Antietam National Battlefield
Sunken Road (Bloody Lane), Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland.
The Confederates were posted along a ridge in an old sunken road separating the Roulette and Piper farms. The 800-yard-long road had been worn down over the years by heavy wagons taking grain to the nearby mill, making an ideal defensive trench for the Rebels.
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Firing from behind these improvised breastworks and sheltered in the Sunken Road, the Rebels seemed unassailable. They repelled four different Union charges against the position. "For three hours and thirty minutes," one Union officer wrote, "the battle raged incessantly, without either party giving way." From 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., bitter fighting raged along this deeply cut lane (afterward known as Bloody Lane) as French, supported by Gen. Israel B. Richardson's division, also of Sumner's corps, sought to drive the Southerners back. By 1 p.m. about 5,600 killed and wounded troops from both sides lay along and in front of this 800-yard lane. Text taken directly from their website, for further information, visit Antietam National Battlefield website. Midday Phase
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| Dunker Church | "Sunken Road (Bloody Lane)" | Observation Tower Looking South | Burnside Bridge I | Burnside Bridge II | RETURN |