August 08, 2014

***I’ll be away for a few days, so the next post will be Friday, August 15^TH***

**Antietam Friday**

I’ve always thought Antietam’s National Cemetery has a completely different “feel” than Gettysburg’s, though that might just be personal opinion. Whatever the reason, I think this picture somehow illustrates the reverence of a sacred burial ground. In the distance, the large portrait statue fondly known as “Old Simon” lords over the tombstones. According to the National Park Service’s “teachers’ guide” to the cemetery, the soldier monument weighs about 280 tons. And did you know the monument was once displayed in Philadelphia? Many of the Park Service sites have teacher materials with fascinating facts like these.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. WILLIAM J.  ABRAMS

Co. K, 120^TH New York Infantry

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

Pvt. Abrams, a farmer, enlisted in August 1862. At the time his family consisted of wife Sarah, 11-year-old Frances, 4-year-old Charlotte, and 2-year-old Eunice. A son, Ambrose, would be born in October. Pvt. Abrams received a mortal wound to the head at Gettysburg and was buried in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. 


 (c) 2012-2014 Skies of Blue and Gray