our first speaker tonight keith snyder. he has worked for the national park service for 33 years it four national parks. harpers ferry national historic park, the national mall in memorial parks, monastic's national battlefield, and anti to no battlefield where he currently holds the position of visitor services. keith received his undergraduate degree in 1984 and park administration with the concentration in american history from shepard university. his masters degree in strategic studies was earned the united states army war college in 2003. he has also served in the air force and air national guard for 40 years, and recently retired as a colonel with 167th their left wing. he lives in martin's bird, west virginia with his wife cindy. please welcome our first speaker as he talks about the battle of antietam from the perspective of the soldiers who experienced it firsthand. (applause) >> thank, you kevin. it is great to be with you. i certainly had a very enjoyable drive down here. this is some beautiful country. what i will do this evening may talk about perspective. what i will share with you are two perspectives on the battle of antietam. since i'm the opening speaker for three days of antietam information, kevin and i spoke that it would be good to have a general overview of the maryland campaign. i will do a broad brush stroke and you that just so i have some perspective on when i share with you the words of those who were there. none of us were, and for me, one of the great things about having the honor and privilege of working in the field of antietam for the last 20 years, besides being able to walk the grounds almost every day, one of the things that happens there a lot as people walk in the door. maybe some of you have done this. people walk in and, say my great grandfather was that antietam. the first thing we do is ask what unit and we have a lot of resources. the next thing we do is ask, do you have any letters, photographs, or diaries. in many cases, they do. let me go out to the car. over 25 years, i have collected a lot of those. it's an opportunity i have to share that with you. that's the other perspective we will have. individual soldiers. i will share a lot of that with you. that's the bulk of the program. but i must give perspective by putting it within the campaign. i think these words of the men that were here make the battle personal. the one thing i'm absolutely convinced of i. will share with you a couple of the insights i have gained after 25 years. one of them was that antietam was very personal. savage beyond all reckoning. the vast majority of the combat, especially on the infantry side, was done 100 yards or closer or even hand to hand for that matter. it was a very personal battle and we will make it personal by hearing what they remembered. this is publicly the most violent day in their lives for most of these men. voices of and teatime. that is what we will hear this evening. we will start off with robert e. lee and his decision to move north. that's always a challenge foreign antietam program. where do you began? you begin with lee because it was his decision that led to this campaign. the president seems the most propitious time. that's not a word we use every day as it? propitious. favorable. since the commencement of the war for the confederate army to enter maryland. lead did do an interview in 1868, and what he said was we could not afford to be idle. i went into maryland, declare italy, to give battle. jefferson davis is boss said we are driven to protect our own country by transferring the seat of the war to that of an enemy who pursues us with a relentless and apparently aimless hostility. a very good relationship between these two. they trusted each other. lee wanted to go into maryland. he sent a message to davis, and before he got an answer back, he was already moving north. some of the reasons for the invasion, get the war out of virginia, folks in this community knew how much warhead happened in this area. keep the momentum after the battle in monastic as. gather supplies on maryland soil. get some reinforcements there as well. throw off the foreign yoke of this federal oppression in maryland. it was a pressed by the lincoln administration. influence the fall midterms. that is comical when i watch the news and all i hear is these are the most important midterm elections in the history of the country. 1862 is pretty important as well. certainly, pennsylvania, at least said, it that's a major goal. if the confederate army was marching at will it would determine who is winning the war. he is also looking farther east to the europeans, and in my sense, it's the decisive battle to end the war. he is convinced he can defeat the union army on northern soil, two countries. here is his army. he has two wings. they don't have a core system yet. a lot of numbers are out there. dennis will talk about. that you will hear tomorrow about 39,000 infantry brigades. they will cross the potomac in early september. one of those crossings was major harris describing the crossing, it was indeed a magnificent site as the long columns stretched across the beautiful potomac. the evening sun slanted upon a clear placid water and varnish them with gold. while the arms of the soldiers glittered and blazed in its radiance, there are a few moments from the beginning to the close of the war of excitement more intense, of exhilaration more delightful than when we ascended the opposite bank to the familiar but now