⭐ If you've watched a few episodes and feel like I've earned it, be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss any new content when it comes out. Also be sure to check out The Gettysburg Museum of History and their store at gettysburgmuseumofhistory.com.
Your Antietam series has been a masterpiece. Thanks for your hard work! I had the honor of taking a guided tour of the battlefield led by then Princeton Professor James McPherson (about 15 years ago). It was a truly memorable experience and your series serves as a wonderful refresher on this pivotal day in US history.
The actual view that Toombs had over Burnsides bridge when you are actually standing there is unreal. It is basically a sheer cliff overlooking the bridge and the surrounding roads leading to it. I was blown away at how commanding a position that was and makes you understand how so few troops could hold off so many, for so long.
Yes. Until you have stood in the Confederate positions on the hill, you don't realize how dominating the terrain is at the bridge. The Antietam battlefield is a fascinating place to visit.
@@michaelmelen9062 I have been to a ton of battlefields (havent been to Gettysburg yet as when I went up to see Antietam, Wilderness, Fredricksburg etc the weather was really bad in PA so I didnt want to risk it as I had driven all the way from Atlanta) and Antietam is my favorite so far. The rolling hills in that part of MD, the way the town is basically still the same (Cant even find a gas station in it open after like 7 lol) and that battlefield are just truly remarkable. I then looped through the Shennandoah Valley on my way back to Petersburg which is beautiful drive. Chickamauga is another good visit.
@@marinewillis1202 Sounds like a great trip! Appomattox is another interesting site. I live close enough to take day trips to Gettysburg, and it is worth a several days' visit. The battlefield guides are excellent (and free), and there are two or three each day at different places on the battlefield.
@@michaelmelen9062 oh it was. I decided to it for my bday a few years ago. My dad and I had always talked about doing it so I did it as sort of in memory of him as we never got to. Drove from Atlanta to Petersburg in one day. Then hit Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Antietam and the Valley over the course of several days. Just flew by the seat of my pants with no reservations, just stopped and got a room when i needed one. Funny story about that was trying to find a hotel leaving Antietam. There is literally NOTHING in any direction for 40 miles from that town. I loved the Town of Fredericksburg but the actual battlefield is not really there anymore. The stone wall on Maryes Heights is basically in the middle of a neighborhood so I felt a little weird wandering around in front of peoples houses lol
@@marinewillis1202 you’ll like gettysburg whenever you get a chance to make it there… the place is very well preserved and a great town.. I love every chance I get to go
Can’t imagine what it felt like to have to cross that bridge knowing you weren’t going to make it. How very frustrating it had to be for the Union to keep going only to be pushed back. It’s such a beautiful spot just so hard to imagine the death that happened there. 👍😊Great video as always.
I can't overstate how much I absolutely love your Antietam series. It's so hard to top your Gettysberg, but I think you've done it! Thank you for taking the time and teaching us history!
Your videos are absolutely fantstic ... They are filled with detailed history, cover amazing sites and battles, and the filming is unsurpassed ... I can't thank you enough for your vision, detail, and effort in bringing this valuable material to the viewing public ... Many of us are unable to make the journey to these amazing sites, yet with through your kindness we are able to visually visit these historic locations. Thank You -- again ...
Great Video JD!! I couldn’t even imagine having to cross that bridge under such withering gunfire. I can’t blame the men of 51st Pennsylvania for their demands. Stunning video quality as always. Keep up the great work 🇺🇸
I worked summers on a dairy farm just outside of Sharpsburg during the late 1960's. Burnside Bridge was still a public road and I tramped these battlefields a lot back then. It's changed a lot but the Park Service has done a great job retaining the atmosphere of the day
My great-grandfather was with Cobb's Legion. at Burnside Bridge. He lost part of a leg from artillery shrapnel in the Devil's Den at the Battle of Gettysburg. He then played in the Army of Northern Virginia band, until surrendering at Appomattox. He was 78 and my great-grandmother was 28, when my grandmother was born!
Thanks for the great video. My partner and I have been walking the Snavely Ford path for exercise recently, and you do a great job of laying out the areas of attack and defense. Thanks.
As I have said before on the Antietam series. I just retired from state service at the Maryland prison system just few mim up Sharpsburg pike and have been to those battlefield so many times I can't count. As many times I went to Burnside Bridge on lunchbreak from training or whatever, I always pondered why didn't the union army flank way out around and come in and hit the Georgians from behind? Maybe they couldn't I don't know enough about that and haven't read anything on it. But standing there starring at that bank I felt eerie every time at the death that was dealt out there
What courage to go towards what for most of them would be their death. I imagine at Burnside's bridge back then there probably weren't trees for cover. Thanks for your hard work on this series. Looking forward to more!
