The Farms of Antietam: Their Role In The Battle Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Joseph Hooker, a Union general, used the barn at the Joseph Poffenberger farm at Antietam as his headquarters. The land also served as the jumping off point for the Federal assault south towards Dunker Church. As the day progressed the farm had scores of hungry, wounded, and exhausted Union troops ransack the house and buildings. Much of the contraband was used to feed and care for the hurt and dying. What woman, who later would found the American Red Cross, was there to aid them?

Answer: Clara Barton

On September 17, 1862, Union soldiers laid waste to the Poffenberger Farm. They had been viciously fighting all morning and broke into the house to seek food, clothing, and mementos. Fences were burned for firewood and Army horses were turned loose to forage in what remained of the fields. Hay and corn, saved for the winter, was confiscated for bedding and food to aid the wounded. Clara Barton, who had traveled to the battle site armed with bandages and provisions, aided the overworked surgeons and medics.

She diligently worked off to the side of the notorious "Corn Field" and, at one point, watched as a stray bullet flew through her clothes. She would, after the war, go on to found the American Red Cross. Meanwhile, the Poffenberger family returned after the battle to find "nothing left".

They filed federal claims but never received compensation for their huge losses.

2. The farm of D. R. Miller lies on a little hill just above Hagerstown Pike near Sharpsburg, Maryland. As it turns out, this site happened to be near the exact center of the bloodiest square mile in American military history. On the morning of September 17 of 1862 the house was quickly converted to a field hospital. Also using this site as a base of operations were men hired by "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" and "Harper's Weekly". What did men like Alfred Waud, on the scene at the D. R. Miller Farm, contribute to these periodicals?

Answer: Detailed sketches of battles and aftermath

By the early 1850s, various weekly illustrated newspapers were circulating throughout the United States. During the Civil War, the majority of this work continued to thrive in the larger Northern cities. The images in these periodicals were sketched "live" on the battlefields by men like Alfred Waud and then sent back to the home office to be engraved. Photographs could be viewed, but technology in 1862 was not sufficient to mass produce them in newspapers.

Therefore, sketches acted like the "eye on the action".

The artists often spent time at the actual battle and also sketched the aftermath. Waud and others of his profession spent time at the Miller farm-turned-hospital sharing the horror of that September day.

3. The Alfred Poffenberger farm consisted of a rough log cabin and acres of farmland located in the West Woods beyond the Hagerstown Pike near what would be the Antietam battle field. Very heavy fighting occurred here on September 17, 1862 between the Confederate forces led by Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson and Union forces under Gen. John Sedgwick. The farmstead started the day as a Confederate troop staging area then quickly morphed to a triage station where casualties were given first-aid and loaded on ambulance wagons . A common model of this wagon, utilized by both sides, was the "Wheeling" model developed by a Union general. Who was this military leader who engineered the light, maneuverable model pulled by two horses?

Answer: William Rosecrans

By 7:30 am on the morning of September 17th, the Federal Second Corps was heading into the West Woods at Antietam to flank Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's left. During the confusion across the battlefields and due to the nature of the woody terrain, communication was lost.

A brutal fight broke out in front of Alfred Poffenberger's farmhouse. Within a fifteen minute window of time, Gen. Sedgwick had lost fifty percent of his troops. Casualties on both sides required an ambulance station. Continuous lines of wagons, originally designed by Rosecrans, lined up to carry the wounded to field hospitals.

These wagons were pulled by two horses and could carry eleven to twelve seated men or two prone with several sitting. Spaces below held medical supplies, water, or extra stretcher space. Survivors of this particular battle later recounted tales of the Poffenberger barnyard cats weaving among the sick and dying as they were loaded on ambulance wagon trains.

4. In 1862, the farmstead of Samuel Mumma consisted of a large house, a barn, a springhouse, and various outbuildings. By all accounts the house was well furnished and nicely decorated and even contained a library full of leather bound books. The Mumma family had also donated some of their acreage to house the now-famous Dunker Church. Early on the morning of September 17, 1862, what orders were the troops under Confederate Gen. D.H. Hill given to do concerning the Mumma site?

