Sunday, April 29, 2007

The boys of Pennslyvania

My favorite monuments anywhere are the Pennslyvania monuments at Antietam National battlefield. They are like a wonderful matched set of toy soldiers. Slightly larger than life size , they all follow the same design format, a realistic soldier on a simple pedestal. most of them are carved from stone, four of them are cast in bronze, but they all follow the same general design in shape size and subject. I really like them, and I have since I first encountered them as a kid. Their humanity makes the very accessible and sympathetic.

Published in 1906, the book "Pennsylvania at Antietam", edited by Oliver C. Bobbyshell, reviewed most of these monuments.
That volume is where the specific titles for the monuments can be found.

Join me now for a review of the PA monuments as we drive down the springtime battlefield tour route.

125th PA "Color Sergeant George A. Simpson"




124th PA "The Infantryman"




7th PA




4th PA




32nd PA





8th PA





12th PA Cavalry "The Cavalryman"





128th PA "On the Firing Line"






137th PA "Handle Cartridge"





130th PA "Rest"




132nd PA "The Color Bearer"




50th PA "Brig.-Gen'l Benjamin C. Chirst"




45th PA "Tear Cartridge"




100th PA "Challenge"



51st PA "Skirmisher"




Durell's Battery of Artillery "Watching Effect of Shot"




48th PA "Brig.-Gen'l James Nagle"

Collect the whole set, just north (and south) of Sharpsburg.

Ranger Mannie

3 comments:

John David Hoptak said...

Good thing none of these Pennsylvania regiments fought at Gettysburg...or there wouldn't be any at Antietam!
Great post, Mannie

David Williamson said...

Great photos. We visitied Antietam Sept 2005 and were taken by the serenity of the park, knowing full well what happened there.

As Canadians many do not have a true appreciation of this event in history.

Great site Manny. I'd love to converse with you about the park.
David

Anonymous said...

Hey Mannie, the 7th PA and 128th PA appear...um, remarkably similar. Any chance something was mislabeled/transposed?

Heh. I am a small and shallow person to take glee in catching such a trivial error. Jealousy will do that to a person. :)

M. Bickerdyke