love to hear the story of the fighting they did along the Pike. Here is a view looking north along the pike with the rail fences on either side. This is somewhat similar to a Brady photo of dead along the Pike but was not my sole intent in taking this shot.

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