Battlefields and Jim Thorpe

From northern Virginia, my trip moved into the eastern tip of West Virginia and then into western Maryland.  This is where Antietam is located.

The sunken road known as Bloody Lane

Antietam (or Sharpsburg) was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.  More men died there than had died in all previous American wars combined.  The three-part battle included a back-and-forth struggle across cornfields, a rifle pit that came to be known as "Bloody Lane," and a bridge across Antietam Creek which was defended against thousands of Union soldiers for hours by a small contingent of Georgians.

"The Angle" as it must have looked

to Confederates approaching it

Moving northward into Pennsylvania, I visited Gettysburg for the second time.  This time, I specifically wanted to view the "high water mark" of the Southern incursion into Northern territory, near the place called "The Angle" on the battlefield.  There is an "official" monument to recognize the terrible fighting that took place here, and the North Carolinians erected a monument near the angle in the low stone wall to mark where their soldiers reached that day.  From this point, you can look out over the large open field where "Pickett's Charge" took place.


The remainder of my day was spent passing from Harrisburg to the northeastern corner of the state near the Delaware Water Gap.  This is a mountainous section of small townships and coal mines.


One of the little villages was re-named for the Olympic and football hero Jim Thorpe.  He is buried there, and a beautiful monument was erected to honor his achievements.  This was apparently a big controversy in its time, as Thorpe's third wife was accused of "shopping" his remains to a town that would "properly honor" his memory.  Other members of his family in Oklahoma still want his body moved to Native American lands for what they consider a proper burial.



Ended a long day near the place where Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York meet.