Fences--Part 1 of 3

Illustration 1. The George Poffenberger farmstead, ca. 1896. The
Hagerstown Pike is on the right.

Part 1 of a three part entry on fences bordering the West Woods.

There are numerous important resources available to the Antietam student--diaries, correspondence, ORs (well, mostly). Two resources that are key are the papers of Ezra Carman[1] and the series of maps produced in 1904 and 1908 [2] that depict movements throughout the day--some in 30 minute segments.

Recently, ANB Ranger Keith Snyder forwarded to me a photo of the West Woods taken from the Dunkard Church looking north up the Hagerstown Pike.

Illustration 2. Detail from Poffenberger farm photo above.
Note the Virginia worm fence on the right side of the
Hagerstown Pike and in the distance the post and rail
fence. Compare this image with the Cope-Carman
map detail below. Click on photo to enlarge.

The photo (illustration 1) shows the farmstead of George Poffenberger and in the distance the Philadelphia Brigade Monument and the William Starke mortuary cannon. Since the Philadelphia monument was dedicated in September 1896, the photo must have been taken about that time.

The photo is interesting in and of itself as it helps us understand the various changes this historic property has gone through over the past 149 years.

It also gives us some additional information on the value of the Cope-Carman maps. Note the detail on the extreme left of the image (illustration 2)--the fence line on the east side of the Hagerstown Pike. As you view the image, notice that the fence in the foreground is what is termed variably as a Virginia worm fence, zigzag rail fence, or snake fence. Further up the Pike, you'll notice that the fence changes to a pole fence (or post and rail fence) with the familiar horizontal rails. Now compare this fence sequence with the Cope-Carman map of 1908 (illustration 3)--it is the same sequence.

Illustration 3
Detail from the Cope-Carman
Map, 8:00 series, 1908
edition, Library of Congress.
The zig zag lines on east
side of the Pike represent
the Virginia worm fence
while the dot-dash lines
represent the post hole
fence further north.

Does this photograph show the fencing that defined the field in September 1862? Maybe. Fencing made of chestnut, locust, or oak would certainly last that long, especially the kind of worm fence construction with minimal ground contact (i.e., post and hole). Nevertheless, the fencing apparently was maintained over the years and the configuration, as evidenced by the map and photo, prove the original fence line and style remained the same.

While I suppose I should not be surprised that the mapmakers got things right, the photographic evidence that they did so makes these maps all that more trustworthy and therefore valuable to historians, visitors, and trampers.

Notes:

[1] The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Ezra A. Carman's Definitive Study of the Union and Confederate Armies at Antietam, edited by Joseph Pierro (New York: Routledge, 2008). Historian Thomas Clemens is also producing a two volume edition of the Carman papers. The first volume, now published, is devoted to the South Mountain battles and contains many annotations and an excellent map series.  Volume 2, on Antietam, will be going to press shortly.  The Maryland Campaign of 1862. Volume 1, South Mountain, edited by Thomas Clemens (New York: Savas Beatie, 2010).
[2] The full citation of the Cope-Carman maps is: Atlas of the battlefield of Antietam, prepared under the direction of the Antietam Battlefield Board, lieut. col. Geo. W. Davis, U.S.A., president, gen. E.A. Carman, U.S.V., gen. H Heth, C.S.A. Surveyed by lieut. col. E.B. Cope, engineer, H.W. Mattern, assistant engineer, of the Gettysburg National Park. Drawn by Charles H. Ourand, 1899. Position of troops by gen. E. A. Carman. Published by authority of the Secretary of War, under the direction of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1908.  You can retrieve the entire series at the Library of Congress' American Memory Project at http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?gmd:65:./temp/~ammem_u20M::

Philadelphia Brigade Park

The Philadelphia Brigade Park is stop number 5 on the auto tour of the field. It is marked by a stone obelisk rising 73 feet above the surrounding 11 acre park. A recent study by Susan W. Trail titled, Remembering Antietam: Commemoration and Preservation of a Civil War Battlefield [1] describes the creation of Antietam National Battlefield. In it she describes how the Philadelphia Brigade Park came to be.

During the 1890s, national parks were established to commemorate the conflicts at Gettysburg, Shiloh, Chickamauga/Chattanooga, Vicksburg, and Antietam. Soon states and veterans organizations began erecting regimental, brigade, and state monuments along the roads and fields of these parks. At Antietam, the Philadelphia Brigade Association sought a suitable location to erect memorials to the four brigades--the 69th, 71st, 72nd, and 106th Pennsylvania--who fought under Oliver O. Howard and who were collectively known as the Philadelphia Brigade.