Another great video JD. When I visited, I was mesmerized and just stood on that bridge to try and imagine the tactics of the day. Impossible. Another quick footnote, that large sycamore tree on the east end was a young tree at the time and witnessed the battle. Incredible to think about. Thanks again!!
Great report. People tend to foget the geography and topography that played into so many of these battles, and those locations were not as trimmed back as today. BTW, thank you for traveling where I am no longer able to travel myself. I've been blessed having gone many places, but there are far more I'll never see first hand due to my health. Trust me, you are providing not only information but a service to people like me. Blessings. Keep traveling.
Well done JD. The commander of that area of the battlefield took advantage of a river crossing to canalize the enemy into a kill zone. Nothing has changed, except the speed of the enemies advance in modern times.
I’m finding myself really enjoying your videos. This is the second. My father was a Civil War buff and while we lived in Virginia, while he was in the navy, we visited many of these battlefield sites. But that was around fifty years ago. These two videos of yours about the battle of Antiteim/Sharpesburg I’ve seen have brought it back to life for me.
Hey J D, Even swallowing a knat, coughing and a gaging, you didn't miss a beat. That's dedication to the work at hand. Throw in a few spider webs and some branch water and you had a quick meal on the go. LOL
As always thanks for posting yet another excellent video from you and for providing us with history unlike any book one could read! I've learned much from your videos and can hardly wait to see what you post in the future!
Sir that was a brilliant video well in the very ground and place where death was certain for so many men that tried to cross,it is unbelevable what they did with so much conviction and loyalty to face the enemy . thank you so much for such for your work and approach on ACW History.
One of the few mentions made of the odds at the bridge; 24-to-1. The handful of Georgians held off an entire U.S. Corps for hours until AP Hill could arrive from Harper's Ferry, change the odds to 6-to-1... good Southern odds for a win.
As I approach old age with a lifetime of great memories to look back on, I shudder to imagine those young men marching to their death and attempting such a herculean endeavor. What must their thoughts have been? Your viewers who have military experience will no doubt know the answer but to the rest of us, truly incomprehensible.
As a young boy my Dad had Life books that covered many wars from the French/Indian wars, Revolutionary War Civil War on down but my favorite was always books on the Civil War it just fascinated me the colored battle maps Two of my favorite Generals are Sheman and Stone Wall love History enjoy all of your videos
@@TheHistoryUnderground Antietam was a slugging match. It reminded me of the battle of Borodino where it was likewise, a slugging match. Combined casualties from both Russian and French armies were in the neighborhood of 70,000 in ONE day. Antietam was no Borodino, but the casualties inflicted in such a short time were just as gruesome. Ironically, both battles took place in early September.
Another great video,well done. I was enjoying my Sunday routine and enjoy a good cigar at the cigar lounge and we were watching stuff on the big TV and we started talking about the civil war (we are right at kennesaw mtn in GA where there was a big battle in Marietta Ga. Anyway I put your videos on and about half a dozen guys couldn’t get enough and had me playing your videos for a few hours. Definitely got yourself some new subs, some of the older guys there were like what’s UA-cam? Haha
Great job JD with the story of the 11th CVI. More on Griswold from Old Lyme,Ct. : He commanded his Company at Antietam on 17 September 1862. All the rebel batteries were now roaring. The air rang with whistling balls and the ground quaked with the hard breath of artillery. The Eleventh Connecticut descended to storm Antietam Bridge. The rebel guns were pouring in a destructive fire of grape and canister; while continuous volleys from an unseen enemy in the woods were also showered upon them. Down the road leaped the Eleventh into this "valley of death." Companies A and B under Capt. John Griswold were deployed as skirmishers; and they plunged into the swift stream here some fifty feet wide and four deep, their dauntless commander taking the lead. He was shot through the breast while in mid-river but struggled forward, and fell upon the opposite bank, among the rebels. The rest of the War Surgeon Meyer and four men of the regiment retrieved the Captain and took him to a nearby shed, where he was later visited by General Burnside. He died of wounds the next day at a field hospital on the Henry Rohrbach farm near the bridge.
The part about making coffee after taking the bridge…. Where’s a Starbucks when ya need it eh? Seriously though, that shows a side to the soldiers not often seen….brilliant coverage JD really!
