Battle of Antietam

Battle of Antietam


The Bloodiest One Day Battle in American History



    twelve hour tempest that swept across the rolling farm fields in western Maryland. A clash between

    North and South that changed the course of the Civil War, helped free over four million Americans,

    devastated Sharpsburg, and still ranks as the bloodiest one-day battle in American history.





    President Jefferson Davis that “we cannot afford to be idle.” Lee wanted to keep the offensive and




    After splashing across the Potomac River and arriving in Frederick, Lee boldly divided his army to

    capture the Union garrison stationed at Harpers Ferry. Gateway to the Shenandoah Valley, Harpers


    12,000 Union soldiers at Harpers Ferry threatened Lee’s link south. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

    and about half of the army were sent to capture Harpers Ferry. The rest of the Confederates moved

    north and west toward South Mountain and Hagerstown, Maryland.



    Army of the Potomac and advanced towards Lee. The armies first clashed on South Mountain where


    – Turner’s, Fox’s and Crampton’s Gaps.


    However, with word of Jackson’s capture of Harpers Ferry on September 15, Lee decided to make

    a stand at Sharpsburg. The Confederate commander gathered his forces on the high ground west

    of Antietam Creek with Gen. James Longstreet’s command holding the center and the right while

    Stonewall Jackson’s men filled in on the left. The Confederate position was strengthened with the



    men watched the Union army gather on the east side of the Antietam.

    Thousands of soldiers in blue marched into position throughout the 15th and 16th as McClellan prepared  for his attempt to drive Lee from Maryland. McClellan’s plan was, in his words, to “attack the enemy’s  left,” and when “matters looked favorably,” attack the Confederate right, and “whenever either of those  flank movements should be successful to advance our center.” As the opposing forces moved into  position during the rainy night of September 16, one Pennsylvanian remembered, “…all realized that  there was ugly business and plenty of it just ahead.” The twelve hour battle began at dawn on the 17th. For the next seven hours there were three major  Union attacks on the Confederate left, moving from north to south. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s command  led the first Union assault. Then Gen. Joseph Mansfield’s soldiers attacked, followed by Gen. Edwin  Sumner’s men as McClellan’s plan broke down into a series of uncoordinated Union advances. Savage,  incomparable combat raged across the Cornfield, East Woods, West Woods and the Sunken Road as  Lee shifted his men to withstand each of the Union thrusts. After clashing for over eight hours, the  Confederates were pushed back but not broken, however over 15,000 soldiers were killed or wounded. While the Union assaults were being made on the Sunken Road, a mile-and-a-half farther south Union  Gen. Ambrose Burnside opened the attack on the Confederate right. His first task would be to capture  the bridge that would later bear his name. A small Confederate force, positioned on higher ground, was  able to delay Burnside for three hours. After taking the bridge at about 1:00 p.m., Burnside reorganized  for two hours before moving forward across the arduous terrain—a critical delay. Finally the advance  started only to be turned back by Confederate General A.P. Hill’s reinforcements that arrived in the late  afternoon from Harpers Ferry. Neither flank of the Confederate army collapsed far enough for McClellan to advance his center  attack, leaving a sizable Union force that never entered the battle. Despite over 23,000 casualties of  the nearly 100,000 engaged, both armies stubbornly held their ground as the sun set on the devastated  landscape. The next day, September 18, the opposing armies gathered their wounded and buried their  dead. That night Lee’s army withdrew back across the Potomac to Virginia, ending Lee’s first invasion  into the North. Lee’s retreat to Virginia provided President Lincoln the opportunity he had been  waiting for to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Now the war had a dual purpose of  preserving the Union and ending slavery

    Additional Info
    bruceyrock632 - Anyone can contribute
    View count:
    452 (recently viewed: 9)