Hiram Dryer and the 4th U.S. Infantry

This year the Antietam Institute is offering a series of monthly members-only battlefield excursions called “Following in the Footsteps.” These two-hour programs on Saturday mornings over the course of six months will be led by Antietam Institute historians and will cover the actions of a specific regiment or battery on the battlefield.

During each month’s excursion, you’ll follow in the footsteps of a specific unit, learning where it was raised, its service before Antietam, and who commanded it. The excursion leader will stop at critical locations around the battlefield to explain what the unit and its soldiers experienced on September 17, 1862.

The hikes are for current members only, and advance registration is required (login before registering), but there is no fee to attend.

Institute historian, Jim Rosebrock will lead the hike: Hiram Dryer and the 4th U.S. Infantry

Around 2:00 p.m. on September 17, 1862, Colonel Robert Buchanan ordered Capt. Hiram Dryer, the senior captain in the 4th U.S., to cross the Middle Bridge with his regiment and assume command of all regular infantry on the west side of Antietam Creek. Dryer was regarded as one of the “coolest and bravest officers in our service. We will follow in the footsteps of Dryer and his regulars as they make their steady advance up the Boonsboro Pike to Cemetery Ridge only to be called back at perhaps a decisive opportunity to break the Confederate center. The actions of Dryer’s regulars brigade around the Middle Bridge are often overlooked in the overall scheme of the Battle of Antietam. While the number of troops committed and casualties incurred was relatively low, the brigade forged a critical link between the offensive operations of the Second and Ninth Corps on its flanks. The aggressive skirmishing of Dryer’s regulars was a constant threat that Lee could not ignore.

The hike will begin and end at the Joshua Newcomer House. The length of this hike is approximately a mile, over moderately sloping terrain.

You may also like the following events from Antietam Institute:

• Next Monday, 23rd June, 07:00 pm, Summer lecture Series: The Fifth Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment – Michael S. Lang in Sharpsburg
• This month, 30th June, 07:00 pm, Summer Lecture Series: The Last Four Months of a Fifth Corps Soldier – Darin Wipperman in Sharpsburg
• Next month, 7th July, 07:00 pm, Summer Lecture Series: Before September: The Origin of the 1862 Maryland Campaign – Dr. Alex Rossino in Sharpsburg

Also check out other Workshops in Sharpsburg.