The Cornfield at Antietam National Battlefield

Length:  1.2-mile loop
Time:  45 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy

The Cornfield Trail begins at The Cornfield stop on the Antietam National Battlefield Tour, though it is also accessible from the East Woods stop. There is a brochure that goes along with the trail that is available for free at the Visitor Center, so be sure to stop there first. Information on the brochure corresponds to numbered posts along the route.

Cornfield Trail Map (click to enlarge)

The Cornfield Trail takes hikers through the cornfield of David Miller where the most carnage of the Battle of Antietam occurred. Large sections of the trail are out in the open, so if avoiding the sun is important to you, be sure to wear a hat and apply sunscreen. The terrain is slightly hilly, but the hike is easy. The only thing to watch out for are ground hog holes, some of which are so large that a baby could crawl down into them. Step in one of these and you are likely to snap your leg in two. I actually saw a ground hog during my hike around the cornfield.

Ground hog hole on the Cornfield Trail at Antietam National Battlefield

The trail is a loop, and from the parking lot you can head north (clockwise) or south (counterclockwise). If you don’t have the trail brochure, it makes no difference which way you go, but if you want to come to the stops in numerical order, you must hike south, away from the cornfield. The southern trailhead is on the opposite side of Cornfield Avenue from the parking lot. In the far distance you can see the New York State Monument and the Visitor Center. This is the way I hiked the trail, and this report is written from the counterclockwise perspective.

Southern trailhead for the Cornfield Trail at The Cornfield stop on the Antietam National Battlefield Tour

The trail starts off as a mowed grass path through an agriculture field. As mentioned, it heads away from the cornfield, which may seem a little confusing since this is The Cornfield Trail, but where you are heading is integral to the battle: the Confederate Line. The four Confederate divisions on the north end of the battlefield were under the command of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Directly south of the cornfield, and directly in the path of the oncoming Union soldiers, was a division of infantry commanded by General Alexander Lawton. General John R. Jones’ division was on the other side of Hagerstown Pike, which in this area is now called Dunker Church Road. A third—Daniel H. Hill’s—was positioned to the south along an old farm road that the locals called the Sunken Road. Jackson’s fourth division commanded by Ambrose P. Hill had not yet arrived. In all, there were roughly 10,000 Confederates along Jackson’s battle line.

Cornfield Battle Map

When the Cornfield Trail curves east after Stop 1 (per the brochure), it is about 250 yards from the edge of the cornfield. This is too far away for any hope of an accurate shot with a Civil War-era musket, so Confederate soldiers would have been positioned as close as the road to the cornfield when the battle began. If you can’t see the road from here, look for the row of monuments that line it. Note that the road itself did not exist in the 1860s.

Section of the Cornfield Trail that passes through the Confederate Line at the start of the Battle of Antietam

Monuments along Cornfield Avenue at Antietam National Battlefield

The Cornfield Trail continues east along the grass path for .2 mile before turning north at Smoketown Road. This location is at the southern edge of the East Woods. Various units of Union troops marched from the northeast into the battle through these woods.

Stop 3 on the Cornfield Trail at Antietam National Battlefield

Cornfield Trail at Smoketown Road, Antietam National Battlefield

At the road is a monument for the First New Jersey Brigade, which was comprised of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th New Jersey infantry regiments and Captain William Hexamer’s Artillery Battery. The brigade arrived here around noon, so it missed the fighting at The Cornfield but was in time for action farther south at Dunker Church and Bloody Lane. Along with the monument are three tablets. These detail the different armies that occupied this area at various times during the battle. The tablets were installed in the 1890s by U. S. military historians for study by military personel, particularly cadets. They weren’t put in place for tourists, and as a result, they aren’t very interesting to read unless you are a Civil War fanatic.

First New Jersey Brigade Monument and battlefield tablets near the corner of Smoketown Road and Cornfield Avenue, Antietam National Battlefield

From the monument, follow the grass path along the road for 50 yards until the trail diverges from the road, cutting left into the East Woods. The trail forks almost immediately after the turn. The right fork is marked with a Cornfield Trail directional post, so stay right.

Cornfield Trail turns north at Smoketown Road and enters into the East Woods, Antietam National Battlefield

Cornfield Trail enters the East Woods at Antietam National Battlefield

Though now in the East Woods, notice that the trees don’t look very tall. That’s because much of the forest was cut down and converted into farmland after the Civil War. In fact, where you are standing at Smoketown Road and where you are heading as you start hiking north was farmland all the way up until 2015. At that time, the National Park Service acquired nine acres of the original 35-acre lot of forest. The trees you see today were recently planted in an effort to restore the historical East Woods.