strangely thrilling music, maryland, by maryland. after crossing the potomac, leaves first stop is frederick, maryland. the confederate army will gather there. lead does not get support in maryland. one of his goals was supported maryland. and maybe these next few quotes will explain why the citizens of fred directed not run to join the army. an unnamed citizen said, i have never seen a massive such filthy strong spelling men. three in a room would make it unfair. when marching in column along the streets, the smell is most offensive. the filth that pervades them is most remarkable. they have no uniforms. very important here though. they are well armed and equipped. they have no uniforms, but well armed and equipped, and have become so a new word to the hardships that they care little for any of the comforts of civilization. they are the roughest looking set of creatures i had ever saw. doctor stein are in the sanitary commission. a dirtier, filthy, or more unsavory set of human beings never stroll through this town. another observer said they were as lean and hungry as a set of wolves. these army has moved into frederick. that means there is a crisis in washington d.c.. our nation is at war. the northerners have lost most of the action, especially here in the east. now, another country has invaded. that's how you have to think about this. that is how they thought about it. for president abraham lincoln, he turns to george mcclelland, 35 years old. there is his army. a lot of talk here about the numbers. that's the current figure. you will hear more about this from my good friend, dan vermilion. believe, me the numbers are all over the place. i am comfortable with 70,000. that is effective combat arms. there is the basic core. is that still going? here is two quotes from lincoln and mcclelland. i will use my park ranger voice. how is that? if we defeat the army before us, the rebellion is crushed, for i do not believe they can organize another army. on september 11th. lincoln makes it pretty simple and clear. god bless you and all with you to destroy the rebel army of possible. you can jump in there. >> how is that? >> okay,, very good. >> lee is in frederick. he has an issue. union soldiers at harpers ferry on march 1st. lee will divide his army to capture these forces. a lot of maneuvering here. eventually moving into position to capture the ferry. he clears the union soldiers out of martin's bergh, heads taggers town, all of this talked about in special order one nine one. i won't get into that because i would like to get into the battle itself. i am sure most of you know that. there are their positions as they surround harpers ferry. jackson is late. difficult terrain to try and move into. he's a couple days late. mcclellan reacted and moved to south mountain. for me, the two most important things i would tell you about the battle is there were 6000 casualties there. most of the folks that visit the park have no idea and have never heard of the battle of south mountain. that's a very significant number. for, me the other critical thing about south mountain. the union army drove the southerners right off the mountain top they were actually taunting them as they retreated. this in your army anymore. the union army gained great confidence after september 14th. the confederate army, i would, say is already the most competent army other. now you have a union army with great confidence. but i'm telling you is, three days later, in the fields outside of sharp spurred, you have to very well equipped, large, confident armies that come to those fields intent on destroying each other. that's a very bad combination. the army is gather around sharp spergel, on each side of the antietam creek. the union army on the east side, confederates on the west side, lee taking the high ground, he has a great road in the haters town turnpike. he has a possible route to pennsylvania. the protection of the creek as they gather their forces. george mcclelland looks at this from his headquarters in keys ville. is observation post as the prime house. he will go. there look over the fields. do a bit of reconnaissance and then the basic plan revolves around three bridges, i, upper middle, and lower bridge. he will use the three bridges to confessed the confederate right, left, and when things look favorable, the center. that's the basic plan. the night before the battle, 15,000 united states soldiers moved into position, cross over the upper bridge. this is an incredibly important move on the part of mcclellan. my good friend dennis fry will speak to this. about how important that was. i will just tell you that 15,000 move. in the first and the 12th core moving along the north end of the field and settle in on the 16th. there was discussion about launching an attack on the 16th, but the fog was so heavy that no movement could have been made that day, even though there was talk of it. it took some time to get into position. the net of the 16th, it was damp, rainy, miserable. another conclusion i have reached just from reading a lot and thinking about it, one of the reasons, another reason the battle on the 17th is so terrible and the casualties so high, it's a miserable night. it's totally miserable. everybody there is soaking wet, has no fire, has no food, has no coffee. and they are miserable. the next? morning they want to hurt somebody. i don't know if you have ever felt like that on a monday morning. but that's one of the things i think that makes this so