11th Mississippi Monument

Very recently, Antietam gained a brand new monument, the first on the field since the 1990s. While the National Park Service has a moratorium on new monuments, this one was erected on private property, sitting just south of Cornfield Avenue, as well as the famous Cornfield itself. The monument honors the 11th Mississippi Infantry. The monument is extremely well done, very tasteful and respectful, yet artistic as well. This is one Antietam Ranger who is (unofficially of course) very pleased with the new addition to our park.


Here are a few pics of our newest monument...

"Heroism needs no label to proclaim its quality."

I wanted to take a moment to post a few lines from an address given by Frederick Hitchcock, a Major with the 132nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, who was present for Pennsylvania Day at Antietam and the dedication for the 132nd Pennsylvania Monument on September 17, 1904. I think you will find the words to be very moving; they certainly fit well with our nation's Memorial Day commemorations this weekend. The 132nd Pennsylvania was one of the many "green" regiments in the Union army at the Battle of Antietam. These men received their baptism by fire on the hills and fields surrounding Bloody Lane on September 17, 1862. Out of roughly 750 present, the 132nd Pennsylvania suffered 152 casualties. Years later, as the survivors gathered once again to commemorate and honor the sacrifices of their comrades in arms, Major Hitchcock delivered these remarks. He began with introductions, thank yous, and other pleasantries; once he finished with setting the scene, Hitchcock set out upon the primary purpose of his speech, to remember the sacrifices of so many soldiers so long ago....

 132nd Pennsylvania Monument at Antietam

The richest possession of any people is its heritage of noble deeds and heroic sacrifices.

Human freedom has ever been attained and maintained at the cost of blood and treasure. The world is full of the graves of patriotic martyrs. Our comrades who fell here, joined the illustrious throng of the world’s heroes. Their noble spirit was well voiced by the intrepid former Captain of the Revolution, Nathan Hale, when he said, standing under the halter in the very shadow of death, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

Heroism knows no rank or station. It exalts all to the highest plane… And when amidst the wild clangor of war, or upon the lonely picket line, in hospital or prison pen, a noble life is immolated upon the altar of Liberty, the supreme sacrifice has been made, the spirit is the same. In every instance the hero has earned immortal honor. Heroism needs no label to proclaim its quality. Wherever found it exemplifies the richest and noblest characteristics of humanity. It is said the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Not less true is it, that the blood of patriots always and everywhere has been the  seed of civil and religious liberty….

If, like our forefathers, it was ours to pass through ‘days which tried men’s souls,” in the service of our country, like them we have been permitted to reap richly of the harvest of victory, and far over and beyond them, we have seen our beloved country emerge from her struggle for life, purged of the cancer of slavery which produced it, and advance gloriously step by step to the very forefront of the nations, until today “Old Glory” not a stripe erased nor a star dimmed, the Emblem of liberty, the hope of humanity, kisses the morning breeze all around the world.

But my comrades and fellow citizens we may not rest upon past achievements… It was ours to be faithful and true here, let it still be ours to remain faithful and true yonder. The final battle for our country has not yet been won. Her hundred and twenty-eight years of existence are, let us hope, scarcely more than her infancy. If she is to enjoy a nation’s life, she is no only on the borderland of her youth. Her future is in the hands of her sons today, one may well pause with fear, when he beholds the shoals and rocks which loom upon in the track of our ship of state, but far be it from me, under the inspiration of these scenes, to utter one discordant note of prophecy. The blood shed here shall not have been poured out in vain. Her sons of the future will rise and meet new dangers as they appear, and our country shall move grandly forward meeting the coming generation with the message of old Liberty Bell still voicing her destiny, now swelling into a grander anthem, and proclaiming liberty throughout the wide world ‘to all the inhabitants thereof.’”

Hitchcock went on to describe the statue, which depicts a lone color bearer holding the American flag, moving forward toward the guns of the enemy: 

And now in concluding this grateful service, we leave this mute but eloquent statue, a representation of one of the color bearers of this regiment, still holding aloft his flag though the staff has been shot away. The scene is true to life.

Let it speak to coming generations of duty well done. Let its radiant heroic figure be a type of the true American citizen-soldier—ever inch a man, true to his country; ever ready to bare his breast to her foes; undismayed by difficulties; undaunted by danger and unyielding in duty, though death be the cost.

Hitchcock's address reminds us of the character of the American soldiers whom we honor this Memorial Day: "undismayed by difficulties, undaunted by danger, and unyielding in duty, though death be the cost."

