The stone observatory on the Bloody lane is now finished and ready for visitors. The view from this point alone is worth a visit to the famous Bloody lane as you can take in the entire right to the left nearly four miles. There will be, when all planted, nearly four hundred markers, giving one a good idea of the entire battle field with the advantage of the good roads. Every body ought to visit it and make a study of this great battle.
Truth - stranger than fiction
Submitted by StephenRecker on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 8:54pm
I stopped by the Antietam VC today just to see what was going on. John Hoptak, South Mountain author and expert, was holding down the fort. Never one to pass up a chance to pick the brain of an Antietam authority, I asked John what he thought of the Berks County Historical Society. He said he thought it was a great place with lots of wonderful holdings.
I explained that I was researching a particular soldier from the 128th PA who had taken photos of the battlefield in the 1880s. Much to my surprise, John opened a book he had on the counter and pulled out two copy photographs. Pointing to one of them he exclaimed "That's your guy." I could not believe it. It was spectacular to be looking into the face of this photographer I had been studying for a few years. It was also mind-boggling that John just happened to have his photograph at the ready.
We had a good laugh and as a thank-you I shared some of what I knew about this soldier. John also suggested where I might look to find out some more. It just goes to show ya, it never hurts to ask!
About
Hello. I'm Stephen Recker and welcome to my blog. In it I will be discussing the different projects I am working on related to the American Civil War with a focus on photography related to the battle of Antietam. I am particularly interested in how the battlefield has been interpreted throughout the years. I will be discussing how it was done then and how new technologies can be brought to bear to bring life to those old materials as well as new ones. See the 99 Places Every Antietam Battlefield Guide Should Know.
Sharpsburg Items
Antietam Valley Record
Thursday, September 5, 1895