Antietam National Battlefield

On a small stage near a country church that witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting in American history, a U.S. Army general told several hundred people the story of a 15-year-old private who received the nation's highest military honor during the Battle of Antietam. Maj. Gen. Mark S. Bowman said Pvt. John Cook, a bugler serving in Battery B of the 4th U.S. Artillery Regiment, received the Medal of Honor for joining the fight after other soldiers fell on Sept. 17, 1862. “This soldier, just 15 years old, risked his life to save fellow soldiers,” Bowman said in a speech marking the 150th anniversary of the battle Monday at Antietam National Battlefield.

Approximately 650 Boy Scouts attended the 150th commemoration events for the Battle of Antietam at Antietam National Battlefield during the past few days, said Tade Sullivan, the Mason-Dixon Council of Boy Scouts of America's district executive for Washington County. The boys helped direct parking, passed out water, helped with flag ceremonies, handed out programs and patrolled trails to assist anyone in need, Sullivan said. The National Park Service gave each scout a resource ranger stewardship award, which is a badge, Sullivan said.

After Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson spoke to a large crowd about the Battle of Antietam for about 45 minutes Sunday night, Ed Bearss approached the podium and jokingly thanked his longtime friend for his “preliminary remarks” about Antietam. Bearss' comment elicited loud laughter from the audience of approximately 500 who came to the tent outside Antietam National Battlefield's visitors center Sunday night to hear two of the most renowned Civil War historians.

Dead Civil War soldiers showing up at re-enactments and a camera that predicts people's deaths were among the stories told at the site of the 150th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Antietam. Johlene “Spooky” Riley, author, ghost hunter, radio show host, and lead investigator and founder of the Gettysburg (Pa.) Paranormal Association, told stories Sunday of ghostly encounters near Antietam National Battlefield and Gettysburg to a crowd of attendees and re-enactors in the activities tent.

People came from far and wide Friday to the site of this weekend's Sesquicentennial Antietam Reenactment at Legacy Manor Farm off Bakersville Road. The Herald-Mail caught up with a few of them: Ralph C. Lincoln Berlin, Pa. Abraham's Lincoln third cousin showed up at the Sesquicentennial Antietam Reenactment site Friday. Ralph C. Lincoln said he has an ancestor related to one of Lincoln's great-grandfathers. Despite the connection and his admiration for the 16th president of the United States, whom he portrays, Lincoln said he was never awestruck by the relationship.

There are no bulldozers turning the earth on old and historic fields, no acreage falling victim to the relentless march of development. Instead, Antietam National Battlefield is a dignified memorial to all who fought there - peaceful and picturesque. Shallow water murmurs below Burnside Bridge and overhanging trees shade narrow winding lanes that edge acres of cornfields. If you listen closely, you might think you hear heroic ghosts whisper of a great and terrible battle that was fought here 150 years ago - the site of the bloodiest day in the nation's wartime history.

On that terrible September day 150 years ago on farm fields near Sharpsburg, crowds of men marched and milled, advanced and retreated. Many lived, but many died. There was some order, but plenty of chaos. This weekend, we remember the 23,000 dead, injured and missing that resulted from the Battle of Antietam, known to Southerners as the Battle of Sharpsburg. Venues and festivals around Sharpsburg will host hundreds of events big and small this weekend to commemorate the Battle of Antietam and its impact on the local and on the United States.

Some artifacts more than 150 years old and related to residents who lived on what is now Antietam National Battlefield during the Civil War are now on display at the battlefield visitor center. The battlefield held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning to announce the opening of a new museum exhibit room in the visitor center that highlights the effect the battle had on the nation and families who lived there. Artifacts and photographs are included in the exhibit, and veterans returning to the battlefield for reunions is also documented, as well as the creation of the park by the United States War Department.

The Battle of Sharpsburg Camp #1582, Sons of Confederate Veterans swore in a new member, during a Sept. 5 meeting at the Mumma Farmhouse on Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg. Donald Goodwin was inducted upon the verification of his ancestor's service, Private O. P. Goodwin Jr. who served in Co. E, 45th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry.  Membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans is open to all males ages 12 years and older who can document that their ancestor served honorably in the Confederate Military.  For more info, contact camp commander Michael Wasiljov at 301-992-3122 or mike24745@aol.com.

Editor's note: It has been 150 years since the Civil War moved into Washington County and North and South met Sept. 17, 1862, on a battlefield along Antietam Creek. The following story is part of a package of stories that look back at the Battle of Antietam and the Civil War's impact on Washington County, Md., and the surrounding area.   The merchants in downtown Hagerstown fled and farmers in Sharpsburg secured their operations as best they could. Some farmers went to stay with family members while others huddled in churches, caves and cellars.