Palmetto Soldiers Relief Society

The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy (Rhonda Biaocco, Vicki Evans, Carol Hardman, Jean Hutchinson, and Margaret Wilbanks) were privileged to be invited to participate in the Anniversary of the Battle of Sharpsburg (or Antietam, as the Yankees call it) on September 15, 16, and 17.

On the journey there, the Sisters toured Harper’s Ferry and the folks there have never seen such enthusiastic and joyous tourists! We visited all of the historic sites in the village, took a very informative tour, and discovered several wonderful bookshops.

Upon our arrival in Sharpsburg, we set up camp next to the Pry Farm Barn. This huge barn was there during the battle and served as a hospital for approximately one thousand, eight hundred men. Research has indicated that several nuns from neighboring Emmitsburg were summoned to the hospital to help care for the wounded and were reported to have stayed there until late October. We understand that some of the Sisters actually went into areas where the fighting had been particularly fierce and built shelters for the wounded men who could not be moved.

We participated with the surgeons in caring for the soldiers, who were portrayed with a variety of terrible and very realistic wounds. Sister Carol cooked chicken and dumplings on her new iron stove; Sister Margaret washed and washed bloody bandages, Mother Vicki rolled many, many bandages, and Sisters Rhonda and Jean nursed the wounded and provided them with words of comfort.

The highlight of our trip came at 4:30 on the morning of Sunday, September 17. The gentlemen invited us to go with them to the edge of the cornfield at that early hour, in the fog and chill, to stand where the Confederate Army stood as the battle began at 4:30am on September 17, 1862. It was a very moving experience to be at that spot at that time. We all wondered what these brave men must have been thinking as they waited for the Union army to come up over the hill.

We also visited several other sites on the battlefield, included the Sunken Road/Bloody Lane and Burnside’s Bridge, and participated in the dedication of a monument to soldiers who fought on South Mountain.

It was a very memorable trip and we urge each of you to visit the Sharpsburg, the Antietam Battlefield, and Harper’s Ferry and "step back in time".