The Cornfield

While at Antietam on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, I took a walk on The Cornfield Trail. Its a 1.6 mile trail that takes you through the North Woods, East Woods, Cornfield, and Miller farm. It was a beautiful morning for a walk.

First thing, I got at the trail around 9 am. There was very little traffic on the battlefield. Through the entire walk, all I heard were the birds singing. I'm sure this was in direct conflict with what the soldiers heard that fateful morning of September 17, 1862.

The first stop was at the parking lot at Stop #2 on the Battlefield Tour. There was a sign there warning you to be aware of groundhog holes. At first I thought they were being a bit overdramatic about the holes, but soon learned that they were right. Those holes were not only large in circumferance but very deep also. If anyone were to fall in a hole, I'm sure that broken ankles or legs would be the result. So be aware of the groundhog holes. Through the entire trail I saw a dozen or more of them right on the trail. I saw about that many groundhogs, also....two of which were barely 8 inches long....just little babies out playing in the early morning sun. Very cute!

General Hooker of the Union army had placed his men in this area and was planning on taking the high ground where the Visitor Center is today. Once he got his men moving through that Cornfield he learned that taking that ground would not be easy....the Confederates were already there. Here at Atietam, General Hooker was in command of the I Corps. For the majority of the hike, you are following in Hooker's mens footsteps.

At stop #2 you are moving out of the North Woods. It has been replanted in recent years. Its good to see that the NPS is working on restoring the battlefield to the way it looked in 1862. Reminds me of what the NPS is doing in Gettysburg! From this point, if you are looking south (toward the VC), when you look to your left and to your right, the line of battle extended 1/4 mile on either side. These poor men were being fired on from cannons to their front and from the west. There were cannons set up on some high ground to the west which has come to be known as Nicodemus Heights (named after the farmer who owned the land). Little known fact, Nicodemus Heights is the same height as the Cornfield....but there are valleys in between. You can still see the Heights from the Cornfield, today.

Stop #3 has you walking along the East Woods. The park is planning to extend the woods farther south. Another thing that the park is doing to restore the battlefield. Its quiet and almost sad walking along this trail. But having the birds singing helps tremendously. This is the area where three brigades of the 1st Corps were to set out. The three brigades belonged to Duryea, Christian, and Hartsuff. Hartsuff was wounded so it took awhile for his brigade to get ready to move out. Duryea was ready and they took off at 6am. Christian panicked and ran for the rear. So his brigade was held up while they were waiting to figure out who was in charge. In the first thirty minutes of the fighting, Duryea was alone out there, and he lost almost half of this 1000 men. Some tough fighting. You can feel it as you walk along this trail.

Stop #4 takes you to the corner of the East Waoods and the Cornfield. The 12th Mass fought in this area. They moved through the corn only to be stopped by Harry Hays' Louisiana Tigers. These men have quite the reputation for being fighters! The 12th Mass lost 224 of 334 men (67% casualties). I really felt that out there in the field. The horrors of the battle still linger today.

At Stop #5, you are about to enter the Cornfield. This is the area where the Iron Brigade fought. These are the men I was most interested in learning about. Before I even set foot in the Cornfield, I got goose bumps. It was a lovely morning....not too warm, not to cold....the sun was out and I was standing in an open field, but I suddenly got very cold and was shivering for a second or two. As I walked into the field, I could almost feel the energy of the Iron Brigade as they stepped off to face their enemy. Very cool feeling....very sad feeling!

Stop #6 takes you to where the Georgians and Texans sat waiting for the Union soldiers to arrive. Col. Marcellus Douglas in command of the Georgian brigade was killed. John Bell Hood's Texans were waiting at the Dunker Church so that they could eat for the first time in 3 days, but got called out to await the approaching Union soldiers. Till all was said and done, the 1st TX lost 82% of their men in this battle.

At stop # 7, we see the area where Battery B, 4th US artillery was located. They had a 15-year-old bugler who, when he saw that most of the men were down, took it upon himself to start firing those guns. Johnny Cook, the bugler, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for this feat.

Stop #8 takes us to the Miller farm. Daniel Miller owned the land that the Cornfield was on. He left his property prior to the battle and when he returned, the farm was all but destroyed. Mr. Miller was fortunate, he put in a claim to the US government for $1237 and received $995 in return. Most civilians received nothing from the government.

At this point, you return to the parking lot, going through the newly planted North Woods.

I found this walk to be highly emotional. Maybe I know too much about what these men experienced so I could feel it better. Maybe the ghosts of the past are there making sure that we experience what they felt. All I know is that I plan to do this walk again and when I do, I will definitely be looking for the goose bumps and chills that I experienced this time. Hopefully, I will be revisited by the ghosts of the men who fought so long ago on the horrific day in September of 1862.