battle of antietam

 

The Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg, fought on 17th September 1862 and considered to be a Federal victory, bringing the Confederate 1862 invasion of Maryland to an end and giving President Lincoln and the Federal Congress the opportunity to issue the proclamation emancipating slaves throughout the United States of America, both North and South. The Battle of Antietam took place near Antietam Creek in Sharpsbug, Maryland. The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam (Civil War) With their ammunition all but exhausted, the Confederate defenders were at last driven back by a Federal bayonet charge. A monument to the 132nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment standing along Bloody Lane (Sunken Road) at Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland. The Union II Corps (under Maj. Gen. Edwin Sumner) and XII Corps (under Maj. Gen. Joseph Mansfield) followed Hooker across the upper stream while McClellan’s left wing (Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s IX corps) drew up opposite Lee’s extreme right. After yet another delay, McClellan struck the Confederates on September 17 in the bloodiest day of the war. The Union name for the battle is derived from Antietam Creek, which flows south from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The Morning Phase: The battle began early in the morning of September 17, 1862. This hard-fought battle, which drove Lee’s forces from Maryland, gave Lincoln the “win” that he needed to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation — a document that would forever change the course of the Civil War. Battle of Antietam breaks out Beginning early on the morning of September 17, 1862, Confederate and Union troops in the Civil War clash near Maryland’s Antietam Creek in … The Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia would go on to greater glories on other fields. President Abraham Lincoln saw the significance of this and issued the famous Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. Ambrose E. Burnside, photograph by Mathew Brady. The battle was fought on September 17 1862. Over the course of the first three hours of the fight, the two sides struggled over possession of a twenty four acre cornfield. During this time Lee again divided his army, and on September 11 he and Lieut. The battle began at dawn with a furious assault on the extreme Confederate left by Hooker’s corps. There were 24,000 people dead, wounded, or missing that day. The next day, September … Abraham Lincoln sacked Pope and placed Gen. George B. McClellan in command of all Union forces in Washington. Jackson’s divisions suffered even more severely, losing nearly all their generals and colonels. At the cost of fewer than 300 Confederate casualties, Jackson had won one of the great unheralded victories of the American Civil War. The stubborn Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry bought McClellan additional time, however, delaying the bulk of the Army of Northern Virginia for several days longer than had been budgeted in Lee’s timetable. Learn about the Battle of Antietam, a Civil War engagement fought on September 17, 1862, the single bloodiest day in American military history. Hill’s division had remained at Harpers Ferry, but on the morning of the 17th Hill received orders to rejoin Lee with all haste. Over 5,000 troops of the II Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. Edwin Sumner, marched towards the West Woods in an attempt to eventually sweep south, driving the Confederates from the field. On this single day, the bloodiest in US history, 23,000 men (10,500 Confederate and 12,500 Union), were killed, wounded, or reported missing. Gen. Alpheus Williams, who led the corps well; after heavy fighting, Hood and D.H. Hill were driven back. Fewer than 500 Georgia sharpshooters covered nearly a mile of ground from the bridge south to Snavely’s Ford, the only other practicable crossing of the Antietam in the area. Once the Union force at Harpers Ferry had been neutralized, Lee proposed to reunite his army and invade Pennsylvania. Leaving Maj. Gen. A.P. The Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South), fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. D.H. Hill’s men had fought the Battle of South Mountain and had already been fully engaged three times on this day; Hill would lose some two-thirds of his entire command, including 25 of 34 field officers. antietam battlefield civil war monument, bloody lane - battle of antietam stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images. Lithographic print. The battle of Antietam, Maryland, is correctly referred to as the single bloodiest day of the American Civil War. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and Attorney General Edward Bates. After a brutal struggle over what came to be known as the Cornfield, Hooker was repulsed with the loss of a quarter of his men. It was then that the rebel yell erupted from a force on Burnside’s left flank. Maj. Gen. Joseph Mansfield’s XII Corps next attacked farther to the left and with better fortune. The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862 between the Union and the Confederacy during the Civil War. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Dead Confederate soldiers near Burnside Bridge after the Battle of Antietam, Maryland, 1862. Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, lithograph by Kurz & Allison. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. A.P. Beyond the immediate military objectives, Lee had concrete political goals: to influence the approaching Congressional elections in the North, to impress Europe with a sense of Southern military power, and to detach Maryland—a slave state that had rejected secession—from the Union. The battle was named after a creek in the region. U.S. Pres. By 1:00 p.m., the Federal forces had fallen back through the sunken road, known also as the Bloody Lane, and returned to the fields where their attacks originated from. Burnside, a heavy defeat at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13.