Sharpsburg, a village
of a few hundred inhabitants, lies on the reverse slope of the ridge,
extending in the direction of the Potomac, and only the church
steeples were visible to the Federals. Above the hamlet was the
Confederate centre. Here, near a limestone boulder, which stood in a
plot which is now included in the soldiers' cemetery, was Lee's
station during the long hours of September 17, and from this point he
overlooked the whole extent of his line of battle. A mile northward,
on the Hagerstown pike, his loft centre was marked by a square white
building, famous under the name of the Dunkard Church, and backed by
a long dark wood. To the right, a mile southward, a bold spur,
covered with scattered trees, forces the Antietam westward, and on
this spur, overlooking the stream, he had placed his right.
(MAP OF SHARPSBURG, MARYLAND)
Between the Hagerstown pike and the Antietam the open slopes,
although not always uniform, but broken, like those on the French
side of the Sauerbach, by long ravines, afforded an admirable field
of fire. The lanes which cross them are sunk in many places below the
surface: in front of Sharpsburg the fields were divided by low stone
walls; and these natural intrenchments added much to the strength of
the position.
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