Connecticut Monuments at Antietam
The monument to the 16th Connecticut Infantry Regiment at Antietam is about 150 yards east of Branch Avenue on the Otto farm. (Branch Avenue South tour map) It was dedicated on October 8, 1894. (see a view of the monument from Branch Avenue)
Monument to the 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Antietam
Colonel Francis Beach commanded the 16th Connecticut Infantry at the Battle of Antietam. The regiment was only two weeks off the train from Connecticut. It was almost totally innocent of military training and experience when it was thrown into the fight. They had loaded their muskets for the first time on the day before the battle.
The 16th Connecticut had crossed Antietam Creek and was advancing through a field of tall corn up the hill toward Sharpsburg when it was struck in the flank by A.P. Hill’s surprise counterattack. The regiment lost a quarter of its men killed and wounded in the confusion and retreat that followed.
Text from the east side of the monument:
16th Connecticut
Vol. Infantry
2nd Brigade
3rd Division
9th Army Corps
Text from the south side:
Number engaged – 779
Casualties
Killed 43
Wounded 161
Total 204
Text from the west side:
Position of
the 16th Conn.
Vol. Infantry
5 P.M. – Sept. 17, 1862
Text from the north side:
Erected
by the
State of
Connecticut
1894
Closeup of the bronze bas-relief from the monument
Location of the monument
The monument to the 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry is southeast of Sharpsburg. It is about 150 yards east of Branch Avenue and about 0.5 mile south of Burnside Bridge Road. (39°26’52.6″N 77°44’22.2″W)