Near Sharpsburg in Washington County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

90th Pennsylvania

Photographed By Craig Swain, February 9, 2008

1. 90th Pennsylvania Monument

Inscription. Here fought
the
90th Penna. (Phila.)
Sept. 17, 1862
A
hot place

Erected 2004.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1841.

Location. 39° 28.86′ N, 77° 44.677′ W. Marker is near Sharpsburg, Maryland, in Washington County. Marker is on Cornfield Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Located between stops three and four of the driving tour of Antietam Battlefield. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sharpsburg MD 21782, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. 27th Indiana Infantry (a few steps from this marker); 137th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (a few steps from this marker); Ricketts' Division, First Army Corps (a few steps from this marker); 128th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (within shouting distance of this marker); First Army Corps (within shouting distance of this marker); Jackson's Command (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named First Army Corps (within shouting distance of this marker); Battery B (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sharpsburg.

More about this marker. The monument is a sculpture

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of a bucket suspended below a tripod of muskets.

Regarding 90th Pennsylvania. A photo of the original monument can be found in Stephen Recker's Rare Images of Antietam (p. 71). According to the text that accompanies the photo (taken from the Frederick News of August 8, 1900), "When erected the marker will consist of three lacquered rifles formed into a stack, from the apex of which will hang a large camp kettle. Upon the kettle is embellished a Union and Confederate soldiers, with their hands in close proximity engaged in lighting pipes, with the words above them in scroll, 'Let us have peace.' On the reverse side of the kettle is inscribed 'Here fought the the 90th P. V. on the morning of September 17, 1862.'" Inscribed below is, "A hot place." Hence, the camp kettle, which would be used with a hot fire. Adapted from civilwartalk.com

Also see . . . 90th Pennsylvania Monument. National Park Service site detailing the monument. This particular monument is one of the more recently erected. (Submitted on February 23, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

Additional commentary.
1. Previous monument at this location
Looking at an old copy of Blue & Gray magazine, apparently a similar monument

Photographed By Craig Swain, February 9, 2008

2. 90th Pennsylvania Monument

to the 90th Pennsylvania stood here in the early part of the 20th century. The original monument was of the same construction - three stacked muskets with a bucket suspended below. An old black and white photo shows the font for the text was a bit different but with similar wording. A round plaque on a tree behind the marker also used the same text. Parts of the monument were stored by the park. It would be interesting to find out the full story of this monument.

— Submitted February 25, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 18, 2019. It was originally submitted on February 23, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 881 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 23, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.