125th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry - Antietam National Battlefield - Sharpsburg, MD - Specific Veteran Memorials on Waymarking.com

Near Sharpsburg, within the Antietum National Battlefield, is this memorial to the 125th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

The memorial stands east of the Dunker Church, a prominent landmark at the junction of Dunker Church Rd and Smoketown Rd. It is along a paved path about 300 ft west of the church. It is just north of the path.

The monument is stone, with bronze tablets on it. The top feature is of a young soldier with his left encircling the flag and the right drawing out a sword. This figure is on a pedestal that has both rough and finely hewn features.

Near the top of the pedestal is this text,

"Color Sargent
George A. Simpson
Killed at Antietam"

Below that is a bronze plaque with the following:

"125th
Pennsylvania
Volunteer
Infantry
1st Brigade 1st Division
12th Corps
---
Recruited in Blair
Huntincook and Cambria
Couties Penna."

To the left is an engraved star.

To right is the following (taken from Wikipedia):

"MOVED AT EARLY DAWN FROM BIVOUAC
ON FARM OF GEORGE LINE TO EAST WOODS
NEAR POINT WHERE GEN. J.K.F. MANSFIELD
WAS MORTALLY WOUNDED FROM THERE TO
SUPPORT MONROE'S FIRST RHODE ISLAND
BATTERY ON SMOKETOWN ROAD THEN TO
WOODS THAT STOOD HERE SEPTEMBER 17
1862. WAS THE FIRST UNION REGIMENT
THEREIN BEING FAR ADVANCED AND WITHOUT
SUFFICIENT SUPPORT IT WAS OUTFLANKED BY
THE ENEMY AND RETIRED BEHIND BATTERIES
IN FIELD IN REAR AND SUBSEQUENTLY
SAVED THE GUNS OF MONROE'S BATTERY
FROM CAPTURE. REMAINED IN LINE UNTIL
CLOSE OF BATTLE MONUMENT IS NEAR
THE LEFT OF ITS MAIN LINE OF BATTLE.
LOSS AT ANTIETAM

KILLED AND DIED OF WOUNDS 54
SERIOUSLY WOUNDED 91
SLIGHTLY WOUNDED AND NOT REPORTED 84
[TOTAL] 229"

When we visited the battlefield, we went with a Ranger Guided group to this location where the Ranger told the battle at this location and specifically of this infantry and the soldier engraved. In general,this was a green unit that suddenly found itself in the middle of hot battle and lost a lot in that battle. One of the aspects of the battle is that people holding onto the colors were usually shot at and didn't last long in that capacity.

Website pertaining to the memorial: [Web Link] List if there are any visiting hours: Hours for the park, generally daylight hours. Entrance fees (if it applies): $5 Type of memorial: Monument

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