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  A deeply grooved farm road outside Sharpsburg, Maryland, became the "Bloody Lane" of the Antietam battlefield after Confederates used it as a defensive position. The Rebels in the lane dealt out as much punishment as they received before being forced to withdraw. One Union regiment remembered it as "Death's Road." Here are two of the three photographs that Alexander Gardner made of the road during burial operations two days after the battle. By the time Gardner arrived late in the afternoon on September 19, 1862, most of the bodies in the lane had been removed. In the bottom view, his camera was aimed at a part of the lane that had been cleared of bodies, with an isolated group of bodies in the mid-distance. In the top view, he moved his camera up to the group of bodies for a close-up view of the gruesome scene. Both camera positions are easily identifiable on the battlefield today. The lay of the road is almost unchanged, making these images among the easiest of Civil War photographs to relate to. Scroll down to the back of the view.   Top view: This view was probably printed within a few weeks after the battle of Antietam, because it carries a rare, original Brady's Album Gallery backmark. After Gardner left Brady's employ, probably in late 1862 or early 1863, stereo views ceased being issued under the Brady's Album Gallery label and began appearing with a Gardner's Gallery backmark. Bottom view: Gardner's own name for the road was "Ditch on Right Wing." The road, however, was located in the central part of the battlefield. This view has an 1863 copyright date on the front, although the image was actually copyrighted in 1862. |
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