NC Thanksgiving Trip: Antietam Battlefield

November 20th

I drove the short distance from Hagerstown, Maryland, where I had spent the night across rolling hills and on a two-lane road.  Upon arriving in Sharpsburg (the Confederate name for the battle after the town), I found out why I could not find any motels in town during a search on the internet before leaving home.  There were none.

I had wanted to eat breakfast in town, which is past the National Park Service Visitors Center and maybe strike up a conversation with some locals or other Civil War buffs.  But, there were no restaurants other than a couple bars that advertised food, but neither appeared open.

I did pass the Battle View Market, which appeared to be more a small grocery store than anything else.  I went inside to get a coffee and doughnut, but found they also had regular breakfasts, so I ordered an omelet that turned out to be very so-so.  The locals really kept to themselves so no conversation was struck. 

They did, however, have battle souvenirs and even dug bullets.

I later heard at the battlefield that the town of Sharpsburg has passed laws keeping the town looking as much as it did in 1862 as possible and that there would be none of the Gettysburg hoopla surrounding this battlefield.

Then, I went to the visitors center.  --RoadDog