Answer: Burn the farm

The order was given early in the morning to burn the Mumma property in order to keep it from becoming a staging point for advancing Union troops that were pouring down from the northern end of the battle field. The wooden structures burned for hours and created a tall smoke column seen for miles as well as adding to the heavy haze already flowing over the battle field from all of the gunfire. To add to the confusion, heavy fighting broke out at the Mumma farm between the Union troops under Gen. Alpheus Williams and the Confederates under Gen. John Hood.

The Mumma family lost everything from the house to the hog pens and kept only the clothes on their back and a gold watch they snatched before vacating the home. The house was later rebuilt using charred bricks from the property.

5. The William Roulette farm has, as one of its borders, a lane called the Sunken Road. After the battle of Antietam, also known as Sharpsburg, the road was renamed Bloody Lane due to the amount of corpses piled in the low, rutted path. As fighting surged back and forth at this site, Confederates used one particular Roulette building as a hideaway and makeshift triage area. What was this cooling location?

Answer: Springhouse

Confederate skirmishers, leaving the Sunken Road, advanced to the Roulette farm and met stiff resistance. They held their positions in outbuildings around the property. The springhouse, with its rare spring and cooling, precious water was of particular use.

Some Confederates actually became prisoners there when the 14th Connecticut Brigade overran the site and locked the Confederates in the dark building. The Southerns soon retreated to the "Bloody Lane" only to die by the score before finally withdrawing from the battle field. Years later, in 1891, veterans returned to the farm to gather around the site and the springhouse specifically.

6. The Henry Piper farm was situated just south of the Sunken Road at Antietam and was home to the Piper family, several slaves, and a free black field hand. The property also boasted the only commercial apple orchard in the area during the summer of 1862. On the afternoon of September 15 of that year, the Pipers were paid a visit by a Confederate general to tell them he was utilizing their house and gardens for his headquarters. Who is this general referred to as "My Old War Horse" by Robert E. Lee and known to others as "Ole Pete"?

Answer: James Longstreet

Gen. Longstreet and fellow Confederate general D.H. Hill chose the Piper family farm as their headquarters. The terrain around them was rolling and often caused optical illusions about distance. The Piper farm and orchard offered a good vantage point of a large portion of the proposed battle field. On the evening of September 15, 1862, the two generals dined with the family where Longstreet declined the offer of wine, to avoid poisoning, until his host drank first.

The family left the property soon after and the farm became the center of Lee's overall defensive line.

The Union advanced to almost a few hundred yards of the house and trees where Longstreet stood. Lee's lines stood but over 5,000 men on both sides were casualties of this part of the battle.

7. The farm of Joseph Sherrick had a four story house that, unlike its neighbors, was built directly over a fresh water spring. The site is located between Town Run and Antietam Creek water sources and was the gathering point for exhausted Union soldiers who finally crossed the creek bed under withering fire from the Confederates. On September 19, 1862, Alexander Gardner took some photographs of the aftermath at the farm. Troops from the 22nd Massachusetts had joined their Pennsylvania brethren to scavenge the area of any sustenance. What was the historical nickname of these boys from the 100th Pennsylvania Infantry?

Answer: Roundheads

The 100th Pennsylvania was given their nickname by Union General Winfield Scott who called them "Roundheads" in honor of their Scotch-Irish background. The moniker had been bestowed upon their lineage in the 1600s during the English Civil War. They, along with other Union troops, had been under heavy fire all day while trying to gain the heights held by Confederates.

Many of the men had even resorted to hand-to-hand bayonet combat. Upon reaching the Sherrick farm, they quickly scavenged bulk food stores and canned preserves as well as picking clean the orchards. Alexander Gardner's famous photographs of the farm help show that most of the farmers' destruction of property in the area occurred not by battles but by pillaging of exhausted and hungry soldiers.

