“I saw an awful sight” | A Coal Region soldier at South Mountain and Antietam

Ten days after Antietam, a young soldier from Wiconisco Township, PA sat down to put it into words for his father back home. Private Joseph Workman of the 96th Pennsylvania had just walked the battlefield days earlier. "I saw an awful sight," he wrote. "We had to move away from there on account of the stink." His letter, recently digitized by the Library of Congress, provides insights into what he witnessed at the Battle of South Mountain as well. Read the full story.

Private James Kaercher – Mortally wounded at the Battle of South Mountain

James Kaercher's grave at Antietam National Cemetery

At just 18, Private James Kaercher left Pennsylvania’s Coal Region to fight for the Union at the Battle of South Mountain. A Confederate bullet cut short his service, leading to a five-month struggle before his passing. Read his story.

“We gave them hell” – Company G, 96th Pennsylvania in the Battle of South Mountain

Battle of SOuth Mountain - Crampton's Gap

Soldiers from a company in the 96th Pennsylvania describe their experiences in the Battle of South Mountain in September 1862.