Burnside took over my hometown New Bern North Carolina and displaced a lot of people in the town. His troops dug up people in the cemetery one being a woman who had died of yellow fever. The disease was still active and it killed off a third of his troops. They also found one of his men buried in the front yard of a home that is still standing today. Obviously someone killed the guy and buried him in the front yard and no one noticed for another hundred years. If you want to learn a lot about the civil war and a town that was taken over by the union army go to the ghost walk in New Bern North Carolina and there is so much history you will be amazed. They have reenactors that that are in the cemetery and tell a lot about the history of the town. They also have a civil war camp set up in town. It is a week of A wealth of information that I strongly recommend going to. New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and was incorporated in 1710. I went to the ghost walk for the 300th anniversary. A lot of the town has been re done from the 'modern' l saw in the 1960's. The Tryon Palace burnt down in the late 1800s and my mother's house that she grew up in on George Street was torn down to recreate the Tryon Palace as we see today.
I have the great fortune of living 30 minutes of the battlefield and hike the Snavely's Ford trail multiple times. My thought is often about the tremendous opportunity lost by not securing this position and rolling up Lee's right flank sooner. I think it had the accomplished the crossing of the creek two hours sooner this would have been a completely different outcome. This is where the leadership of the Union Army comes squarely into focus, McClellan who commands from the rear and doesn't describe the overall plan to his Corps Commanders along with Burnside who history seems to show is better at planning an attack than leading one. I think the Army needed a key leader at this position and it didn't have it, somone to push his soldiers over the creek to find Snavely's Ford before being asked to find it. This thought leads me back to the loss of Jesse Reno at Fox's Gap, I think he could have been the key to the IX Corps getting across the creek and smashing into the Confederate rear well ahead of AP Hill's arrival. I think everyone talks about what if Jackson were at Gettysburg I ask what if Reno was at Antietam.
Thank you for your clear and extremely informative presentation. Viewing the geography was revelatory. It seems to me had the Confederates had a section of cannon they could have stopped the Union cold and if the Union had used cannon it would have helped suppress enemy fire. You focus on the division and brigade commanders, I wonder how much of a role Burnside played? Clarifying Rodmans actions and other efforts to wade near the bridge explain a lot. Wasn’t the 51st Penn Vols one of Meade’s, as a brigadier, favorite units? It is speculated that A.P. Hill initially only had about 200 men with him due to his extreme forced march?
I don't think Crook or Nagle made use of cannons against the high ground. Did they even have them. Great report. I'm learning and enjoying together. Thank you
Hope you talk about the Kanawha Division they were the flank and went straight up to push Hayes wasn't there Mckinley was brought food to the men I have a picture of a 12th ohio veteran that talks about that battle in his letter
Wow J.D. did you just shoot this video within the last 2 days. Up here in S.E. Michigan we've lost a good majority of our leaves and our temperatures have dropped considerably. We even had a little snow. Temperatures down in the 20s at night. It still looks pretty green at Antietam.
The Confederates were getting multiple kills from the same bullet. It was a perfect killing funnel. I was surprised the Union didn't use cannon on those Confederate hill emplacements before trying to cross the bridge. What a murder fest.
Burnside, Hooker, McClellin & others, were such egotistical, parinoude, encompetdent, gutless wonders it's a miricle they had any wins at all during their Civil War service. Lincoln had to dismiss or remove each of them from their positions. Grant, Sherman & some others were the only ones who had the knowledge, never give up attitudes & guts that it took to win battles. The Union had the most qualified graduates from West Point on our side. The Confederates, yes had some good West Pointers & some good leaders also but at the end of the war, it didn't mean a damned thing.
The bridge would not only funnel the troops, as JD said, but once the first few dozens were cut down, the following troops would have been stumbling over a pile of bodies, making them a compact, very slow moving target. Don`t think much of that officer who wanted to sacrifice his men, just to be a general.... Good vid, as always..
Great video again JD! Your Antietam series is gold. I took a tour with a certified guide with a group from Addressing Gettysburg last year. When we got to the Burnside Bridge we stood overlooking the bridge from the Confederate side. The guide knew I had a personal connection to the story, so when it got to the two 51sts he stepped back and allowed me to tell the story. I told the story, and at the end I said, “My ancestor Henry Lentz of Company F of the 51st PA was killed trying to take that bridge.”
Almost all of the locations you used for the video look so peaceful today, it's hard to imagine how bloody and brutal it was during the battle. Thanks JD for keeping our history alive. As always - - - God, Family, Country.
I found out recently that my great great grandfather fought in the 50th GA Inf, Co.A. He fought and survived each battle they were in and was one of the soldiers that surrendered at Appomattox! It was very interesting to see the ground that he fought on!
