About Me

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I am a lifelong student of military history with particular interest in the Battle of Antietam. I work for the federal government in Washington DC and have two young adult children who I love very much. I currently volunteer at Antietam and devote much time to the study of this battle and the Maryland Campaign. I enjoy collecting notable contemporary quotations by and about the men of Antietam. Since 2013 I have been conducting in depth research on the regular artillery companies of the Union Army and their leaders. I hope to turn this into a book on this subject in the future. My perspective comes from a 28-year career in the U.S. Army. Travels took me to World War II battlefields in Europe and the Pacific where American valor ended the tyranny of Nazism and Empire. But our country faced its own greatest challenge 80 years earlier during the Civil War. And it was the critical late summer of 1862, when Robert E. Lee launched the Maryland Campaign. It is an incredible story of drama, carnage, bravery, and missed opportunities that culminated around the fields and woodlots of peaceful Sharpsburg MD. So join me as I make this journey South from the North Woods.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Digging Into The Cornfield

I am hoping to do a series of posts in the near future about the various brigades (Union and Confederate) that fought in the Cornfield. Right now I am looking at Abram Duryee's brigade of Rickett's Division. It is my first venture beyond reading books and extrapolating a post from my reading to looking for first person accounts. I am in touch with several county historical societies in New York looking for information on the 97th, 104th and 105th New York Infantry. I have access to Frederick Phisterer's voluminous New York in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 as well. If any of you have any suggestions on how to proceed, I would be pleased to hear from you.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 9, 2009 at 9:45 PM

    Well with the fighting in the cornfield so difficult to follow, might I suggest a timeline which references both the major troop movements. Would be nice to then match that to the first person accounts. Something along the lines of, "Captain Smith said he saw this, which must have been at 0830, when the following units moved into the field... Then later said this, which must have been at 1000 when the following units fell back from the Cornfield."

    Now if you cross reference that with the War Department maps, that would be a good visualization of the battlespace.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim RosebrockDecember 15, 2009 at 9:18 PM

    Mark
    Thanks for that suggestion. I can see how that would work extremely well. Hope to hear from you again. Regards
    Jim

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  3. AnonymousDecember 16, 2009 at 10:41 AM

    If your looking for references a good source for New Your Units is the "New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center". They have a good web site where you can check on references by unit.

    If you want the link e-mail me at

    jsidtag@verzion.net

    Joe Stahl

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jim RosebrockDecember 16, 2009 at 9:47 PM

    Thanks Joe. I will get in touch with you.
    Jim

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