During the Maryland Campaign of September 1862, the Hagerstown Turnpike, a privately built toll road, served as a valuable route for troop movements. Possibly a macadam road built with layers of broken stone, it was lined by a post-and-rail fence that became a frustrating obstacle in battle. On September 17, 1862, at Antietam, Confederate Brig. Gen. William Starke’s Louisiana brigade fought on the west side of the Turnpike behind the fence, while men of Wisconsin under Union Brig. Gen. John Gibbon fought from behind the fence on the other side of the road. The soldiers learned cruelly that the fence provided little protection, and those who tried to cross it found it difficult and dangerous in battle. In the end, attempting to cross the Turnpike carried a high cost, paid in blood.
