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Looking North on the Burnside Bridge |
I spent much of Saturday hiking along the west bank of the
Antietam with fellow guide and good friend Bill Sagle. We wanted to look at the
points where four intermittent streams entered the creek. The Antietam is fed by a number of such
streams. Intermittent streams carry water a considerable portion of the time,
but cease to flow occasionally or seasonally. They flow at lower elevations
cutting through higher ground.
These streams are easily visible from the air by the trees that grow
along their banks. They cut through the ravines that overlook the banks of the
creek and form natural gateways away from the Antietam. The military term is
avenues of approach. As we walked
the length of the creek, I realized how important these seemingly insignificant
features are. One need only look
at the Carmen Copes maps to appreciate the degree of military activity that
occurred around these four intermittent streams.
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North of Middle Bridge |
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Stream 1 |
We began our hike at the Mumma Farm and the source of the
first stream. The stream begins at the Mumma
springhouse. It flows southeast to
a pond on the Roulette Farm and then east for a quarter mile before making a
slight turn to the southeast entering the Antietam one quarter of a mile north
of the Middle Bridge site. While federal troops did not cross the Antietam at
this stream, Richardson’s troops used its upper reaches as the staging area for
his advance against the Sunken Road.
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Stream 2 |
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South of Middle Bridge |
The second intermittent stream is the longest of the four. It
begins on the Piper Farm and flows out of a depression near the northwest
corner of the orchard in a southeasterly direction. More often just a dry depression the stream bed crosses the
Boonsboro Pike at the intersection with the Sunken Road and for the last
quarter mile, flows through a very deep gorge behind the picnic area on Route
34. It empties into the Antietam ¼
mile south of the Newcomer Barn. The
1st Battalion, 12th U.S. Infantry and the 2nd and 10th U.S. Infantry of Syke’s
Division used this streambed as an avenue of approach in their advance south of
the Boonsboro Pike toward Sharpsburg.
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North of Burnside Bridge |
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Stream 3 |
The source of the third stream is a pond on the southeast
corner of Sharpsburg. This stream
flows one half a mile in a southeasterly direction along the Burnside Bridge
road. Passing between the Sherrick and Otto houses it empties into the creek
just south of the new Burnside Bridge.
This stream has a constant source of water and flows year round. This was the avenue of approach of
Wilcox’s division. Christ’s
brigade advanced north of this stream and Welsh’s brigade advanced south of
this stream on their attack towards Sharpsburg.
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Stream #4 |
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Snaveley's Ford |
The final stream has its source at a very small pond just
each of Branch Avenue and 3/8ths of a mile south of the Otto Farmhouse. The stream flows in a southerly
direction 5/8ths of a mile and empties into the Antietam at Snavely’s
Ford. General Isaac Rodman’s
division crossed at this ford and his division advanced northward along this
stream as it linked up with the rest of the Ninth Corps to the north.
The intermittent streams of Antietam lay off the beaten
path. You can stand at the Mumma springhouse
or look out across the Piper orchard and not realize that these seemingly
unimpressive depressions are an important aspect of the Battle of
Antietam. However for serious students
of the battle, they deserve your undivided attention.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteAnother very cool battlefield exploration.
Mannie
Thank you Mannie. There are lots of corners of the park that dont get explored as much as they deserve. These are some of them.
ReplyDeleteWarm Regards
Jim
Great stuff Jim. I think the stream from the pond you mention actually begins at the big spring in Sharpsburg itself. The stream crosses under Burnside Bridge road just after the first stop sign off Main St. The pond was created after the war, so during the war the stream would have been more continuous.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
Thanks for the clarification Tom. That makes total sense. I apprecite your clarification.
DeleteJim
Love these post! Don't own one but would absolutely love to...maybe one day:)
ReplyDelete