December 13, 2013

**Antietam Friday**

My favorite place on the Antietam National Battlefield would have to be Dunker Church. Though the walls aren’t original, some original material was used to rebuild it, and the church’s age is tangible. So is its history. I enjoy standing inside and making observations, taking photos, and feeling at peace. I love the smell of old wood, the creak of old floors, the views from the windows --- while I enjoy touring the whole battlefield, this is definitely a gem.

There isn’t much to see inside the church, but it’s still intriguing. The pews and the old furnace still stand as silent sentinels just as they did in September 1862 (or at least their original predecessors did). It’s always fairly quiet here. And lonely. (Which is just the way I like it). If you look out the windows facing the road, you can see the Visitor Center and various farm fields including Miller’s infamous Cornfield. Straight ahead from this direction is the Maryland State Memorial, shown above. This is my favorite Antietam monument. The opposite wall of Dunker Church has a view of the mysterious woodland tangle known as West Woods.

**HONORED TODAY**

CPT. ROBERT MCCAY FO(R)STER, Sr.

Co. C, 148^TH Pennsylvania Infantry

Born 1826 --- Died July 02, 1863 at age 37

Cpt. Forster (some say Foster) bravely led his men to the Wheatfield on the afternoon of July 02^ND, but it would be his last battle. He took a shot to the head during the fighting and never awakened. He was mourned by wife Delila and six children, 13-year-old twin boys William and Thomas, 11-year-old Mary, 7-year-old Adaline, 5-year-old Christine, and 3-year-old Robert, his namesake. Cpt. Forster was later buried at Spring Creek Presbyterian Cemetery in State College, PA.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray