Our next short drive took us through the Appalachians to the small town of Sharpsburg and the battle of Antietam – named from the creek that runs through it .
We were staying for two nights at The Inn at Antietam.
Again we had a days tour of the the battlefield. Antietam was a 1 day battle that turned into the bloodiest single day during the war. I wanted to understand why this was . We met up at the visitors centre with our guide Mike Priest who was a local history tutor and author on various ACW battles .
The Bloody Lane . There is a good view from the observation tower
Memorial to the Union Irish brigade that fought at the lane
Next area is the bridge over Antietam Creek – known now as Burnside Bridge
My key take away from this battlefield was how short and local lines of sight were , with rolling hills , dips , corn , sunken roads , the creek etc . This meant it was short range when infantry fought each other . However there are lots of higher hills all round that allowed artillery to fire from a long distance into some key areas . Overall a really great visit
Grandad Making Memories 
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