...W. P. Newman, and B. F. Birdsell. No words could add to such a bloody record of valor. Among the earliest participants in the battle were the Washington artillery, posted on a line just east of Sharpsburg , fronting the Antietam. During the afternoon of the 15th the Federal batteries appeared on the hills beyond the creek and opened fire with long-range guns, but Walton's guns were not able to make t...