In the early spring of 1895, the Association contacted Antietam Battlefield Board President Major George B. Davis about creating monuments to each of the brigades' four regiments. Davis, in reply, expressed his "dislike of 'tombstones' across the battlefield, recommending instead that it erect one monument to the entire Brigade." p. 250.

The Association, adopting Davis' suggestion, then met with Ezra Carman in mid-August to select the monument's location. The property the Association wanted was owned by George H. Poffenberger, a farmer with a cantankerous reputation and a keen eye for profit. "The members had intended on buying a small lot just large enough to hold the monument, but when Poffenberger offered to sell them 1/4 acre for the exorbitant price of $400, or eleven acres for $1,000, they quickly chose the latter after consultation with Gen. Carman." p. 250.

With an agreement in hand, the Association began raising funds to purchase the land, make improvements, and build a suitable monument to the brigade. Of the contributors, the Pennsylvania State Legislature gave $5,000--a generous sum but less than what they would have given for four individual brigade monuments--which were allocated by the state at $1,500 each.

On September 17, 1896, the Association joined by governors from Pennsylvania and Maryland and "a substantial number of veteran's organizations" gathered to dedicate the park. p. 251.

While the Association had intended to turn its new park over to the War Department, this action was delayed. One possible reason was a "dispute arising over surplus cannon balls that the Secretary of War had agreed to provide the Association to embellish the grounds of the park. Evidently, the Association believed that this agreement included the cannon carriages, and did not find out otherwise until less than two weeks before the dedication. The controversy continued for another year, until the Secretary of War finally rescinded his original agreement." p. 251, note 22.

Left with the responsibilities of administering the park, the Association turned to the City of Philadelphia who took over the park in 1903. George H. Poffenberger was hired as caretaker--something he neglected and his employers regretted. As complaints about the condition of the Park rose, a military investigation found "a locked gate [to the park entrance], 'many benches scattered about, helter skelter, and an unsightly wire fence strung within the ornamental iron fence to keep in sheep that the caretaker is reported to pasture there to save the use of lawn mower." p. 311.

The Hagerstown Chamber of Commerce then got involved. Led by John B. Ferguson, the Chamber contacted the City of Philadelphia in May 1932 to propose that the city open the park to the public, dismantle the troublesome gate under the control of Poffenberger, and turn the maintenance of the park over to the War Department which was doing a good job with other parts of the field. The title to the park would be transfered to the War Department as well. After a number of false starts, the park came into the National Park Service hands in September 1940. p. 360.

The Third Delaware monument in the field due north of the Philadelphia obelisk in 1964 marked the final addition to the Philadelphia Brigade Park .

Today parts of the original fencing can still be seen marking the the 11 acre original purchase. The property to the south all the way to the Dunkard Church and to the west to the by-pass are now in NPS hands and a master plan for the West Woods (and the original Philadelphia Brigade Park) envisions a careful restoration of field and buildings to September 17, 1862.

Notes:

[1] All page references are to: Susan W. Trail, Remembering Antietam: Commemoration and Preservation of a Civil War Battlefield. Dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park, 2005.

All photographs in black and white or sepia from the Antietam National Battlefield Library, courtesy of NPS Ranger Allan Schmidt.

Photo 1. The Philadelphia Brigade Park, ca. 1935. The two small signs to the right and left of the roadway read: (left sign) "Battlefield Visitors May Lunch Here 9 AM Till Dusk, No Entrance After Dusk"; (right sign) "Keep Motor Cars Off The Grass, Park 45o on Driveway."
Photo 2. The troublesome gate, ca. 1926.
Photo 3. Looking north to the Philadelphia Brigade Monument from the Dunker church, ca. 1950s. The George H. Poffenberger farmstead is in the far left of the frame.
Photo 4. The same shooting location as Photo 3 but a few years later. Looking north to the Brigade Monument from the Dunkard Church, ca. 1960.
Photo 5. Workers setting cement fence posts along the southern boundary of the original 11 acre Philadelphia Brigade Park, ca. 1930s.
Photo 6. Cement fence posts and rusted fence wire still mark the boundary of the original Brigade Park. Debris from the George H. Poffenberger farmstead still litter the newly-acquired property.