The property of Joshua Newcomer, my second great-granduncle, assumed a role in the Civil War Battle of Antietam. His Maryland barn and home became a hospital for the wounded, as did most of the buildings surrounding the battle fields.
The middle bridge over Antietam Creek ran through the Newcomer property with the home on the north side of the road from Sharpsburg to Keedysville and the barn on the side south. It was a valuable military target, and the fight to control it began on 15 September 1862, as part of the larger Battle of Antietam.
Union Major General George McClellan attacked Confederate General Robert Lee on 17 September 1862. On the 18th, Lee withdrew his forces from Maryland back into Virginia
More than 22,000 lives were lost, injured or missing. It was the deadliest of the Civil War.
Today, Joshua’s home is part of the National Battlefield Park, presenting displays of the Heritage Area.
Joshua, his wife Mary Ann Ankeney (1813-1887) and their nine children bought the 156 acres in 1853. The farm included a home built by Christopher Orndorff, now known as the Newcomer House, and a mill.
Ironically, Orndorff was probably a descendant of Captain Christian Orndorff that may have arrested Joshua’s ancestor, Henry Newcomer, for conspiring to aid King George’s forces in the Revolutionary War. However, as the story of Henry’s life portrays, there are conflicting reports of Henry being a Revolutionary soldier, a British spy and a pacifist who paid a fine for refusing to serve in the military. I think the pacifist version most likely, as the family belonged to the pacifist German Baptist Brethren–also known as the Dunker Church.
Joshua and his family fled the fighting, and much of their property was used by the Union forces. After the war, Joshua faced financial ruin, and he submitted a claim for compensation for his losses. As he could not prove the damage was done by Union forces, as opposed to Confederate forces, his claim was denied. Joshua Newcomer lost his property to pay debts.
The National Park Service bought his barn in 2003 and his home in 2007.
A related note: The Dunker Church, pictured in the horrific photos of dead and wounded soldiers on Sunken Alley, was likely the church Joshua Newcomer and his family attended. The current church building was constructed by the National Park Service in 1962.
The National Park Service’s website on the Dunker Church is at:
nps.gov/anti/learn/historyculture/dunkerchurch.htm
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For more narrative, please visit the web sites:
https://www.nps.gov/anti/learn/historyculture/newcomer-farm.htm