terrible. the night before, almost everybody there wrote about that the night before. they all know. it was a night he would never forget. so dark. so obscure. so materials. so uncertain. the occasional rapid volleys of pickets and outposts, the low solemn sounds as troops come into position. a half remain sensation to it all. a certain impression that tomorrow is to be great with a future fate of our country. so much responsibility, so much future anxiety. captain william parker is with an artillery battery right where the visitor center is today. as we lay down upon the field and look up into the great sky, we can but blush for the wickedness of man. no man who layup on that field and realize the deep tragedy which was to be enacted on the murrow could be but saddened thoughtful. we thought of dear ones far away. we were glad they knew not of the trying our that these hours were bringing on. david thompson of the night new york. all through the evening, the shifting and placing had gone on. the moving masses being dimly described in these strange, half lights of earthsky. there was something weirdly impressive. yet unreal in the gradual drying together those whispering armies under the cover of the night. something of awe as always in the secret preparations for momentous thieves. have you sent a tax like that lately? (laughs) these men are amazing. that is why i want you to hear this. their words are better than anything i could ever share. joe hooker spent the night in a barn. it's about two in the morning, raining, he finally gets a chance to sleepy. steps into the barn. he looks at his staff. we are through for tonight. but tomorrow, we will fight the battle that will decide the fate of the republic. and i agree. you can't see all this detail, obviously. it's for effect. the next morning, the first quarter, 8000 soldiers were launched. they assault very early that morning. the opening of the battle is artillery. there were 520 cannons involved in the battle of antietam. 50,000 rounds. 3000 rounds in our. as i speak for 45 minutes, think about 3000 rounds being fired. never did a day open more beautifully. we were stirred at the first streaks of don. no rabidly call this morning. too close to the enemy. nor was one needed to arouse us. a simple call by a sergeant or corporal and every man was instantly awake and alert, all realize there was ugly business ahead and plenty of it. william good hue from wisconsin. even as the role is being called, the musket fire and picket lines commence quite brick scully. i saw men wiping the dew off their muskets. there is a considerable fog just now. the premonition is of a battle we're growing strong the symptoms of a battle had been apparent for more than 24 hours. and we knew the culmination of another great tragedy was at hand. samuel from new jersey. it was a trying situation. though we had become in a measure accustomed to the sound of conflict and impatiently awaited the orders that should send us into action we could not drive away the thoughts of the hidden danger that awaited us. the certainty of death never before seemed so near. the approach of dawn was dreaded, as though it was to witness our last day upon earth, our thoughts wandered back home, and the loved ones there. that is a common theme. i think that maybe your last night on earth, you would think of a loved one back home. zooming in more on this action. the stone wall belgrade. this spectacle presented was one of splendor and magnificence. as the enemy advanced, we beheld one of the most brief displays of troops we had ever seen and the federals were moving towards us with bayonet's the sunbeams falling on their well polished guns and bayonet's gave a glamour and a show at once fearful and entrancing. frank shell was an artist. he had some sketches that antietam. he is watching the battle from mcclellan's observation post. a yank you line pushed its position and direction beautifully indicated by the national and presidential colors waiting about the corn stalks and the sparking flashes from gun barrels of bayonet's. who that stood up on that hill top could ever forget the sole racking suspense, the burning anxiety, the hard thumps of the history making a moments. the heart thumps of the history making moments. rufus, who i think maybe has the most compelling account of all of the battle of anti-to. my will quote him more than once. our line appeared at the end of the corn, a long line of bin and gray rose up on the ground simultaneously. they opened a tremendous fire upon each other men fell by the dozens george campbell, they would have the highest percentage of loss at the battle of antietam. 334 men went in. they lost 224. how terrible the shock. screams and groans follow that first volley. we loaded fire as rapidly as we can. our officers cry, give it to them, boys. there was a pandemonium of voices, a roar of musk a tree, a storm of bullets. shelves bursting in the wild excitement of battle i forget my fear and think only of killing as many faux as i can. a man a few paces from is struck squarely in the face by a solid shot. fragments of the poor man's head fill me with discussed. there is just a few of us left now sandy on jackson's staff. such a storm of balls i never conceived a possible for mental live through. shots and shelves shrieking and crashing. canisters and bullets whistling and hissing. most fiend lake through the air until you can almost see them. with 3000 rounds in our, three to 4 million bullets fired