There are six mortuary cannons at Antietam National Military Park in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Finding mortuary cannons at Antietam is not difficult, but they are spread through the battlefield. For bicyclists, a little planning is required.
To skip this electronic “scavenger hunt” exercise and go directly to a map and photos, click here: Antietam Mortuary Cannons.
6 Mortuary Cannons
Three of the six mortuary cannons honor generals from the Army of the Potomac, the Union army that fought at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. And three mortuary cannons honor generals from the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederate army that invaded Maryland from Virginia.
They are listed in the following table, ordered for convenient visitation on a bicycle route.
Mortuary Cannons at Antietam
| # | Name (Wiki link) | 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: Since the mortuary cannons are nearly identical (except, of course, for their inscriptions), this page displays photographs in a table rather than use the slideshow format adopted by other Civil War Cycling Scavenger Hunt pages.
Finding Mortuary Cannons at Antietam
For each monument’s photograph, find its location on the map. (Or you could do it the other way around: For each map location, find the associated monument photograph.)
I am deliberately leaving this work to you as a learning exercise. As you interact with the maps, photographs, and above table, you will find yourself learning more about Antietam National Battlefield.
Then plan a bicycle route that passes each monument. Two routes might be easier to plan and ride. Most convenient is a route that covers the northern half of Antietam battlefield, where you can pass four mortuary cannons near Auto Tour Stops 3, 5, and 8. If you want to see the two cannons that are located in the southern part of the battlefield, I recommend that you add these stops as “extras” to another of thematic tour. (The Branch mortuary cannon is south of Auto Tour Stop 10 and the Rodman cannon is about 0.3 miles in off-road fields.)
Can you find mortuary cannons at Antietam using the following maps? Give it a try! Remember, Civil War Cycling Scavenger Hunts require you to think a little so that you can more easily learn a lot. For each map, you will need to hover over the pins and associate the mortuary cannon abbreviation with the table above.
Maps
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).
Photos
Can you identify each of the following monuments? To check your answer, hover over the image with your mouse or press and hold the image on your mobile device.
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