Six generals (three Union, three Confederate) were mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam. The U. S. War Department erected six Antietam mortuary cannons in 1898 to commemorate their service and death as a result of wounds sustained in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The cannons are re-purposed Model 1857 12-Pounder Light Field Guns, also called “Napoleons” after their introduction in Europe under Napoleon III.
Each four-foot bronze cannon is mounted upside-down on a four-by-four-foot stone pedestal that marks the approximate location where the general fell. Their greenish-blue color is the result of iron oxidation.
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Northern Half of Antietam Battlefield
Four mortuary cannons are located north of the Observation Tower on the Sunken Road, also called Bloody Lane.
Southern Half of Antietam Battlefield
Two mortuary cannons are located west of the Burnside Bridge and south of Boonsboro Pike (Route 34).
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| # | Cannon Image | Name | Life | Wound, Death, Burial | Cannon Location | Command | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1  |  | Brig. Gen. George B. Anderson (CSA) | 1831-1862 | Foot, Oct 16, Buried in NC | Richardson Avenue (Bloody Lane) | 2nd, 4th, 14th, 30th NC Infantry (CSA) | LCD ID 008182 #111; HMdb #5498 |
2  |  | Brig. Gen. Lawrence O. Branch (CSA) | 1820-1862 | Head, Sept 17, Buried in NC | Branch Avenue (Final Attack Area) | 7th, 18th, 28th, 33rd, 37th NC Infantry (CSA) | LCS ID 008183 #075; HMdb #6692 |
3  |  | Maj. Gen. Joseph K. F. Mansfield | 1803-1862 | Chest, Sept 18, Buried in CT | Mansfield Road (East Woods) | 12th Corps (USA) | LCS ID 008184 #008; HMdb #5998 |
4  |  | Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson | 1815-1862 | Foot, Nov 3, Buried in MI | Richardson Avenue (Bloody Lane) | 1st Division, Sumner’s 2nd Corps (USA) | LCS ID 008186 #049; HMdb #5623 |
5  |  | Brig. Gen. Isaac P. Rodman | 1822-1862 | Left lung, Sept 30, Buried in RI | Trail off Harper’s Ferry Road (Final Attack Area) | 3rd Division, Burnside’s 9th Corps (USA) | LCS ID 008187 #078; HMdb #6781 |
6  |  | Brig. Gen. William Starke (CSA) | 1814-1862 | Three wounds, Sept 17, Buried in VA | Starke Avenue (West Woods) | Brigade in Thomas J. Jackson’s Division (CSA) | LCS ID 008184 #008; HMdb #6980 |
Note: Steve Hawks’ Stone Sentinels web site offers nicely formatted Orders of Battle for the Battle of Antietam. See Army of the Potomac (Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan) and the Army of Northern Virginia (Gen. Robert E. Lee). Please note that those web pages are heavy with pop-up advertising.
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