The bloodiest day

The battle of Antietam is considered to be the bloodiest single day in American military history. On Sep 17, 1863, almost 23,000 troops on both sides combined were killed, wounded, captured, or went missing. Wikipedia cites 3,654 men killed. This is roughtly a thousand more than we have lost in 3 1/2 years during the fiasco in Iraq! These casualties occurred at a time when the combined population of the US and the Confederacy was about one tenth of what it is today, so in modern terms 36 thousand troops would have to die in one day to equal the carnage. And in three days at Gettysburg, 7,700 troops died. The Civil War was rough, man!

This picture depicts the Sunken Road, also known as Bloody Lane. As you can see, the road lies below the surrounding terrain, due to heavy use and erosion in pre-Civil War days. The Confederates positioned lines on the roadbed against Union troops attacking from nearby ridges. This doesn't sound like too good an idea to begin with, but it became catastrophic when the Yankees outflanked the Confederates and obtained an open field of fire right down the road! Can you say ducks in a shooting gallery? Contemporary photos show Confederate bodies stacked in heaps along this road.

Incidentially, I accidentially dropped my camera on the concrete this morning (klutziness from the Old Sloat) and most pics seem to be blurry at the bottom. If this problem doesn't clear up soon I will buy a new camera.