Photo journal: Antietam hospital site tour

HOFFMAN FARM: Probably the largest Union hospital at Antietam, this was headquarters
for the Sanitary Commission, a private relief agency that tended to sick and wounded soldiers.
(Images courtesy Richard Gold)

GERMAN REFORMED CHURCH: Amputated legs and arms formed piles as they were tossed
outside this church in Keedysville, Md.,  about four miles miles from Sharpsburg. 
The church was rebuilt  after the war.

JACOB COST HOUSE: General Joseph Mansfield of Middletown, Conn., had the final meal of
his life here on Sept. 16, 1862. He was mortally wounded the next day. Wounded Union soldiers 
were treated in the parlor of this house.

WIDOW SNYDER HOUSE: Wounded soldiers from Pennsylvania were treated here,
near the Hoffman Farm.

SMOKETOWN ROAD: A large tent hospital was located near here after the battle.

GEORGE LINE FARM: General Joseph Mansfield died here on Sept. 18, 1862, after
 being wounded near the East Woods the day before.

SAMUEL POFFENBERGER FARM: Clara Barton, who became famous after the Civil War 
for founding the American Red Cross, tended to wounded soldiers here.

PHILLIP PRY FARM: Wounded soldiers were treated in the house and barn. Union
General Israel Richardson died in a second-floor bedroom of the Pry house.

GERMAN REFORM  CHURCH: Many wounded solders of the 16th Connecticut were
treated at this church on Main Street in Sharpsburg.

After the Battle of Antietam, many houses, barns and farms in the Sharpsburg, Md., area were used as hospitals. Many of those sites still exist. Using John Schildt's book, Dim And Flaring Lights, as a guide, I did a quick drive-by tour of Antietam hospital sites recently.

Off-the-beaten path Keedysville is seldom visited by battlefield tourists, but it's well worth a visit. About four miles from Sharpsburg, the little town was home to several hospitals, including the German Reformed Church, where amputated arms and legs formed piles as they were tossed from the windows. Union General George McClellan had dinner at Jacob Hess' house in Keedysville on Sept. 15, two days before Antietam. Pleased with the meal there, McClellan, according to Schildt, gave his host a gold piece.

JACOB HESS HOUSE: Little Mac rewarded his host after a meal at this Keedysville house.