Loved this narrative on the Burnside Bridge. And the capture of it. The flanking movements . And especially humorous was the PA 51st’s wanting whiskey allotments given. Amazing what motivates men. 😮
I see a lot of parallels between this action and 82 years later on Omaha Beach. Then had to leave the (woods, stone wall - landing craft) and get across the (bridge - beach), many knowing they would not survive, and take those (hills - bluff). In both cases the mission was accomplished by shear bravery and strength of numbers. So, with Veterans Day just two days ago,To: These civil war soldiers (both sides because the average GI is not interested in politics but rather keeping faith with the comrades with whom they were serving) My fellow Vietnam vets who didn't get the recognition they deserved And to all other veteran, "Thanks for your service"
the bridge was open to automobile traffic in the early 1960's, I distinctly recall trying to touch the wooden planks that cap the sides from the backseat of a 1958 Pontiac. Well done series, I am local and lucky enough to visit the battlefield whenever I wish. Very pastoral setting, amazing vistas almost unchanged from September, 1862.
Throughout this entire video, my thoughts drift back to a scene from the old TV show, Hell on Wheels. Cullen Bohannon has an encounter with someone that was part of the Union attempt to cross the Burnside Bridge. It was a great scene because someone studied their history before writing it. Rare for Hollywood :)
Stopped by there a few years ago from Illinois. Walked across this bridge. Unbelievable feeling to think what happened there. One of the neatest historic spots in the country IMO. Really enjoyed your video. Didn’t have a guide while I was there.
You jus said the 2nd Maryland as being yankees. 2nd Maryland was confederate sir ! Not sure your explanation is accurate as I fought for 2nd Maryland CMF for 7 years ! 2nd Maryland was southern get that straight !!!!!!
My 2nd GGF's 6th NHVI regiment was active in the failed/2nd attempt to take Burnside Bridge. However, he was a POW at Belle Isle on 9/17/1862, the result of being captured at 2nd Bull Run that Aug 29th. In fact, he wouldn't be exchanged until nearly one week after the Battle of Fredericksburg (Dec 13, '62). So, his capture got him out of two major battles, which could've been good news for me since I descend from his youngest son, born long after the war. 😉
⭐ If you've watched a few episodes and feel like I've earned it, be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss any new content when it comes out.
Also be sure to check out The Gettysburg Museum of History and their store at gettysburgmuseumofhistory.com.
What’s your name #The History Underground
Your Antietam series has been a masterpiece. Thanks for your hard work! I had the honor of taking a guided tour of the battlefield led by then Princeton Professor James McPherson (about 15 years ago). It was a truly memorable experience and your series serves as a wonderful refresher on this pivotal day in US history.
🙏🏼
The actual view that Toombs had over Burnsides bridge when you are actually standing there is unreal. It is basically a sheer cliff overlooking the bridge and the surrounding roads leading to it. I was blown away at how commanding a position that was and makes you understand how so few troops could hold off so many, for so long.
Yes. Until you have stood in the Confederate positions on the hill, you don't realize how dominating the terrain is at the bridge. The Antietam battlefield is a fascinating place to visit.
@@michaelmelen9062 I have been to a ton of battlefields (havent been to Gettysburg yet as when I went up to see Antietam, Wilderness, Fredricksburg etc the weather was really bad in PA so I didnt want to risk it as I had driven all the way from Atlanta) and Antietam is my favorite so far. The rolling hills in that part of MD, the way the town is basically still the same (Cant even find a gas station in it open after like 7 lol) and that battlefield are just truly remarkable. I then looped through the Shennandoah Valley on my way back to Petersburg which is beautiful drive. Chickamauga is another good visit.
@@marinewillis1202 Sounds like a great trip! Appomattox is another interesting site. I live close enough to take day trips to Gettysburg, and it is worth a several days' visit. The battlefield guides are excellent (and free), and there are two or three each day at different places on the battlefield.
@@michaelmelen9062 oh it was. I decided to it for my bday a few years ago. My dad and I had always talked about doing it so I did it as sort of in memory of him as we never got to. Drove from Atlanta to Petersburg in one day. Then hit Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Antietam and the Valley over the course of several days. Just flew by the seat of my pants with no reservations, just stopped and got a room when i needed one. Funny story about that was trying to find a hotel leaving Antietam. There is literally NOTHING in any direction for 40 miles from that town. I loved the Town of Fredericksburg but the actual battlefield is not really there anymore. The stone wall on Maryes Heights is basically in the middle of a neighborhood so I felt a little weird wandering around in front of peoples houses lol
@@marinewillis1202 you’ll like gettysburg whenever you get a chance to make it there… the place is very well preserved and a great town.. I love every chance I get to go
Can’t imagine what it felt like to have to cross that bridge knowing you weren’t going to make it. How very frustrating it had to be for the Union to keep going only to be pushed back.
It’s such a beautiful spot just so hard to imagine the death that happened there.
👍😊Great video as always.
Definitely a rough spot on Sept 17, 1862.
