Stop 1 - The Burnside BridgeIn this part of the battle, which lasted from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., there were five times as many casualties than there were in the action at the Burnside Bridge. Two Generals were killed and Colonel Harrison Fairchild’s Brigade of Union soldiers suffered the highest percentage of casualties for any brigade in the Union army at the Battle of Antietam. These final two and a half hours of combat concluded the twelve-hour struggle that still ranks as the bloodiest one day battle in American history. For two hours thousands of sweat stained, clanking, blue clad soldiers tramped by to your left and right in preparation for the final advance to drive Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army from Maryland. Approximately 8,000 Union soldiers would resupply and reorganize into a mile-wide line of battle and advance across the ground that you will walk.
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Last updated: February 24, 2021