and 12 hours, it's almost as if you can see them. the fire became fearful, incessant, merged into a tumultuous course that made the earth tremble. the discharge of musk tree sounded upon the ear like the rolling of 1000 distant drums. julius robe already covered the essence of the american civil war and one sentence. he was in the 12 massachusetts. he is wounded early on. fellows from his regiment rake him over the east woods and get him behind a tree. here is what he remembered. our troops advanced, their firing was terrific. the corn stocks fell as if mode. the air was full of explosions and the smell of brimstone. missiles of all kinds strike trees. i was shot through the right thigh by our own men. after being wounded by the southerners, who was shot by his own. a poor fellow with uplifted arm begs for water. i was exposed to the fire of slavery and freedom. his arm is shot off. the man speaks no more. another confederate lays in front of me with a horrible wound. it is hell. i became unconscious. i remember nothing of the struggle of the possession of the cornfield, the last struggle for possession of the cornfield. he was caught between the fire of slavery and freedom. confederate artillery was shrieking and firing all around, striking the ground in a wicked manner and throwing up dirt and dust in great clouds as high as the trees. it seemed as though quote, all the devils infernal had been incarnated and assembled on this horrible field. all the devils incarnate assembled on this horrible field. the 12 core were reinforced, another 7000 thrown into combat. i have a sense after being there for 25 years. no one's in command of anything at the battle of antietam. you can't see more than ten feet. obviously, you can tell by the numbers, they fired 3 million bullets and only hit 23,000. they weren't very good shots, mostly because of the terror and smoke. all you can do is keep at it. that's the problem. there is a lot of them in a small area and they keep throwing them at them stonewall jackson, he wrote in his official report about sunrise. they advanced heavy forest to the eastern side of the turnpike, driving our skirmishes. batteries were opened in, front with shell and canister our troops became exposed for nearly an hour to a terrific storm of shell canister and musketeer-y. our lines advance to the conflict and maintained their face in the challenge of superior numbers. sometimes falling back before they sustained destructive fire. the carnage on both sides was terrific. that's a quote. a great tumbling together of all heaven and earth, the slaughter on both sides was enormous. a soldier in the 14th new york,. it was on the part of our men and intense hysterical excitement, and eagerness to go forward, a reckless disregard for life, of suffering of everything but victory. men and officers of new york and wisconsin are fused into a common mass in the frantic struggle to shoot fast. everybody shoots, falling in their places or running back in the corn. many recruits who were killed or wounded only left home ten days ago. a quarter of mcclellan's army has never fought in battle. some of them are firing their weapons for the first time in their lives on september 17th. . by common impulse, fell back to the edge of the corner and laid down in the ground before the low fences. he is describing the fence of the south and another line of men came through the corn we all joined together, jumped over the fence, and pushed out into the open fields. forward is the word. the men are loading and firing with demonic oh furry and shouting and laughing hysterically. the whole field before us is covered with rebels fleeing for their lives. great numbers of men are shot while climbing over the post and fences along the turnpike. we push on over the open fields halfway to the little church, the famous church on the landscape. this moment is when we will have the counterattack. i need to go back one, sorry. counterattack of hoods command. most of you know the story. they are held in reserve, basically in the woods behind the church. they crossed the haters town turnpike. aj baker, my regiment went on a run to battle. i was at once wounded in the foot by a fraction of a bombshell. it seems to me that every blasted yankees was firing at us with guns of unlimited will range. my company lost every officer except for one. we scott carson. it seemed the whole world was in arms against us. the new bright flags were being waved in every direction. george from the first texas had the highest percentage of casualties in the confederate army. texans in the ranks, the sound of battle was deafening, dozens of nearby rifles and the popping of thousands more distant. explosions of shells and the hiss of lead balls and steel fragments. men whooped and yelled. others screamed to be heard by their comrades, file closures and company commanders bellowed orders an encouragement until they were shot. dead and wounded texans lay among the living and on hurt, walking wounded dribbled from the line like a funeral paul. thick clouds of smoke drifted over the corn and at times obscured the sun. put that vision in your mind when you walk the fields on sunday. gm polk. the air was full of shell and we were in an open field with no protection. it seemed impossible for rat to live in such a place. the dead and dying were in every direction. it didn't take time. i didn't take time to load my gun, four there were plenty of loaded guns lying on the ground by my side. they