Published by TravelBrains, this two-hour tour of the Antietam battlefield starts at the visitor center and guides you to eleven essential locations where you will hear the dramatic personal stories of the men, women, and even pets who took part in America's bloodiest single-day battle.

Describing the intense counter-battery fire his men received at Antietam, Confederate artillerist, Colonel Stephen D. Lee wrote, "Pray that you may never see another Sharpsburg. Sharpsburg was artillery Hell." On the morning of September 17, S.D. Lee’s artillery line was placed on the high ground adjacent to the Dunker Church. The caisson, visible in the image, probably belonged to his battalion. S.D. Lee was not related to General Robert E. Lee. However, Robert E. Lee did have a son who served in the artillery and fought at Antietam. Lee’s youngest son, Robert E. Lee, Jr., was a member of the Rockbridge Artillery. At one point during the day, Robert Jr. approached his father and asked him if he was going to send him back into battle. Lee replied, "Yes, my son, you all must do what you can to help drive these people back."

The battle began with the first light of dawn. Hooker's 3 divisions, nearly 8,500 men strong, composed a battlefront a half-mile wide. The landmark that guided their advance was a small-whitewashed building that sat on a modest ridgeline: The Dunker Church. Between them and that objective was a 30-acre field of corn owned by a farmer named David Miller. Miller's Cornfield was about to become the bloodiest sector of the Civil War's bloodiest day.

Union General Joseph Mansfield was the recently appointed commander of the Union Twelfth Corps. The Twelfth Corps numbered some 7,200 men but over half were completely green with no combat experience. Mansfield himself was an Old Army veteran of 40 years service, but he had been an engineer so this was his first combat command. Mansfield ordered his men forward but demanded that they stay in column formations. He feared that if they deployed into line of battle too early, the green troops would become rattled and run. The problem was that troops massed into column can’t fight very well and when they are exposed to enemy fire the casualties are tremendous. His plan was to have his corps form up behind Hookers remnants and push forward.

Few places in the Civil War can match the intensity of fighting and bloodshed that occurred in this 30-acre cornfield. It was only midway into the harvest season and the stalks of corn still stood tall in this field…but not for long. The fighting in this small field became a magnet of sorts - drawing more and more troops into its deadly maelstrom. The fighting swept back and forth over this killing ground for nearly three hours.

Union General Edwin Sumner had waited all morning for the signal to attack. His 2nd Corps, 15,200 men strong, was one of the largest in the Union Army and he was eager to bring its tremendous firepower to bear. When the order to attack finally arrived, however, it only called for two of Sumner's three divisions. McClellan insisted on holding back one of the divisions in reserve, until it could be replaced. Despite the handicap, Sumner eagerly marched forward with Major General John Sedgwick's division in the vanguard of the attack. Unfortunately, in their haste to attack, Sedgwick's division soon became separated from William French's trailing division and marched forward alone. McClellan watched the events through a telescope. All morning long he observed the Confederates responded to each new Federal assault. But McClellan could hardly have imagined the devastating counterattack that he was about to witness, as Sumner approached the West Woods.

D.H. Hill defended this sector of the battlefield. Three of his brigades had been badly mauled in the earlier fighting near the East Woods, but his two fresh brigades held a formidable position along a section of country road, known as the Sunken Road. In a few short hours, this farm lane would be transformed into a scene of carnage commensurate with its new name, the Bloody Lane. AR Photo Opp Click the AR button to take a picture with Confederate commander John Gordon. Be sure to resize and move the AR image for a picture.

Next to the observation tower is the monument to the Irish Brigade. Following the first wave of Union assaults on the sunken road, the famed Irish Brigade spearheaded a new series of attacks. 540 men were killed or wounded trying to reach the road to no avail.

Although McClellan had intended for General Ambrose Burnside to launch a diversionary attack on the lower bridge at the same time as Hooker's 1st corps attacked, it was not until 10 am, four hours after the battle had begun, when Burnside finally received his orders to attack.

It took Burnside nearly five hours after capturing the bridge to renew his attack on an enemy he heavily out numbered. Lee had one last hope: A.P. Hill's Light Division, which was marching from Harper's Ferry. Hill's men had just marched 17 miles, as Burnside's 9th Corps was driving the remnants of Lee's army into the streets of Sharpsburg. Hill's shock troops slammed into the exposed left flank of the Federal line. The effect was devastating.

The 12-hour Battle of Antietam produced over 23,000 dead, wounded, or missing American soldiers: a single-day figure not rivaled even to this day. Tactically it was a draw. Strategically, the Union Army had stopped Lee's invasion.

Welcome to the TravelBrains' audio tour of the Battle of Antietam. This tour starts at the visitor center and will take you to 10 tour stops around the battlefield. Although the route follows the park's official tour route, the tour stops and stop numbers are different than the park's. Here at the visitor center, take a minute to listen to the historical context of the Battle of Antietam. Then continue on to the Dunker Church.

Tour Tips:
Several tour stops, such as the visitor center, have augmented reality (AR) content. Click the AR button to view the AR content and be sure to take your picture.

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