Antietam | Sunken Road | Sep 17, 1862

The remaining II Corps divisions of Brig. Gens. William French and Israel Richardson moved forward to support John Sedgwick’s left. General George Sears Greene’s division from the XII Corps still held the open ground near the Dunker Church, so French and Richardson advanced on Greene’s left. There, they met Gen. D. H. Hill’s division taking cover in a fence-lined sunken farm road. Laying low behind fence rails, Hill’s men inflicted hundreds of casualties on the Yankees as they advanced over open ground in front of the road. Confederate artillery around the Piper farm also caused heavy casualties, including mortally wounding Richardson. The Irish Brigade under Gen. Thomas F. Meagher led Richardson’s charge on the sunken lane, suffering 540 casualties. Rebel brigade commander Brig. Gen. George B. Anderson was wounded defending the “Bloody Lane,” dying later following an amputation.