Antietam, VA and Harpers Ferry, WV

We all stayed up way too late watching the historic election returns. This is the first year that the kids have been really engaged in the process (perhaps bordering on obsession!). It seems fitting that we are in Harpers Ferry as our nation elects its first black president – it was here in 1859 that John Brown was hung for trying to free slaves, which helped push the US closer towards Civil War. What a difference a 150 years makes! Here are the details of today's activities from Teressa's journal:

This morning we said goodbye to Cherry Hill RV park, our home for 15 days. Gary put air in the tires and I made lunches, and we took off through Virginia and Maryland for Antietam. The key players at Antietam were Generals Lee and Jackson for the south and General George McClellan for the north. The north outnumbered the south, but McClellan overestimated the south’s position. The Union came out of the north and the East Woods while the Confederates held the south and the west woods. Dunkers church was a battlefield marker by the west woods. It was badly shelled. The north attacked through the corn fields where north and south were mowed down and not a corn stalk was left standing.

Toward the south of the battlefield, the Confederates tried to hold an area now called Bloody Lane where, at the end, soldiers’ bodies covered the ground as far as the eye could see. Eventually the Confederates retreated to the south where Burnside and McClellan could have overcome them and likely ended the war. But, Burnside stopped for a couple of hours at the bridge to let the men rest and wait for more ammunition. In addition, McClellan kept 30,000 Union troops out of the fighting altogether, fearing that Lee had a superior force (Lincoln later commented that it wasn’t the Army of the Potomac, it was McClellan’s personal body guards!). Meantime, Abe Hill arrived from Harpers Ferry with another Confederate brigade, and pushed the Union back across the bridge. It was the single bloodiest day of the war, but likely could have been the last if the Union had pressed their advantage.

After Antietam, we drove to Harpers Ferry. This town, located where the Shenandoah River cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains and joins the Potomac, has a rich history. It was a booming industrial town due to its access to water back in the mid 1800’s. Washington put the US Armory here to make guns and rifles for the country. During the Civil War the town switched “ownership” about 7 times which made it awfully hard for people to remain here. The town was flooded many many times over the years and continues to be concerned about that. According to the park ranger, “this is a permanent settlement where nature did not intend one to exist.” Today Harpers Ferry is a restored village. While the lower area—now the park—has to be mucked out occasionally, the real town is now located high up on the hill.

We grabbed a cup of coffee and some ice cream and headed home to watch the presidential returns. I fixed a stir fry for dinner which everyone liked. It’s nice when they like things with lots of veggies in it! We’ll do that again!!

We all stayed up long enough to hear McCain concede. Brian and I stayed up to hear Barack Obama give his acceptance speech.