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04/05/2004 Archived Entry: "Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, MD"

On Tuesday I took a group of middle school honor students to visit Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD -- in western Maryland almost by the West Virginia border. This Civil War battlefield was the site of the bloodiest one day battle (September 17, 1862) in American history on US soil; there were more than 23,000 casualties here. Just a few days after this battle Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, the beginning of the end of slavery in this country. The photo at right is of Burnside Bridge, one of the key points on the battlefield.

It was very interesting. One of the teachers on this two-bus move was an expert in Civil War history, and did the guided tour rather than use a walk-on guide (and he did an excellent job). The students were the best behaved of any middle school group I've transported. It was a four hour drive each way to the park, and they watched no movies! They actually had good conversation, and watched where we were going. I don't think I've ever had a school group go that far without playing one movie after another; too many groups use the VCR/DVD as a baby sitter the instant they're on the bus, so this was a refreshing change.

Following the tour of the battlefield, we drove a few miles east to Boonsboro, MD for dinner at the South Mountain Inn. They had a buffet for the group that was excellent -- highly recommended!