Hasn't this bridge been rebuilt
I can't overstate how much I absolutely love your Antietam series. It's so hard to top your Gettysberg, but I think you've done it! Thank you for taking the time and teaching us history!
Thanks 🙏🏼
Great stuff JD. I can't even imagine being told "You know that bridge that everyone is dying while trying to cross? You're up next"....crazy.
Nightmare.
Such a shame that lives were cut short.
Your videos are absolutely fantstic ... They are filled with detailed history, cover amazing sites and battles, and the filming is unsurpassed ... I can't thank you enough for your vision, detail, and effort in bringing this valuable material to the viewing public ...
Many of us are unable to make the journey to these amazing sites, yet with through your kindness we are able to visually visit these historic locations. Thank You -- again ...
Thanks! That means a lot to me.
Great Video JD!! I couldn’t even imagine having to cross that bridge under such withering gunfire. I can’t blame the men of 51st Pennsylvania for their demands. Stunning video quality as always. Keep up the great work 🇺🇸
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I worked summers on a dairy farm just outside of Sharpsburg during the late 1960's. Burnside Bridge was still a public road and I tramped these battlefields a lot back then. It's changed a lot but the Park Service has done a great job retaining the atmosphere of the day
Wow. The heights at the other side of the bridge are insane. Seeing that and still trying to cross that bridge is a whole heap of courage.
Can't even imagine.
I love the way the videos come together. The low key music and the cutting. Great touches.
Thank you very much!
My great-grandfather was with Cobb's Legion. at Burnside Bridge. He lost part of a leg from artillery shrapnel in the Devil's Den at the Battle of Gettysburg. He then played in the Army of Northern Virginia band, until surrendering at Appomattox. He was 78 and my great-grandmother was 28, when my grandmother was born!
Thanks for the great video. My partner and I have been walking the Snavely Ford path for exercise recently, and you do a great job of laying out the areas of attack and defense. Thanks.
As I have said before on the Antietam series. I just retired from state service at the Maryland prison system just few mim up Sharpsburg pike and have been to those battlefield so many times I can't count. As many times I went to Burnside Bridge on lunchbreak from training or whatever, I always pondered why didn't the union army flank way out around and come in and hit the Georgians from behind? Maybe they couldn't I don't know enough about that and haven't read anything on it. But standing there starring at that bank I felt eerie every time at the death that was dealt out there
What courage to go towards what for most of them would be their death. I imagine at Burnside's bridge back then there probably weren't trees for cover. Thanks for your hard work on this series. Looking forward to more!
Appreciate that. Pretty amazing place.
Another great video JD. When I visited, I was mesmerized and just stood on that bridge to try and imagine the tactics of the day. Impossible.
Another quick footnote, that large sycamore tree on the east end was a young tree at the time and witnessed the battle. Incredible to think about. Thanks again!!
A witness tree!!
You always have the best music paired with your videos. Well done, you put alot of work into these. It doesn't go unnoticed 🤘
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Great report. People tend to foget the geography and topography that played into so many of these battles, and those locations were not as trimmed back as today. BTW, thank you for traveling where I am no longer able to travel myself. I've been blessed having gone many places, but there are far more I'll never see first hand due to my health. Trust me, you are providing not only information but a service to people like me. Blessings. Keep traveling.
Terrain is everything. Glad to share the experiences. Thank you for watching.
I’ve been looking forward to this part of the series. Wonderful job! Thank you!!!
Thanks 🙏🏼
Well done JD. The commander of that area of the battlefield took advantage of a river crossing to canalize the enemy into a kill zone. Nothing has changed, except the speed of the enemies advance in modern times.
Agreed. When you stand on those heights, seeing what they were charging is absolutely stunning.
Two of my Confederate ancestors fought at Burnsides Bridge at Sharpsburg They were part of the 20th Georgia Infantry Regiment part of Toombs brigade
As always GREAT JOB!!!
Loved that you included the gnat swallow 😝
I’m finding myself really enjoying your videos. This is the second.
My father was a Civil War buff and while we lived in Virginia, while he was in the navy, we visited many of these battlefield sites. But that was around fifty years ago.
These two videos of yours about the battle of Antiteim/Sharpesburg I’ve seen have brought it back to life for me.
Subscribed. Absolutely enjoy your delivery, you’re doing a great job!
Thank you very much! I really do appreciate that.
I would have had third thoughts of crossing that bridge. Great video JD.
Hey J D,
Even swallowing a knat, coughing and a gaging, you didn't miss a beat. That's dedication to the work at hand. Throw in a few spider webs and some branch water and you had a quick meal on the go. LOL
Ha! Thanks!
