Battle of Antietam: Bloody Lane

There was an important battle fought at Antietam and it was called the Bloody Lane. It was 10,000 Union soldiers to 2,200 Confederate soldiers. Union solders, which were backed up with the Irish Brigade, charged the Confederates. The Irish Brigade was made up of Irish immigrants from New York and Massachusetts and flew a green flag with a golden harp on it. The Confederate lines almost collapsed Under the Union’s attack. But more Confederate troops came and, with a combined Confederate solders, numbered nearly 10,000. After 3 hours of viscous battling, the Confederate lines finally collapsed due to heavy losses and retreated back several hundred yards away. But the Union troops had also suffered tons of losses and weren’t able to peruse the advantage. After the battling stopped, an observer said, “ They were lying in rows like ties of a railroad, in heaps like cordwood mingled with the splintered and shattered fence rails. Words are inadequate to portray the scene.” Another quotes, “The bodies in the sunken road were so thick the a man could have walked on them as far as he could see with out touching the ground.” This just shows how brutal war can be.

RANDOM FACT!

Did you know that the USA banned bayonets because the wounds they inflicted can’t be sown up? Even weirder, most counties agreed!