American Veterans

 

The above picture, taken on a chilly November afternoon, shows the statue of Color Sergeant George Simpson atop the 125th Pennsylvania monument at Antietam, standing guard over the Antietam battlefield nearly 150 years after that terrible September day. It is a fitting reminder of the countless men and women who have bravely stood guard over this nation and American liberty for over 235 years. Let us honor and remember all our veterans not only today, but each and every day. Perhaps the words of one of Antietam's veterans put it best:

“In the private soldier I seem to see typified the union of purpose, the union of valor, and the union of probity, which gave to this war the benediction of God, and, to our own cause, a glorious victory. Among all nations and throughout all time the soldier, who endures the throes of warfare for the sake of his home and his conceptions of liberty and justice, should merit universal esteem.”

-Captain John Stevenson, veteran of the 100th Pennsylvania, speaking at the dedication for the 100th Pennsylvania Monument at Antietam, September 17, 1904

Prayer at the Dedication of the 125th Pennsylvania Monument at Antietam

One theme which you will notice on this blog from time to time is the discussion of the religious history of the Civil War. There is no doubting that the generation which fought this war was a Christian generation. Soldiers used their faith to understand what they saw and did in battle, and their abiding belief in a Christian God helped them to justify the causes for which they fought. It is not uncommon to read memoirs and letters of soldiers and to find continual discussions of prayer services, Christian revivals, and references to the eternal fates of those who had fallen in battle.


In the course of researching various units at Antietam, I recently came across some of the speeches and ceremonies from the dedication of the 125th Pennsylvania monument. Located behind the Dunker Church, the monument depicts Color Sergeant George Simpson of Company C from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania with the flag he was killed while holding during the battle. This regiment, recruited from Huntingdon, Blair, and Cambria counties in August, 1862, received its baptism by fire in the West Woods at Antietam. The story of the regiment is a fascinating one, as these men had just left their homes and loved ones behind when they suffered the terrible experience of battle on September 17, 1862. A part of the 12th Corps, the 125th PA moved southwards along the Smoketown Road, entering the West Woods and holding their position for some time before being pushed from the field by the brigade of Jubal Early’s men. The 125th PA was one of the only units of the 12th Corps in the West Woods at the time of the Confederate counterattack on that position, and they would lose heavily that day. Starting the day with 700 men present for duty, the losses of the 125th PA came to 54 killed and mortally wounded, 91 seriously wounded, and 84 slightly wounded, totaling 229 casualties.

The following selection is a prayer which was given at the dedication for this monument on September 17, 1904. I found it to be quite moving, and thought it was worth sharing.  It was given by Dr. Theodore L. Flood, a former Lieutenant of Company C., 125th Pennsylvania.

O God, our Father and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we bow our spirits and worship Thee on this ground, consecrated by the blood of our comrades and friends, and where many of us faced death itself that we might perpetuate this nation. We give Thee thanks that we live to see this day—that we may come together to speak of the deeds of valor and of the noble men who fell in our regiment and in our great army on the day of battle more than forty years ago.

We thank Thee that thou didst direct our fathers in the early days of our Nation’s history, and that Thou didst give them wisdom and courage to lay the foundations of this Republic. We give Thee thanks for the wisdom and statesmanship of the great men who perpetuated this nation by their wise action in the halls of Congress, and in the Executive Mansion at Washington. And when we think of the battles that were fought in the Civil War, the defeats that were suffered and the victories won, we raise our hearts to Thee in thanksgiving for the victory achieved on this battlefield, and we thank Thee for the noble part our regiment was permitted to take in that conflict.

And, now, we return to Thee gratitude that so many brave men who fought here survive until this day. We beseech Thee to bless the widows and orphans of our comrades who fell in that battle. Bless all the comrades who remain, and may our gathering to-day be an inspiration of patriotic devotion to our country, and may we here at the altar of liberty, which has been an altar of sacrifice, consecrate ourselves anew to the preservation of this Republic and to the perpetuation of free institutions.

Inspire the men who shall speak on this occasion, and may we all carry to our homes an increased love for our country, and our country’s flag.

Bless our army and navy, the President of the United States and his Cabinet and our National Congress. Bless the Governor of this Commonwealth and our State Legislature. Guide us all in the way or peace that we may never again be called to engage in civil strife, but that we may keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.

These blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.