were not all confederate. the blue and gray were all mixed up. john bel hood, the contest raged until our last round of ammunition was expended. first texas lost two thirds of its number. men were mowed down in heaps to the right and left. never before was i so continuously troubled with the fear that my horse would further injure some wounded fellow lying helpless on the ground. a soldier in the fourth texas. it was the hottest place i ever saw on earth, or want to see hereafter. there were shots, shells, cannonballs, legs, arms, parts of bodies flying in the air like straw in a whirlwind. the dogs of war were loose, and havoc was their cry. joe hooker, commanding the first quarter, he is killed in the field. and the time i am writing, every stalk of corn in the part of the field was collide as closely as could be done with a knife. it was never in my fortune to witness such a dismal, bloody battlefield. samuel coats, pennsylvania, when we first entered the field, these stocks stood thick and strong, describing the corn fields. but by the close of the day, not a stop, scarcely a vestige of corn, could be seen anywhere to show that a crop of grain had been gathered this crop of grain was gathered not by the hand and sweat of brow and peace, but it had been destroyed by the red hand of carnage, and blood in war. the corn was harvested by the red hand of carnage. the results of these first attacks, hookers first core and the confederate counterattack, and lawton's division that took the brunt of this, 11 of 15 regimental commanders are killed and wounded. and douglas is berate, south of the corn field, he lost 50% of his 560 man. the hays bridge a last 60%. jackson's division changed hands six times. some of the recent scholarship done by our guides and volunteers says there were almost 200 command changes on the battlefield of entitlement 12 hours. think about that in your organization. 200 command changes in 12 hours, and you wonder why nothing happened in the next day hookers core lost hundreds of men the core comes on to the field, man's field is mortally wounded. williams takes over. man's field says, i'll fierce williams rather, the war of the infantry was beyond anything conceivable to the uninitiated. if all the stone and brick houses on broadway should tumble at once, the roar and rattle could hardly be greater. hundreds of pieces of artillery were thundering as a base to the infernal music. all the buildings on broadway falling at once wouldn't be greater. charles coffin, from the boston journal it was no longer alone. the boom of the batteries, but a rattle of musket tree at first pattern like drops on a roof, but then a, roll a crash, a, roar and a rush like a mighty ocean billowing upon a shore, chafing the pebbles wave upon wave with deep heavy explosions like the crashing of thunderbolts. and a soldier in the 1:28 ba, i was fighting in a cornfield near the extreme left of the line a battle when i was wounded, a ball passing through my thigh, but did not enter the bone. the bullets flew so fast i had not time to look around. i came off the field myself, making my way there, through the shower of bullets and shell. here's another soldier. it was the only. it was only the thought of home that brought me from that place. only the thought of home that brought me from that place. there was a lull in the fighting after the first and 12th. summoner would arrive. we will leave that discussion to ben armstrong. i am sure you will hear about that tomorrow. one point i would make about that, george mcclellan, we hear about his cautious stupidity. it is stupid. he sends in 15,000 and then another 15, 000, making simultaneous attacks on opposite ends of the field. one of the units that has the highest number of casualties in sumner's attack on sedgewick and the west woods is the, i will move the maps forward so you can catch a bit of that, summoner in the west, woods 15th massachusetts, frank bollard. i guess the bullets flew for about 18 to 20 minutes, as fast as we could get them in and out of our guns. as they fall back, i thought, we got you now. but i heard a voice from the rear crying, fall back. i turn around and say what does that mean? aren't the rebels falling back themselves? but, again the cry, fall back. now, someone yelled, fall back, we are flank, the rebels are in our rear. i looked back and it was true. always confusion. every man for himself. we ran like a flock of sheep. they modus down. sedgewick's division moves into the west woods, flanked on three sides. they lose half the command in 20 minutes. and when someone arrives into the group, back boys we've back you are in a bad fix. francis powell, 20th massachusetts, and less time than it takes to tell, at the ground was strewn with the bodies of the dead and wounded. jonathan stow in the 15th, you ask me about the battle of antietam, which i will try to relate. the battle occurred on the 17th of september. in my opinion, it will be the most desperate battle in the war, thousands yielded their lives that this government must and shall live. how i escaped so many bullets that showered upon us, god only knows. the blitz came whizzing by my face, cutting down right and left, poor fellows falling thick and fast around me. you cannot realize the horrors of the battlefield, to see the dead and wounded, some with arms and legs off, cut off in every conceivable way. it was awful. the 15th regiment is now a mere corporal guard of what it was before the battle. stonewall jackson