Lee’s Artillery Battalion

Cannons representing Confederate artillery that was positioned across from the Dunker Church.

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Pets Allowed

Confederate Col. Stephen D. Lee held this position with about nineteen guns, including units from Virginia, Louisiana, and South Carolina. After three desperate hours, Lee’s guns were finally driven from this position by long-range artillery fire from across Antietam Creek (one mile to the east) and by a series of Union attacks during the morning hours of the battle. Lee wrote, “A converging storm of iron slammed into the batteries from front and flank. Wheels smashed, men knocked down, horses sent screaming; to stay on that field was to sacrifice units needlessly.” Of the 300 men Lee commanded, 25% were killed or wounded and 60 horses were lost. Four types of Civil War cannons that represent Colonel Lee’s position are on display.