The Bloodest Battle

[Grumpy]

I meant to post this a couple of days ago but forgot, so here it is:

September 17, marked the 147th anniversary of our nation’s darkest hour: the horrific battle known as Antietam (or Sharpsburg, depending on which side of the Mason Dixon you were raised). The 22,717 casualties that were amassed between 5:30 AM and 5:30 PM that fateful September morning stand as a testament for all time to the horrific consequences that can result from our most passionate disagreements. The battle was tactically inconclusive but ended Lee's invasion of the North.

Like I said in the other post about Gettysburg, I wonder how today's media would have reported on that battle and those casualties.

Grumpy

[kyfanatic]

I'd say without knowing exact numbers,that Antietam rivaled in casualties any battle in WWII.I'm looking to see what Confederate Units were there,I had family on both sides but many in the CSA Army in Virginia.

[Grumpy]

Antietem is listed as America's bloodiest single day of combat.

The thing I have always marveled at about the Civil War is how difficult it must have been for both Armies to supply, resupply and feed their soldiers in the field. It was not unusual to have 20,000 and more soldiers on each side in a battle, it just stagers the mind. I found a good site about Civil War food, if you would like to read about it:

http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/gettkidz/hardtack.htm

Grumpy

[DJD]

That meal makes you wonder how in the world they could have the energy to fight and march. Those were some tough times.
I was always more amazed at the healthcare side of that time. I'm sure infection, amputation and diseases decimated some camps.

[Grumpy]

Don, if you ever get a chance to visit Fort Benning, Georgia, go their Infantry Museum. They have one whole wing devoted to medical care and especially that during the Civil War. I don't care how strong your stomach is, it will make you sick--at least it did me. They have bunches of pictures taken at field hospitals. There are pictures outside of the tents showing wagon loads of amputated limbs. There are exhibits of surgical equipment, saws, scalples, etc. that I wouldn't want to use on a dead dear, let alone on a live soldier, without any antesetic and being held down by four or five orderlies while the Doctor cut off his limb(s). It is really gruesome.

Grumpy

[kyfanatic]

Grumpy,were you in the 82nd Airborne by any chance? One of my brothers who served in Vietnam pretty close to your first tour I'd say 68',69',70' don't remember exactly,anyway when he came back he was stationed at Ft. Benning,Ga.

[RoadToad]

There is just so much about the Civil War that is fascinating... it's hard to know where to start. Have you guys ever watched a show called Civil War Journal? Danny Glover narrated the first few episodes, but there are a lot of others out there. I think I've seen all of them, but I still record them all in case I find one I missed, or one I want to watch again. But a show that I saw recently that really wow'ed me was called "Eighty Acres of Hell," about Camp Douglas, a Union POW camp located in what is now the south side of Chicago. Until I saw this show, I had never heard of it, yet the conditions there were horrific, way worse than at Andersonville (believe it or not). At Andersonville, there was at least an ATTEMPT to treat prisoners somewhat humanely, the biggest problem was lack of resources. In fact, many of the guards there starved to death, not just the prisoners. At Camp Douglas, there was no lack of resources, there was just unspeakable cruelty. Yet it has been documented very little in any history books. The commander of Andersonville was hanged; the commanders at Camp Douglas all got promoted. As one historian said, "To the victor belongs the silence." If you do a Google search you'll find a few web sites about it, but to this day, it's not something you hear much about. Apparently there was one good book written about it, called "To Die in Chicago," which I plan on reading. If you ever get a chance, watch "Eighty Acres of Hell." It's very informative.

[Grumpy]

kyfanatic: I was with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1967 and 1968. The 82nd came to Nam during that time but I think they went up North. I later was stationed at Fort Bragg for a couple of years, which is the home of the 82nd. Nothing could ever convince me to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane.

Roadtoad, I agree about the prison camps--they were terrible on both sides. Obviously, I too find the Civil War history to be fasanating.

Grumpy