once again, by the time the expected reinforcements arrived in the whole command now united charged upon the enemy checking his advance and driving him back with great slaughter entirely from and beyond the woods and gaining possession of our original position. no further advance was made by the enemy on the left. in the 20 minutes of the west woods, sedgewick's division went in with 1500 men. they lost 2200, wounded, captured, are missing, most of them pulling out. the other two divisions in the command, richardson will turn towards the sunken road. turn towards a sunken road. get a little closer here. french and richardson moving towards a sunken road. frederik hitchcock from pennsylvania. the volleys of moscow tree we were approaching sounded in the distance like a rapid pouring of shot on a tin pan. or the tearing of a heavy canvas when there is ice. sound in your mind. think of canvas tearing as the ball is ripped down the lines of infantry. to tell the truth, how does one feel in this situation? i felt the situation most keenly and felt uncomfortable. i said to myself, this is the duty i undertook to perform for my country. i will do, it but my greater fear was not that i might be killed, but that i might be grievously wounded and left on the field. an occasional shell whizzed by, reminding us that we were rapidly approaching the debatable ground. doesn't that summit all up as well? the debatable ground. it was a real debates. 14th north carolina, mounted officers in full uniforms, swords, sachets, waving bayonet, snow in the sun. dhl said they came with all the precision of a parade day. there was spectacular pageantry before the butchering. . the effect was appalling. the entire frontline with few exceptions went down in the consuming blast. thomas liver more from new hampshire. the thundering of artillery, the roaring of bursting shells, the roaring musketry, that the fragments and bullets, the yellows, the rebels, our own chairs had all seemed to fill the hole arise and drive piece away forever. charles johnson said it was a savage continual thunder that can't compare to any sound i have ever heard. sergeant fuller from new york. we were shooting them like sheep in a pen. james chan from north carolina, the many balls shot and shell rand upon us from every direction except the rear. the slaughter was terrible. i could scarcely extricate myself when ordered to assist retreat from the dead and wounded around me. edward spangler, at 1.13 dead bodies lay in a heap. two, three, five deep and other places. we will move to the other simultaneous attack, the attack on the sunken road and burned side bridge or simultaneous. we will move south to the south end. we are moving into the ninth court, ambrose burn side. here is one soldiers account from ohio. the fearful moment had arrived. skirmishes were advanced to clear the bridge and ledges of rebel sharpshooters. forward rang out along the lines and assault and columns charge the bridge. the opposite bluffs and ledges of the ridge were instantly light it up with one long sheet of flame. volley after volley of musketry were driven into the faces of the advancing column. the head of the column pushed on bravely, but it was seemed to waver and melt away before a murderous blast. in vain, the champions of freedom struggle against the driving storm of iron and lead that tore remorselessly through our ranks. a soldier from the second maryland. the brave fellows reeled and fell back as if smitten at the bridge by a blast of hell. at this bridge, the murderous balls and bursting shells were appalling. destruction hovered in the air. death and virus and it. the approaches were strewn with dead men that spending antietam and all he tried to cross it found eternity. george rode home to his wife that evening, i don't know the name of that creek, but i have named at the creek of death. such a slaughter i hope never to witness again. burn side takes the bridge somewhere 12:30, 1:00, then he prepares for two hours for the final advance of the day. i am going the wrong way. i am sorry. what we call the final attack. eventually, burnside will create a battle line of 8000 men mile burnside wide driving down to sharpsburg. here's two of the most honest appraisals of combat i can share with you. here is david el thompson. we heard all through the war that the army was eager to be led against the enemy. but when you come to hunt for this particular itch, it is always the next regiment that has it. (laughs) the truth is, when bullets are cracking scholars like eggshells, most man just want to get out of the way. between the physical fear of going forward and the moral fear of turning back, there is a predicament of exceptional awkwardness from which a hidden hole on the ground would be a wonderful welcome outlet. he is looking for a hole in the ground. and i get it. private from michigan. i have heard about battles. they would all be in line, standing in a level field, a number of ladies taking care of the wounded etc etc. but it's not so. i had a bullet strike me on top of my head just as i was going to fire and a piece of shell struck my foot. a ball hit my finger and another hit my thumb. i concluded that they meant me. a soldier in the 79 thailand are, is making in advance up the burnside bridge road. when the enemy discovered our, line they opened up shells and it was terrible. firepower death on our ranks, cutting them down with every discharge. >> barry benson from south carolina as they rush