…, …a cramped defensive position along Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, where he was reinforced by Jackson, who had just captured about 12,000 Federals at Harpers Ferry. Standing from left to right: Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Interior Caleb B. Smith, and Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Pressure was brought to bear on McClellan to renew the engagement, but he refused, and Lee crossed the Potomac unmolested. Following the defeat of Union Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee crossed the Potomac and moved into Maryland, occupying Frederick on September 7. Burnside and his men were tasked with crossing the Antietam and then attacking the right flank of the Confederate line. (Civil War battles often had one name in the North, which was usually associated with a prominent nearby physical feature, and another in the South, which was usually derived from the town or city closest to the battlefield.). Finding his line of communications up the Shenandoah Valley threatened by a strong Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, on September 9 Lee issued Special Order 191, in which he detailed the division and disposition of forces for the campaign ahead. Most military historians have strongly criticized McClellan’s conduct of the battle, and his orders for September 18 indicate that he expected another attack by Lee. It was the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. Dead Confederate soldiers at Bloody Lane after the Battle of Antietam, Maryland, 1862. Although gaining some ground, the Federals…, …to check Lee’s forces at Antietam (or Sharpsburg, September 17). Hooker himself was shot in the foot and was carried from the field. This ended the fighting on what would be the single bloodiest day in the history of the U.S. armed forces. Confederate scouts had observed massive columns of Federal infantry on the move, and Lee ordered Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill to guard the passes at South Mountain. Two Great American Armies: The Opposing Forces at Antietam. Due to confusion on the side of the Union and the fact there were no infantry men to push into the battle at this point, the attack sputtered out. Abraham Lincoln and Gen. George B. McClellan in the general's tent after the Battle of Antietam, Maryland, October 1862. Lee’s left wing, commanded by Jackson, formed the upper half of the string and his right, commanded by Longstreet, the lower. Updates? battle of antietam, maryland, september 19, 1862 civil war engraving - battle of antietam stock illustrations. R.E. Following the struggle in the West Woods, by 10:00 a.m., the heavy action on the north end of the field subsided. Hill’s attack shattered the Union advance, and by 4:30 pm the Federal left flank was in full retreat. Battle of Antietam, also called Battle of Sharpsburg, (September 17, 1862), in the American Civil War (1861–65), a decisive engagement that halted the Confederate invasion of Maryland, an advance that was regarded as one of the greatest Confederate threats to Washington, D.C. The Battle of South Mountain was a convincing Union victory, but the Confederate defenders managed to delay the Union advance long enough for Lee to begin the consolidation of his scattered forces. 5500 more Union and Confederates had been killed or wounded during these three hours of combat in and around the Bloody Lane. At approximately 9:00 a.m, a lull provided both sides an opportunity to catch their breaths, but within a few short minutes, a third major Federal assault was unfolding. Both of these forces were in their infancy. It is considered to be the deadliest one-day battle in the history of the United States military. It was the climax of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion of the North, the states that remained part of the Union. Part 1 of 2.Re-enacting Retro - A very well-produced 125th Anniversary Re-enactment film from 1987. McClellan, fearing a counterattack from a phantom Confederate juggernaut, intended to hold back his centre while pressuring Lee’s flanks. Command of his corps passed to Brig. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. More soldiers were killed or wounded at Antietam than all the American dead in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Spanish-American War combined. The Maryland Campaign was Lee's first attempt to take the war North and it was McClellan who was tasked by President Abraham Lincoln with stopping him. No fewer than six times did the Cornfield change hands as each side attacked, fell back and rallied, only to attack again. The Battle of Antietam (Template:Pron-en) (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South), fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to … The battlefield became a national military park in 1890, and jurisdiction passed to the National Park Service in 1933. The Battle of … Dead Confederate soldiers, with the Dunker Church in the background, after the Battle of Antietam, September 19, 1862, photograph by Alexander Gardner. Jackson, by way of an overnight forced march, reached Sharpsburg on the afternoon of September 16, effectively doubling Lee’s strength. He will probably grow tired of being compared to Bruce Catton, but the comparison will always be complimentary. Although the “Lost Orders” were four days old, McClellan felt emboldened enough to remark, “Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.”. 8000 men started the assault, 4000 men made it to a half way point, and only 2000 troops pushed up to the end of the Confederate line because of mounting causalities and the difficult terrain. Burnside Bridge spanning Antietam Creek, Maryland, shortly after the Battle of Antietam, 1862. The battle was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland. At last Burnside moved forward, but his advance was immediately checked by a handful of men left to oppose him at what came to be known as Burnside Bridge. Aftermath of the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War on 17th September 1862. Lee withdrew, regrouped, and dealt McClellan’s successor, A.E. The battle analysis of Antietam assesses the invasion of Maryland, human intelligence assets utilized, and failures on both sides of the battlefield. In addition to protecting the Federal capital, the battle is sometimes cited as having influenced Great Britain not to recognize the Confederacy. Hill, arrived on the field. September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam occurred on September 17, 1862, in Sharpsburg Maryland. On September 13 Federal troops moved into Frederick, and members of the 27th Indiana infantry regiment recovered a copy of Lee’s Special Order 191 wrapped around a bundle of cigars. Most importantly, Union victory at Antietam provided President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity he had wanted to announce the Emancipation Proclamation, making the Battle of Antietam one of the key turning points of the American Civil War. By 8:45 a.m., neither side held a distinct advantage. Gen. James Longstreet occupied Hagerstown, Maryland, a city just 5 miles (8 km) south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Mansfield, however, was mortally wounded, and his command passed to Brig. The Battle of Antietam remains the bloodiest single day in American history. On September 17, 1862, two of America’s greatest armies engaged in mortal combat at the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg). In practice, McClellan’s piecemeal commitment of forces negated his own overwhelming numerical superiority. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Overview of the Battle of Antietam (1862) during the American Civil War. Antietam National Battlefield is a National Park Service-protected area along Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Washington County, northwestern Maryland.It commemorates the American Civil War Battle of Antietam that occurred on September 17, 1862.. Again, want of support checked the Federals, and the fight became stationary, with both sides losing many thousands of men. 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