. Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War . ndred yardsdistant across the fields, lay the East Wood, coveringthe slopes to the Antietam, with Poffenbergers Woodbeyond; while further to the left, the North Wood,extending across the Hagerstown pike, approached the Con-federate flank. The enemy, if he advanced to the attackin this quarter of the field, would thus find ample protec-tion during his march and deployment; and in case ofreverse he would find a rallying-point in the North andPoffenbergers Woods, of which Hooker was already inpossession. In the space between the woods were severals
. Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War . ndred yardsdistant across the fields, lay the East Wood, coveringthe slopes to the Antietam, with Poffenbergers Woodbeyond; while further to the left, the North Wood,extending across the Hagerstown pike, approached the Con-federate flank. The enemy, if he advanced to the attackin this quarter of the field, would thus find ample protec-tion during his march and deployment; and in case ofreverse he would find a rallying-point in the North andPoffenbergers Woods, of which Hooker was already inpossession. In the space between the woods were severalsmall farms, surrounded by orchards and stone fences ;and on the slope east of the Dunkard Church stood a fewcottages and barns. Access to the position was not easy. Only a singleford, near Snaveleys house, exists across the Antietam,and this was commanded by the bluff on the Confederateright. The stone bridges, however, for want of time andmeans to destroy them, had been left standing. Thatnearest the confluence of the Antietam and the Potomac,. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE TROOPS 241 at the Antietam Iron-works, by which A. P Hill wasexpected, was defended by rifle-pits and enfiladed by artil-lery. The next, known as the Burnside Bridge, was com-pletely overlooked by the heights above. That oppositeLees centre could be raked throughout its length ; but thefourth, at Prys Mill, by which Hooker and Mansfield hadalready crossed, was covered both from view and within the position were numerous. The Hagerstownturnpike, concealed for some distance on either side ofSharpsburg by the crest of the ridge, was admirablyadapted for the movement of reserves, and another broadhighway ran through Sharpsburg to the Potomac. The position, then, in many respects, was well adaptedto Lees purpose. The flanks were reasonably right rested on the Antietam. The left was more open ;but the West Wood formed a strong point dappui, andbeyond the wood a low ridge, rising above Nicodemus Eu
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