8. The morning of September 15, 1862, saw the farm of John Otto overrun with Confederate soldiers. The farm was located on the banks of the Antietam creek and the men under the command of Confederate Gen. Robert Toombs were fed milk, preserves, bread, and butter by the family's slaves. The men were gathering their strength. After the family left, the Georgia soldiers began defending what river crossing that was later named after the Union general leading the charge on September 17?

Answer: Burnside Bridge

The Confederates took the high ground around the John Otto farm that looked down upon a bridge that spanned Antietam Creek. The Union forces were on the other side led by Gen. Ambrose Burnside. The bridge was named Rohrback Bridge at the time and the Confederates were instructed to hold off the Union troops until A.P. Hill and his men could arrive from their march out of Harper's Ferry. Each attempt from the Union to cross the bridge became a futile endeavor as the men were systematically picked off by the Georgia snipers on the opposing bank.

As exhaustion and low ammunition took its toll on the Confederates, the Union troops finally crossed and moved up to the Otto homestead. The farm came out relatively unscathed except for loss of crops and the food and stores eaten by the hungry Georgia boys.

9. The Joshua Newcomer farm sat on a rise just above the Middle Bridge that spans Antietam Creek in Maryland. The farm boasted living quarters as well as a grist mill, a saw mill, and a plaster mill that were all powered by the moving water. The road running over the bridge was also a heavily traveled thoroughfare into the local town of Sharpsburg. On the day of the battle, September 17 of 1862, the 2nd U.S. Artillery, under Capt. Tidball, used the Newcomer farm to fire over 1,200 rounds towards the Confederates in order to clear and protect the bridge for the Union. What was the name of the 20-pounder, large rifled field artillery piece used?

Answer: Parrott rifle

The morning of September 15th in 1862 saw fifteen Confederate brigades pass the mills located on the Newcomer farm and head west toward Hagerstown Pike. By that same afternoon, the Union showed up and set up artillery at the farm on its high ground. They were ordered to protect the bridge and clear the way for troop movement. On the 17th of that month, Capt. Tidball advanced his pieces, under fire, to drive off sharpshooters and fill the space between Gen. Burnside and Gen. Sumner with firepower.

His men spend two hours continuously firing almost 1,200 rounds. The 20-pounder Parrott rifle, utilized at Antietam by the North, was one of the heaviest and most accurate of the guns. They were, however, prone to bursting and causing casualties. Therefore, although there were heavily utilzed on the Newcomer farm, they were not used again after the Civil War.

10. The Philip Pry farmstead sits on a farm lane more than a mile from where the heavy fighting took place at Antietam, also known as Sharpsburg. It had an impressive house and a large Pennsylvania-style barn. On September 15, 1862, Union Gen. George McClellan took over the house as his headquarters. It was here McClellan leisurely rose for breakfast hours after the start of the battle on the 17th and where, that same afternoon, he saw one of his generals come to die of his wounds. Who was this "rising star" of the U.S. Army, nicknamed "Fighting Dick", who died at the Pry farm?

Answer: Israel Richardson

As McClellan made the farm his headquarters on the 15th of September, hundreds of U.S. soldiers camped all over the acreage and rested before their troop movements on the 16th. The 17th dawned with McClellan rising at 8:00 am, well past the start of the battle.

By the time he ate breakfast, Gen. Hooker had already come to the house to have wounds dressed and returned to the fight. During mid-afternoon, Gen. Richardson, who was a strict disciplinarian but beloved leader, was gravely injured at the Sunken Road and was brought to the Pry farm among many other wounded and dying men. Over the next month he lay dying, in extreme pain, and was visited by his wife and infant son as well as by President Abraham Lincoln.

He eventually passed away at the house.

The Pry family lived there for years afterwards but kept the "Richardson Room" closed off.

Source: Author stephgm67

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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September 17th of 1862 was the date of the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. It was the Battle of Antietam (known as Sharpsburg in the South). Discover some little-known details about the farmsteads on the battlefield during that fateful day.

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