Then & Now: Philadelphia Brigade Park (hover on image)

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In this circa-1935 photo, we see Philadelphia Brigade Park in the West Woods at Antietam. The massive monument honors the Philadelphia Brigade (69th, 71st, 72nd, 106th Pennsylvania). In the old photo, the small signs in the foreground read "Battlefield Visitors May Lunch Here 9 AM Till Dusk, No Entrance After Dusk" (left) and "Keep Motor Cars Off The Grass, Park 45 (degrees) on Driveway" (right). The park once was bordered by a fence. Look carefully when you are there and you'll see remnants of it. This is one of my favorite spots on the battlefield.

Old Antietam postcards show a much different battlefield park

 An early-20th century postcard of Burnside Bridge. The red structure, part of the old Spong 
farm, has long since been torn down. Note the monuments to the  51st Pennsylvania and New York
 regiments on the bridge. Each was moved a short distance away in the early 1960s.

Cows graze at Bloody Lane. The entrance to the old Roulette farm lane is near middle of  image. 

A seldom-seen view of Burnside Bridge and the surrounding terrain 
in an early 20th-century postcard.

A car crosses Burnside Bridge in circa-1920s postcard. The bridge was 
closed to vehicular traffic in 1966.

The 125th Pennsylvania and 34th New York monuments in the West Woods. The buildings
in the background and fence surrounding the 34th New York monument are long gone.

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As these circa-1910s to 1940s postcards show, Antietam is a much different battlefield park today than it was for most of the 20th century. Among the many changes, park roads have been altered or expanded, parking lots have been added, old fences have been removed and a Visitors Center was built in 1962. Of course, the biggest, and best, change is the park expansion from a mere 40 acres in 1890 under the War Department to more than 3,000 acres under the administration of the National Park Service today. Enjoy these views, obtained on the cheap during an eBay spending spree, and compare them during your next visit to what the park looks like today. Click on each image for an expanded view.

A view of the old War Department observation tower overlooking Bloody Lane.

Cornfield Avenue looking toward the old Hagerstown Pike.

From left, the 124th Pennsylvania and Indiana and New Jersey state monuments. The road 
in the foreground is Starke Avenue. The car is parked on the old Hagerstown Pike.

The 130th Pennsylvania monument at Bloody Lane.

A roadster travels along a narrow road bordering Bloody Lane. This view was taken from the 
War Department Observation Tower that was built in 1897. The road has been greatly altered
 and a parking area long ago replaced a portion of the field in the left middle of the postcard.

The 100th and 45th Pennsylvania monuments. The road in the foreground no longer exists, 
although a trace of it may be seen today. The monuments are near Branch Avenue.

An iron gate once stood at the entrance of the old Philadelphia Brigade Park, part of the
 West Woods. For more on the park on my blog, click here.

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Antietam: Old Philadelphia Brigade Park postcards, photos

Circa 1910 postcard of Philadelphia Brigade Park.

Philadelphia Brigade monument in circa 1920s postcard.

Over the weekend, I picked up these old postcards (cheap!) of the Philadelphia Brigade Park at Antietam. The 73-foot monument to the brigade, which was comprised of the 69th, 71st, 72nd and 106th Pennsylvania Volunteers, was dedicated on Sept. 17, 1896, the 34th anniversary of the battle. The park once included an ornamental iron gate and was tended to by a caretaker who let his sheep roam the grounds. Apparently the animals were a cheaper alternative than a lawnmower. Especially brutal fighting raged here in the West Woods, where the brigade lost more than 500 men in about 20 minutes. The ugly scene was described in this history of the brigade, published in 1876:

 "In the woods near the Hagerstown road, where the Philadelphia Brigade suffered so severely, our losses exceeded those of the enemy. Those poor fellows had died in all sorts of positions; some lying on their faces, others leaning against the rocks, and one man, a Confederate, was resting on his knees, with his eyes wide open and his hands grasping a rifle. On the slope, where the fire of our brigade had been directed, were one hundred and twenty dead Confederates who had been prepared for burial before their army retreated."

For comparison, I posted below black-and-white photographs of the park from the Antietam National Battlefield Library collection via Jim Buchanan's Walking the West Woods blog. I believe the gate was removed in the mid-1930s. When you visit Antietam, be sure to say hello to Jim, a certified battlefield guide and an expert on the fighting in the West Woods there. He has a detailed post on Philadelphia Brigade Park here.

The gate at the park, circa 1925. (Antietam National Battlefield Library)

Philadelphia Brigade Park, circa 1935. (Antietam National Battlefield Library)

In this circa 1930 image, workers set cement fence posts along the southern boundary of the
 original 11-acre park. (Antietam National Battlefield Library)