Sunday, October 05, 2008

The best Antietam hike you've never taken


(unless you were with Tom Clemens two weeks ago)

Brian Downey over at Behind AotW has put together one of the most interesting campaign-related blog entries I've ever read.


On the Trail of the Corn Exchange Regiment
146 years to the day after the historical events, a lucky group of us tracked the unlucky 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers to the places and views of the Battle of Shepherdstown Ford (20 September 1862). Under the capable guidance of Dr Tom Clemens and members of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA), we waded the Potomac, scaled the heights, and walked the field.

Most interesting are descriptions of the river bottom (rocky, not muddy, with stretches of smooth, wagon-friendly slabs of stone). Twelve years ago, the Civil War Forum folks at CompuServe held their inaugural annual gathering at Antietam, with Tom Clemens as our guide. He's as good as they get. If Tom can be imposed upon to reprise this river crossing, I'll be on board for that one. In your visit to Behind AotW, be sure to visit the SBPA site (linked to in the paragraph above).

2 comments:

Mark said...

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the comment, led me to your blog which is really interesting! I added it to my blogroll. I read Milano's paper in college, but don't have a copy, if you could send me a pdf of it, that would be great!
Mark

Anonymous said...

Thanks David, for the notice. It was a great day. You're not alone in admiration for Tom, or in hoping the tour is offered again.