English: The Sunken Road, also known as the Bloody Lane, is among the most important and recognizable topographical features of the American Civil War. Worn down from years of wagon traffic, the Sharpsburg, Maryland farm lane transformed into a graveyard after a day of conflict between the Union and Confederate armies during the Battle of Antietam.. Between 9:30am and 1pm on September 17, 1862, Union Major General William French led 5,500 soldiers in an attack on Confederate Major General D. H. Hill and his 2,600 soldiers, who held the Sunken Road for most of the morning.