This is incredible coverage of Antietam ~WELL DONE!
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Thank you JD, you are an awesome story teller.
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Thank you very much for this series. I'm finding it very informative.
As always thanks for posting yet another excellent video from you and for providing us with history unlike any book one could read! I've learned much from your videos and can hardly wait to see what you post in the future!
Loved this,Thank You
Glad you enjoyed it!
We were there this may and it was nice just to step on the bridge
The courage to cross that bridge......
Definitely took grit.
@@TheHistoryUnderground I've never been to Antietam..but its on the list. Thank you for the video.
Impressive as always, and I am so glad you did not edit out the gnat. Thank you for producing such videos.
Ha! Thanks.
Sir that was a brilliant video well in the very ground and place where death was certain for so many men that tried to cross,it is unbelevable what they did with so much conviction and loyalty to face the enemy . thank you so much for such for your work and approach on ACW History.
Thanks! I really appreciate that.
One of the few mentions made of the odds at the bridge; 24-to-1. The handful of Georgians held off an entire U.S. Corps for hours until AP Hill could arrive from Harper's Ferry, change the odds to 6-to-1... good Southern odds for a win.
As I approach old age with a lifetime of great memories to look back on, I shudder to imagine those young men marching to their death and attempting such a herculean endeavor.
What must their thoughts have been? Your viewers who have military experience will no doubt know the answer but to the rest of us, truly incomprehensible.
As a young boy my Dad had Life books that covered many wars from the French/Indian wars, Revolutionary War Civil War on down but my favorite was always books on the Civil War it just fascinated me the colored battle maps Two of my favorite Generals are Sheman and Stone Wall love History enjoy all of your videos
The cold calculation of the enemy running out of ammunition before you run out of men.
Rough.
@@TheHistoryUnderground Antietam was a slugging match. It reminded me of the battle of Borodino where it was likewise, a slugging match. Combined casualties from both Russian and French armies were in the neighborhood of 70,000 in ONE day. Antietam was no Borodino, but the casualties inflicted in such a short time were just as gruesome. Ironically, both battles took place in early September.
Excellent episode. Difficult to show the terrain but you did great. Love your stuff.
Another great video,well done. I was enjoying my Sunday routine and enjoy a good cigar at the cigar lounge and we were watching stuff on the big TV and we started talking about the civil war (we are right at kennesaw mtn in GA where there was a big battle in Marietta Ga. Anyway I put your videos on and about half a dozen guys couldn’t get enough and had me playing your videos for a few hours. Definitely got yourself some new subs, some of the older guys there were like what’s UA-cam? Haha
Very good series buddy. Hope u had a good Christmas an all is well sir.
Great job JD with the story of the 11th CVI. More on Griswold from Old Lyme,Ct. : He commanded his Company at Antietam on 17 September 1862.
All the rebel batteries were now roaring. The air rang with whistling balls and the ground quaked with the hard breath of artillery. The Eleventh Connecticut descended to storm Antietam Bridge. The rebel guns were pouring in a destructive fire of grape and canister; while continuous volleys from an unseen enemy in the woods were also showered upon them. Down the road leaped the Eleventh into this "valley of death."
Companies A and B under Capt. John Griswold were deployed as skirmishers; and they plunged into the swift stream here some fifty feet wide and four deep, their dauntless commander taking the lead. He was shot through the breast while in mid-river but struggled forward, and fell upon the opposite bank, among the rebels.
The rest of the War
Surgeon Meyer and four men of the regiment retrieved the Captain and took him to a nearby shed, where he was later visited by General Burnside. He died of wounds the next day at a field hospital on the Henry Rohrbach farm near the bridge.
Superb episode.
Great content as always JD. Watch out for those gnats! Did you notice any battle damage on the bridge? Looked like it had been pretty well maintained.
The part about making coffee after taking the bridge…. Where’s a Starbucks when ya need it eh?
Seriously though, that shows a side to the soldiers not often seen….brilliant coverage JD really!
Ha! Thanks.
Great job!! Thank you
Thanks 🙏🏼
Burnside took over my hometown New Bern North Carolina and displaced a lot of people in the town. His troops dug up people in the cemetery one being a woman who had died of yellow fever. The disease was still active and it killed off a third of his troops. They also found one of his men buried in the front yard of a home that is still standing today. Obviously someone killed the guy and buried him in the front yard and no one noticed for another hundred years. If you want to learn a lot about the civil war and a town that was taken over by the union army go to the ghost walk in New Bern North Carolina and there is so much history you will be amazed. They have reenactors that that are in the cemetery and tell a lot about the history of the town. They also have a civil war camp set up in town. It is a week of A wealth of information that I strongly recommend going to. New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and was incorporated in 1710. I went to the ghost walk for the 300th anniversary. A lot of the town has been re done from the 'modern' l saw in the 1960's. The Tryon Palace burnt down in the late 1800s and my mother's house that she grew up in on George Street was torn down to recreate the Tryon Palace as we see today.
