Pennsylvania monuments at Antietam
The monument at Antietam to Battery D, Pennsylvania Independent Light Artillery is east of Sharpsburg on Branch Avenue. (Branch Avenue North tour map) It was dedicated on September 17, 1904.
The battery was commanded by Captain George W. Durell for its entire three years of service. At Antietam, after crossing Burnside’s Bridge it was engaged for over two hours, finally being withdrawn when its ammunition was exhausted.
Text from the monument:
Durell’s
Independent
Battery “D”
Pennsylvania
Artillery
2nd Brigade 2nd Division
9th Corps
posted 375 yards South
70 Degrees East
Casualties at Antietam
Wounded 3
Recruited in Berks and Bucks Counties
Battles participated in
Kelly’s Ford Jackson
Bristoe Station Wilderness
Second Bull Run Spotsylvania
Chantilly Petersburg
South Mountain The Crater
Antietam Ream’s Station
White Sulphur Springs Poplar Spring Church
Fredericksburg Fort Stedman
Vicksburg Assault on Petersburg
The intertwined anchor and cannon symbol of the Ninth Corps, a reference to its beginning in amphibious landings along the North Carolina coast, is at the base of the monument.
Location of the monument
The monument to Battery D, Pennsylvania Independent Light Artillery is southeast of Sharpsburg on the east side of Branch Avenue about 0.3 mile south of Old Burnside Bridge Road (39°27’03.9″N 77°44’24.1″W).
See more on the history of Battery D, Pennsylvania Independent Light Artillery in the Civil War