onto the field. we >> hurry onto the field of battle. there was a line of enemy who we drove at the first fire. we poured volley after volley doubtless of terrible execution. he is part of hoods counterattack that will drive back burnside. at the end of the day the ninth corps suffers 2400 men killed and wounded and two divisions defending their yard jones and ap hill. another thousand wounded. another thing that happened it antietam, most people come to the park, take a couple hours, they finally get down to burnside bridge and they are done. what is sad is, the vast majority of the funding on that flanker that area of the field was after the bridge. there is five times as many casualties after the bridge. that's where the real action. as most people have no idea. we to summarize from sunrise to sunset, the waves of battle ebbed and flowed. men wrestled with each other in lines of regiments, braids, and divisions, while regiments, brigades, and divisions faded away under the terrible fire, leaving long lines of dead to mark where stood the living. fields of corn were trampled into shreds. forest were battered unscathed. huge limbs sent crashing to the earth, hit by shells shot. grape and canister singled in this hellish carnival. george gordon describes the battle of antietam as a hellish carnival. not a carnival i would hope to visit. francis powell. as the sun sank on september 17th, the last sounds of battle along antietam creek died away. the cannon could grow cool. there were thousands sleeping asleep that knows no waking, and many times as many suffering the pain that attends on wounds. the corn so fresh and green in the morning was red and with blood and torn by bullet and shell and the earth was furrowed by the incessant impact of land and iron. the blessing night came and brought with it sleep and forgetfulness and refreshment to many. but the murmur of the night wind breathing over the fields of wheat and clover was mingled with the groans of countless sufferers of both armies. who can tell? who can imagine the horrors of such a night? lieutenant blake, 16th connecticut. of all the gloomy nights, this was the saddest we had ever experienced. all was quiet and silent is the grave. john walker, confederate general. to all those who have not been witness to a great battle like this, more than 100,000 men armed with all the appliances of modern science and skill, they are engaged in the work of slaughtering each other. it's impossible by the power to convey an adequate idea of the terrible sub limit-y, the constant blooming, the seas this roar of musket tree. the glimpse of galloping horsemen and marching if you're now seen at lost in the smoke, adding weirdness to the terror. it altogether makes up a combination of sights and sounds holy indescribable. over there by the church, private hicks from pennsylvania, under the dark shade of a towering oak near the bunker church lay lifeless form of a drummer boy, not more than 17 years old. eyes of blue and a form of delicate mold. as i approached, him i stooped down. i did so and perceived a bloody mark on his forehead. it showed where the land and messenger of death had produced the wound that caused his death. his lips were compressed. his eyes, half open. a smile played upon his continents. by his side lay his tenor drum, never to be tapped again. rufus saw every battle in the eastern theater and said the piles of dead on the sharpsburg and hagerstown turnpike. that's what he is seeing. it surpassed anything i saw at any observation. the cold harbor slaughter pan and frederick all compared mentally with me, and what i saw at antietam. my feeling was the antietam turnpike surpassed all in manifest evidence of slaughter. jacob hours. an awful sight here. the groans of the wounded. the bloodstained bodies. the confusion. it's something no and can have any idea of, unless they have been here themselves. i found war is a terrible thing to think of, but when you are actually engaged in it, it's worse yet. william child. he had to deal with the results of this. he is a surgeon from new hampshire. days after a battle or 1000 times worse than the days of a battle. sunken road, we all know. the physical pain is not the greatest fan suffered. you can have no idea until you have seen the ideas of the affairs after a battle of the debt appear sickening but they suffer no gain. the poor, wounded, mutilated soldiers that yet have life and succession, sensation, make it most horrid picture. the burial crews moved. and the confederates had gone down as graph falls before the sides. they were lying in rose like ties on a railroad, and heaps like cord wood mingled with the splintered and shattered fence rails. words are inadequate to portray the scene. captain fable from new york. there were men in every state of mutilation, missing, arms legs, heads, a greater number than we had ever seen on any field. how many shattered hopes reburied? none of us can ever know. war is a dreadful thing. a battlefield is an ugly blot on civilization. mr. lincoln gives it meaning, though. he wrote, when they revel our me was at frederick, i determined as soon as it would be driven out of maryland jewish with a proclamation of emancipation. i said nothing to anyone, but i made a promise to myself and to my maker. the rebel army is now driven out, and i am going to fulfill that promise. five days after antietam, the president changes the course of the war and of our nation. the war is no longer just about reunification. it is now about freedom for four and a half million americans. he said on january 1st, i never in my life felt more certain than i was doing the right thing. my whole heart is in it. horrific really said the beginning of the end of the rebellion, and the beginning of a new life for the nation. i have had a lot of visitors to the park. i have been blast. about 7 million people have visited the park since i have been working there. some, days i feel like i have talked to most of them. but i am incredibly blessed to live in such a special place. one visitor i will share with you just to close out. 1960, three six months before he is assassinated, president kennedy visited the battlefield. 