I’m half Russian! You were adopted? You are doing a wonderful job!
Awesome video
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Thanks JD! The usage of maps makes much easier for to image what happened… Great video again! 🫶🏼💖💪🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Good one JD, great job.
I have the great fortune of living 30 minutes of the battlefield and hike the Snavely's Ford trail multiple times. My thought is often about the tremendous opportunity lost by not securing this position and rolling up Lee's right flank sooner. I think it had the accomplished the crossing of the creek two hours sooner this would have been a completely different outcome. This is where the leadership of the Union Army comes squarely into focus, McClellan who commands from the rear and doesn't describe the overall plan to his Corps Commanders along with Burnside who history seems to show is better at planning an attack than leading one. I think the Army needed a key leader at this position and it didn't have it, somone to push his soldiers over the creek to find Snavely's Ford before being asked to find it. This thought leads me back to the loss of Jesse Reno at Fox's Gap, I think he could have been the key to the IX Corps getting across the creek and smashing into the Confederate rear well ahead of AP Hill's arrival. I think everyone talks about what if Jackson were at Gettysburg I ask what if Reno was at Antietam.
John 10:10
Proverbs 6:31
I do believe that Satan has been found out. Your gonna get it all your stuff back 7 fold, your a blessed man!
Thank you for your clear and extremely informative presentation. Viewing the geography was revelatory. It seems to me had the Confederates had a section of cannon they could have stopped the Union cold and if the Union had used cannon it would have helped suppress enemy fire. You focus on the division and brigade commanders, I wonder how much of a role Burnside played? Clarifying Rodmans actions and other efforts to wade near the bridge explain a lot. Wasn’t the 51st Penn Vols one of Meade’s, as a brigadier, favorite units? It is speculated that A.P. Hill initially only had about 200 men with him due to his extreme forced march?
I don't think Crook or Nagle made use of cannons against the high ground. Did they even have them.
Great report. I'm learning and enjoying together. Thank you
I've wondered about that. Seems like a heavy dose of case shot would have gone a long way there.
Hope you talk about the Kanawha Division they were the flank and went straight up to push Hayes wasn't there Mckinley was brought food to the men I have a picture of a 12th ohio veteran that talks about that battle in his letter
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Sending men to their deaths against an elevated, fortified position? Good thing Burnside never made that mistake again.
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Wow J.D. did you just shoot this video within the last 2 days. Up here in S.E. Michigan we've lost a good majority of our leaves and our temperatures have dropped considerably. We even had a little snow. Temperatures down in the 20s at night. It still looks pretty green at Antietam.
No, this was back in late August.
The Confederates were getting multiple kills from the same bullet. It was a perfect killing funnel. I was surprised the Union didn't use cannon on those Confederate hill emplacements before trying to cross the bridge. What a murder fest.
bloodletting is a nice word for it...I used to call it wholesale killing 3 for 99 cents or 4 for $1.50
JD: Why didn't the Union use artillery to drive the Confederates off the bluff above the bridge?
Good question.
Burnside, Hooker, McClellin & others, were such egotistical, parinoude, encompetdent, gutless wonders it's a miricle they had any wins at all during their Civil War service.
Lincoln had to dismiss or remove each of them from their positions.
Grant, Sherman & some others were the only ones who had the knowledge, never give up attitudes & guts that it took to win battles.
The Union had the most qualified graduates from West Point on our side.
The Confederates, yes had some good West Pointers & some good leaders also but at the end of the war, it didn't mean a damned thing.
They must suffer heavy looses
I say the bridge should have been named Whiskey Bridge in recognition of the charge of the 51st PA.
The bridge would not only funnel the troops, as JD said, but once the first few dozens were cut down, the following troops would have been stumbling over a pile of bodies, making them a compact, very slow moving target.
Don`t think much of that officer who wanted to sacrifice his men, just to be a general....
Good vid, as always..
Good point. Thanks.
Good point. Thanks.
All hail the 11th Connecticut!
That sycamore tree in the corner on the Union side is a witness tree. Imagine if it could talk, the stories it might tell.
I know!
Another good story added to this great series. Can never get enough of the Civil War. Thanks.
Thanks!
Such a peaceful scene today where there was so much carnage. I’ve always enjoyed that area. Your videos have been amazing, your work is spectacular.
Thank you very much!
