Alexander Gardner probably shot this image of David R. Miller farmhouse on Sept. 19, 1862, two days after the Battle of Antietam. (Library of Congress collection) CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE. |
An enlargement of Gardner's image reveals five people, probably members of Miller's family, on the porch. The Millers sought refuge nearer to Sharpsburg during the battle. |
In this enlargement of Gardner's 1862 image, possible evidence of battle damage may be seen on the side of the David R. Miller's house. Or does the arrow point to a water spout? |
Wounded were also treated at Miller's house, but those soldiers soon were moved to a larger hospital established nearby. Of course, the crops of all three farmers were ruined during the fighting or used to fuel both armies. Miller's cornfield, infamously known as The Bloody Cornfield (see my interactive panorama), is where the Yankees and Rebs slugged it out for hours starting about dawn on Sept. 17, 1862.
A tiny piece of history: A bullet from the Battle of Antietam. |
I get a little nostalgic when I visit the old Miller farmhouse, currently under renovation by the National Park Service, which acquired the property in 1990. Way back when I was a cub reporter at the Martinsburg (W.Va.) Evening Journal in the early 1980s, I visited the Culler family, who had farmed the Miller property for 40 years or so, for a story on war relics they had found while farming the land. On a large table in the driveway leading to the house -- the same driveway that's there today -- the Cullers had laid out on a small table a collection of artillery shells, bullets and other detritus the armies left behind. A month or two later, while relic hunting with the Culler's permission in their freshly plowed field astride the Hagerstown Pike, I found the fired bullet at right. (Remember, it was private property then, and relic hunting was allowed with the owner's permission.) It may be insignificant to others, but that bullet remains my greatest Civil War find.
Hi. Just an FYI on the photos of Miller's Farmhouse. Issue 22 (Winter 2016) of the "Civil War Monitor" magazine identifies the people/ages in the photograph, including the man sitting on the treestump. If you e-mail me at vardalm@yahoo.com I can send you a screenshot of the article if you like. --Mike Vardal
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating photo of the five members of the Miller family sitting on the porch there. One young woman is actually smiling. It is so unusual to see any emotion or facial expression on photos from that time.
ReplyDeleteActually, I have just discovered this blog and am captivated by the enlargement of the tiny details way off in the detail or in some tiny corner. A privileged glimpse of a tiny corner of the past. Unstaged, unposed, just there in the distance somewhere. Caught forever in time.
Thank you to the blogger for this fascinating material.