Section of the Cornfield Trail that passes through the East Woods at Antietam National Battlefield

In a tenth of a mile from the New Jersey Brigade Monument (a half mile from the start of the hike), the Cornfield Trail crosses Cornfield Avenue just to the left of the parking lot for the East Woods stop on the Antietam National Battlefield Tour. The trail continues directly on the other side of the road.

Intersection of the Cornfield Trail and Cornfield Avenue at the East Woods stop on the Antietam National Battlefield Tour

The Cornfield Trail crosses a dirt / grass road just 50 yards from Cornfield Avenue. If you ever get confused at intersections such as this, there are plenty of directional posts along the trail, so follow them and you won’t get lost.

Directional signage along the Cornfield Trail keeps hikers hiking in the right direction, Antietam National Battlefield

The trail continues through the East Woods, though the size of the trees change depending on whether the trail is passing through old growth or the newly restored forest. There are sections of the original forest that were not cut down.

Section of the Cornfield Trail that passes through the East Woods at Antietam National Battlefield

When the Cornfield Trail reaches Mansfield Avenue, it turns east towards the cornfield. The forest here is particularly dense, but in less than a tenth of a mile you will be back out in the sunshine.

Northeast end of the Cornfield Trail in the East Woods, Antietam National Battlefield

When you reach the cornfield, you’ll find that there are two potential paths to follow. To stay on the Cornfield Trail, jog slightly to the left and continue straight on a grass path that runs between two fields. A fence similar to the one standing today was in this location at the time of the battle. The fence marks the north end of The Cornfield. There is actually a cornfield (or crops of some sort) on both sides of the path, and while Union soldiers may have marched south through the cornfield on your right, it is in the field on your left where the fighting began.

The Cornfield Trail at Antietam National Battlefield emerges from the East Woods at Stop 6

The Cornfield Trail follows the northern edge of the cornfield between Stops 6 and 7, Antietam National Battlefield

There is also a mowed path to the right (north). This is a connector trail to the North Woods / Poffenberger Farm stop on the Antietam National Battlefield Tour. If you previously visited the North Woods stop, you may recall a trailhead with a sign that read CORNFIELD TRAIL 1.6 MILES. I have no idea where the 1.6 miles comes from, but it is a half-mile walk from the North Woods stop to his spot on the Cornfield Trail. Since the Cornfield Trail is 1.25 miles in length, hiking from the North Woods and back would be 2.25 miles.

Walk between the two fields for a tenth of a mile until reaching Stop 7 on the hike. At this point the trail turns south and actually enters The Cornfield. You are now walking in the steps of Union soldiers. If you were at the front of the line on the morning of September 17, 1862, most likely your life would have ended 250 yards from this point.

The Cornfield Trail turns south into the cornfield at Stop 7 on the hike, Antietam National Battlefield

The Cornfield Trail turns south into the cornfield at Stop 7 on the hike, Antietam National Battlefield

The Cornfield Trail ends at Cornfield Avenue just to the left of the parking lot.

End of the Cornfield Trail at Stop 8 on Cornfield Avenue, Antietam National Battlefield

If you are still interested in walking farther, the Miller Farm is a quarter mile (half mile round trip) from The Cornfield parking lot. Head west towards Dunker Church Road and take a right. The farm is up the road on the right. The buildings are not open to the public, but you are welcome to walk the grounds. The farmhouse and barn (on the opposite side of the road from the house) are from the early 1800s. All other buildings are modern.

Miller Farm at Antietam National Battlefield

Miller Farm barn at Antietam National Battlefield

The house and farm remained in private hands until being sold to the Conservation Fund in 1989. It was subsequently donated to the National Park Service for inclusion in Antietam National Battlefield. Today the historical farmlands throughout the battlefield are leased to farmers who grow crops and raise animals so that the landscape looks similar to how it did in 1862. Crops are rotated to conserve the nutrients in the soil, so The Cornfield may not actually be planted with corn when you visit the park.

Miller Farmhouse at Antietam National Battlefield

Soldiers were buried on the Miller Farm where they were found dead, and for the next few years, Miller had a tough time plowing his fields without digging somebody up. The bodies were eventually exhumed and reinterred, many in Antietam National Cemetery. However, not all bodies have been found. In 2008, a hiker found bones in one of the ground hog holes in The Cornfield. (So you see what I mean about the ground hog holes? A soldier crawled down in one during the battle.) Based on remnants of the corpse’s uniform, it was determined that the man was a New York soldier.

Back to the Top