20 some years ago, i gave a tour to ted kennedy, senator ted kennedy. i had a sense of history when i was doing my ranger thing. he said he is being here before with his brother. he was talking about this visit. they came over from camp david and a helicopter. antietam it symbolizes something more important than combat heroism and military strategy. marks a diplomatic turning point of worldwide consequence. from this point on board, our civil war had a new dimension, which was important to the whole course of human liberty. thank you all very much. i appreciate it. (applause) any questions? okay. no problem. go ahead. scott? did you find a lot of accounts of union and confederate at the same spot on the battlefield? >> no, i wish i did. that would make it better, wouldn't it? also, in general, i have heard this a lot. i have a lot more union material than confederate. it's a lot harder to find confederate accounts. most historians would agree with that. there is myriad reasons for that. hopefully, you, all as i, do appreciate their words, because to me, they were there, i was, not they saw, they felt, they remembered it, most of these, some of these, you know, you have to be a bit careful when cherry-picking quotes to make a point. i'm guilty of that as well. but their words are very powerful. go ahead, sir. >> do you think that one of the reasons that general mcclellan is held so negatively by so many historians adamantine is because a lot of the historiography is based on his letters to his wife? where some particularly my battlefield guide at antietam said he was just off gassing like a lot of men do when they come home from work and just expressing his inner thoughts to his wife. he was not necessarily, you know he was speaking tongue and cheek, kind of, and they are taking it out of context. you are quoting a lot of soldiers, so i thought it would be interesting to see what your perspective would be. >> i agree with that 100%. if any of us want our letters to be made public and to think that that fully expresses all of it. i think mcclelland gets a bum rap. you will probably hear that from dennis and some of the other speakers here today. a lot of it is because the post war, lincoln, he was against lincoln in the election of 1864. that's almost as bad as long street speaking out against generally. he is pushed off the side for the rest of his life. what people ask me all the time, you can talk about that 1 million different days of had a lot of those conversations at the highest level of government and military. i did a tour for 17 four star generals. a lot of it depends on what you're thinking about tactically or operationally or strategically. police chiefs -- robert e. lee does not, and george mcclellan does. he beats him to the punch. it is actually willing the maryland campaign. why that has been turned so badly, i think it is because of his opposition to lincoln and no one will pick mcclellan over lincoln. let's face it. just my sense of it. >> is it still true that this is the deadliest day in american history? >> we certainly think so. if you want to be precise, you can say it is the worst one day battle in american history. you can make arguments about gettysburg or whatever but it is the worst one day battle in america. one of the most difficult times for this entire nation. it was september 2001. i got 50 phone calls from across the country asking about the casualty of numbers whether or not 9/11 was not going to be the bloodiest day. which is not. people want to know. that is not a distinction. hopefully heard tonight from my comments, it doesn't matter if it is 3000, 30, 000, 300,000. if it is your son or your father, you can not get caught up in these numbers about who it's the greatest or who is the worst. but if it's you or your family, the numbers do not matter. one is a number that matters if it is you or your son. i am done preaching. sorry about that. go ahead sir. go ahead. (inaudible) >> okay the d-day casualties. antietam it's four times the day and six times pearl harbor. it is not necessarily apples and apples. you are talking about american casualties at the day and pearl horror. pearl harbor. course you have the two sides of conflict. 6000 american casualties. 4000, so 3000 pearl harbor. sure. i get that question a lot as well. all right. you guys have been awesome. i really appreciate it. thank you kevin for inviting me down. (applause) modern transport poses new dangers on complete universal contagion. the struggle against pandemics this global. the danger of that this worldwide. sunday on american history tv. up next on the civil war. university of virginia professor elizabeth talks about elizabeth van lou. lead the stock was part of an annual summer conferce

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