7th OVI
Sergeant
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2009
- Messages
- 647
In recognition of the 163rd anniversary of the battle 2 days ago, this is a diorama I did on the battle of Antietam. It concerns Battery B of the 4th US artillery. This battery of six bronze 12 pounder Napoleon Model 1857 cannons was used to support the Iron Brigade at the battle of Antietam on September 17th, 1862. Federal batteries in the Civil War generally consisted of six cannons or guns divided into three sections of 2 guns each. The battery joined the early morning advance of the Iron Brigade near the Cornfield. Here is the description of the depicted scene from 2nd Lieutenant James Stewart as written in the after-action report on September 20th, 1862 for the events of September 17th at the battle of Antietam:
“I was ordered by General Gibbon to bring my section forward and place it in position, about 75 yards distant from and to the left of the turnpike, for the purpose of shelling the woods, distant from 800 to 900 yards, directly in my front.
After shelling for some time, General Gibbon ordered the section to be still farther advanced to a position in front of some straw-stacks, about 30 yards to the right of the turnpike. As soon as I came into battery in this position, I observed large bodies of the enemy from 400 to 500 yards distant and ordered the guns to be loaded with spherical case, 1¼ and 1½ seconds, because the ground was undulating, and not suitable for canister. After firing two or three rounds from each gun, the enemy partially broke, ran across a hollow in front of the section, crossed to the left of the turnpike, entered a corn-field, and, under cover of the fences and corn, crept close to our guns, picking off our cannoneers so rapidly that in less than ten minutes there were 14 men killed and wounded in the section.”
Some additional information, one of the guns of the two-gun section was positioned on the Hagerstown Pike with the other gun in the field next to it. The Hagerstown Pike was paved with crushed stones using a method called “macadamized” as seen in the diorama using small gray stones. The actual post and rail fences on the Hagerstown Pike in 1862 used 6 rails while the ones used in the diorama have only 5 rails. Battery B’s limbers were pulled with teams of 6 gray horses for each gun, which was unusual at the time and made the battery recognizable even at a distance.
Hope you enjoy it.
“I was ordered by General Gibbon to bring my section forward and place it in position, about 75 yards distant from and to the left of the turnpike, for the purpose of shelling the woods, distant from 800 to 900 yards, directly in my front.
After shelling for some time, General Gibbon ordered the section to be still farther advanced to a position in front of some straw-stacks, about 30 yards to the right of the turnpike. As soon as I came into battery in this position, I observed large bodies of the enemy from 400 to 500 yards distant and ordered the guns to be loaded with spherical case, 1¼ and 1½ seconds, because the ground was undulating, and not suitable for canister. After firing two or three rounds from each gun, the enemy partially broke, ran across a hollow in front of the section, crossed to the left of the turnpike, entered a corn-field, and, under cover of the fences and corn, crept close to our guns, picking off our cannoneers so rapidly that in less than ten minutes there were 14 men killed and wounded in the section.”
Some additional information, one of the guns of the two-gun section was positioned on the Hagerstown Pike with the other gun in the field next to it. The Hagerstown Pike was paved with crushed stones using a method called “macadamized” as seen in the diorama using small gray stones. The actual post and rail fences on the Hagerstown Pike in 1862 used 6 rails while the ones used in the diorama have only 5 rails. Battery B’s limbers were pulled with teams of 6 gray horses for each gun, which was unusual at the time and made the battery recognizable even at a distance.
Hope you enjoy it.
