Antietam Visit

October 13, 2018
Antietam Battlefield


Our next Girl Scout adventure was to visit the Antietam National Battlefield. Bridget and Johanna had soccer and dance in the morning so we would be late and miss the organized GS ranger program but I decided we would go and explore on our own.  I got lunches packed and wrangled the little ones. When I told Rachael it was time to go, she notified me that her friend was visiting earlier than planned. With Rachael backing out Megan got mad. "If she doesn't have to go than I am not going" I got mad too. And so I left the teens at home and took Bridget and Johanna with me and a lot of extra food for the gorgeous drive out west to Sharpsburg. I am glad it was a long drive because I needed it to reset my mood. On the way Bridget read some chapters of the Magic Tree House book "Civil War on Sunday" out loud for us, it was a good kid friendly introduction to the civil war.

We got there and watched the introduction video. The bloodiest day in US history is a hard subject for adults and was daunting for Johanna to process. The video wasn't gory but it was accurate and she was ready to get moving after that. It was a chilly day and the wind was sharp. We went out to visit some of the monuments, including the Maryland State monument, which was interesting because it had memorials for both union and confederate soliders. The rangers gave the girls Junior Ranger packets and we took the Bloody Lane Trail as I narrated from the trail map and hiked the 1.6 miles. We crossed paths with a Ranger tour and got to listen to his explanations for a little while too.

We were glad to get back to the visitor center and explore the museum exhibits out of the wind before we got back in the van for snacks and our trip home.