Great video again JD! Your Antietam series is gold. I took a tour with a certified guide with a group from Addressing Gettysburg last year. When we got to the Burnside Bridge we stood overlooking the bridge from the Confederate side. The guide knew I had a personal connection to the story, so when it got to the two 51sts he stepped back and allowed me to tell the story. I told the story, and at the end I said, “My ancestor Henry Lentz of Company F of the 51st PA was killed trying to take that bridge.”
Oh wow!
Almost all of the locations you used for the video look so peaceful today, it's hard to imagine how bloody and brutal it was during the battle. Thanks JD for keeping our history alive. As always - - - God, Family, Country.
They should put up a whiskey barrel as a monument to the 51st Pennsylvania lol 😆
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I found out recently that my great great grandfather fought in the 50th GA Inf, Co.A. He fought and survived each battle they were in and was one of the soldiers that surrendered at Appomattox! It was very interesting to see the ground that he fought on!
Loved this narrative on the Burnside Bridge. And the capture of it. The flanking movements . And especially humorous was the PA 51st’s wanting whiskey allotments given. Amazing what motivates men. 😮
Your Antietam series is so engaging. I’m learning so much.
Glad you enjoy it!
Thx so much!!! No markers for the CSA anywhere??? We appreciate your candor and knowledge of these battles!
Correct me if im wrong, isnt the large tree on the union side next to the bridge a witness tree?
Yep!
I see a lot of parallels between this action and 82 years later on Omaha Beach.
Then had to leave the (woods, stone wall - landing craft) and get across the (bridge - beach), many knowing they would not survive, and take those (hills - bluff). In both cases the mission was accomplished by shear bravery and strength of numbers. So, with Veterans Day just two days ago,To:
These civil war soldiers (both sides because the average GI is not interested in politics but rather keeping faith with the comrades with whom they were serving)
My fellow Vietnam vets who didn't get the recognition they deserved
And to all other veteran, "Thanks for your service"
Quite the battle indeed. I also appreciate the perspectives from both sides of the bridge. Great work, JD, thanks brother.
Also that large tree as you cross over from the union side to the Confederate side is a witness tree
500 is pretty insane. i know the spartans had i think like 12,000 irregular men who joined them from other greek regions.
the bridge was open to automobile traffic in the early 1960's, I distinctly recall trying to touch the wooden planks that cap the sides from the backseat of a 1958 Pontiac. Well done series, I am local and lucky enough to visit the battlefield whenever I wish. Very pastoral setting, amazing vistas almost unchanged from September, 1862.
they needed A10 close air support to help them cross the bridge maybe drones for surveillance
Great presentation! (Was that a Union gnat or a Confederate gnat)?
On the east side of Antietam Creek, so definitely a Union gnat.
Throughout this entire video, my thoughts drift back to a scene from the old TV show, Hell on Wheels. Cullen Bohannon has an encounter with someone that was part of the Union attempt to cross the Burnside Bridge. It was a great scene because someone studied their history before writing it. Rare for Hollywood :)
Somebody eats a gnat I give thumbs up. That’s the rule.
Burnside with those glorious side burns!!!
Mr Burnside notice his Side Burns from Rhode Island
Thank you sir another great history lession.
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Stopped by there a few years ago from Illinois. Walked across this bridge. Unbelievable feeling to think what happened there. One of the neatest historic spots in the country IMO. Really enjoyed your video. Didn’t have a guide while I was there.
Agreed. Thanks!
ate a gnat but didn't bump your head! #Winning
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We were at Antietam and U really did a Great Great Job!
Thanks Again 😊
I have been hearing about Burnside Bridge ever since I was little. But the Cornfield was where it was really out of control.
Pretty nasty.
12,500 Union troops vs 500 Confederates….and JD almost gets taken out by a gnat! LOL. But seriously, excellent Antietam series!
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An abysmal Battle. Illuminating. Remarkable American history.
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There is a Witness Tree next to the bridge.
You jus said the 2nd Maryland as being yankees. 2nd Maryland was confederate sir ! Not sure your explanation is accurate as I fought for 2nd Maryland CMF for 7 years !
2nd Maryland was southern get that straight !!!!!!
Here. I went ahead and did a Google search for you.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Maryland_Infantry_Regiment_(Union)
And then AP Hill came up...
My 2nd GGF's 6th NHVI regiment was active in the failed/2nd attempt to take Burnside Bridge. However, he was a POW at Belle Isle on 9/17/1862, the result of being captured at 2nd Bull Run that Aug 29th. In fact, he wouldn't be exchanged until nearly one week after the Battle of Fredericksburg (Dec 13, '62). So, his capture got him out of two major battles, which could've been good news for me since I descend from his youngest son, born long after the war. 😉