Hooker had approximately 8,600 men, little more than the 7,700 defenders under Stonewall Jackson, and this slight disparity was more than offset by the Confederates' strong defensive positions. Go and look at [Burnside's Bridge], and tell me if you don't think Burnside and his corps might have executed a hop, skip, and jump and landed on the other side. The battle that however claimed the most casualties in a single day, was the Battle of Antietam (or Battle of Sharpsburg), making it the bloodiest battle fought in the Civil War. The Civil War BeginsThe nation's bloodiest and most divisive war began at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. But the upper bridge was 2 miles (3km) east of the Confederate guns and could be crossed safely. The casualties were stunning. (Corby would later perform a similar service at Gettysburg in 1863.) Single Bloodiest Day in the American Civil War - downthiswayboys Jackson defended the left (northern) flank, anchored on the Potomac, Longstreet the right (southern) flank, anchored on the Antietam, a line that was about 4 miles (6km) long. Battle Of Antietam - HistoryNet Meade's division cautiously attacked Hood's troops near the East Woods. Sears, p. 173, cites 75,000 Union troops, with an effective strength of 71,500, with 300 guns; on p. 296, he states that the 12,401 Union casualties were 25% of those who went into action and that McClellan committed "barely 50,000 infantry and artillerymen to the contest"; p. 389, he cites Confederate effective strength of "just over 38,000," including, Union: 12,410 total (2,108 killed; 9,549 wounded; 753 captured/missing); Confederate: 10,316 total (1,546 killed; 7,752 wounded; 1,018 captured/missing) according to Sears, pp. This was the first time that many Americans saw the realities of war in photographs as distinct from previous "artists' impressions". As the day came to an end, the two armies faced each other across fields covered with thousands of dead and dying men. By the end of the day, Burnside's troops had approached the town of Sharpsburg, and if they continued it was possible that his men could have cut off Lee's line of retreat across the Potomac River into Virginia. Lee split up his forces, sending part of the Army of Northern Virginia to capture the town of Harpers Ferry and its federal arsenal (which had been the site of John Brown's raid three years earlier). [64], Location: Southern end of the battlefield, The action moved to the southern end of the battlefield. American Civil War - Britannica Like Like Cowie, Steven. See: Brady employed almost two dozen men, each of whom was given a traveling. Gen. William N. Pendleton. Union Troops Advanced, Were Met By Confederate Reinforcements. [9] Confederate casualties were 10,316 with 1,547 dead. Westholme Publishing, 2011. [67] However, the commanding terrain across the sometimes shallow creek made crossing the water a comparatively easy part of a difficult problem. At first it appeared to Union officers that the Battle of South Mountain might have been the big conflict they were anticipating. And similar scenes were played out from Maine to Texas. [66] It would become known to history as Burnside's Bridge because of the notoriety of the coming battle. Several generals died as a result of the battle, including Maj. Gens. [99][100] They were featured in a 1984 Time-Life book entitled The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam.[101]. Gen. Robert Toombs, with two artillery batteriesdefended Rohrbach's Bridge, a three-span, 125-foot (38 m) stone structure that was the southernmost crossing of the Antietam. On September 14, 1862, the Battle of South Mountain, a struggle for mountain passes which led into western Maryland, was fought. But at the same time, the 4,000 men of Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson's division arrived on French's left. [84] Of the other casualties, 1,910 Union and 1,550 Confederate troops died of their wounds soon after the battle, while 225 Union and 306 Confederate troops listed as missing were later confirmed as dead. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (July 1-3 1863) Perhaps the most famous battle of the Civil War is the Battle at Gettysburg. Site identified by Frassanito, pp. He said, "I can do nothing more. American Civil War: Battle of Harpers Ferry, American Civil War: Major General Edwin V. Sumner, American Civil War: Major General Robert E. Rodes, American Civil War: Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, American Civil War: Major General William F. "Baldy" Smith, American Civil War: Major General Fitz John Porter, American Civil War: Major General Ambrose Burnside, American Civil War: Major General John B. Gordon, American Civil War: Second Battle of Manassas, American Civil War: Major General John F. Reynolds, American Civil War: Major General Darius N. Couch. Battle of Antietam Begins - HISTORY The beginning of the Battle of Antietam, in the early morning, consisted of a stunningly violent clash in a cornfield. Lee had several reasons for taking the war north. The final actions in the morning phase of the battle were around 10a.m., when two regiments of the XII Corps advanced, only to be confronted by the division of John G. Walker, newly arrived from the Confederate right. Soon after daybreak, Confederates troops began to see lines of Union soldiers advancing toward them. Our collection of animated maps bring battles of the American Civil War to life, complete with . 29496; Cannan, p. 201. For other uses, see, Confederate soldiers on the Antietam battlefield as they fell inside the fence on the Hagerstown road, September 1862 by Alexander Gardner, Confederate horses lay dead and artillery caissons destroyed on Antietam battlefield. Burnside concentrated his plan instead on storming the bridge while simultaneously crossing a ford McClellan's engineers had identified a half mile (1km) downstream, but when Burnside's men reached it, they found the banks too high to negotiate. Gen. John C. Caldwell into battle around noon (after being told that Caldwell was in the rear, behind a haystack), and finally the tide turned. #OnThisDay in 1863, the Civil War Draft Riots began in Manhattan one of the bloodiest insurrections in US history. [56] Richardson's fresh troops struck the first blow. There was panic in the streets of Sharpsburg, clogged with retreating Confederates. By this time, Sumner's aide (and son) located French, described the terrible fighting in the West Woods and relayed an order for him to divert Confederate attention by attacking their center. Hill with one division. In the afternoon, Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's corps entered the action, capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and advancing against the Confederate right. From a tactical standpoint, the battle was somewhat inconclusive; the Union army successfully repelled the Confederate invasion but suffered heavier casualties and failed to defeat Lee's army outright. They became separated from William H. French's division, and at 9a.m. Sumner, who was accompanying the division, launched the attack with an unusual battle formationthe three brigades in three long lines, men side-by-side, with only 50 to 70 yards (60m) separating the lines. [63], Later in the day, the commander of the other reserve unit near the center, the V Corps, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, heard recommendations from Maj. Gen. George Sykes, commanding his 2nd Division, that another attack be made in the center, an idea that intrigued McClellan. 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. Near the town of Sharpsburg, Lee deployed his available forces behind Antietam Creek along a low ridge, starting on September 15. [28] This gave the Confederates more time to prepare defensive positions and allowed Longstreet's corps to arrive from Hagerstown and Jackson's corps, minus A.P. They sang the tune "Maryland, My Maryland!" Tobyhanna Army Depot on Instagram: "On July 1, 1863, the bloodiest Farther to the Union left, Rodman's division advanced toward Harpers Ferry Road. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. One soldier, shocked at the carnage, said the bodies in the sunken road were so thick that a man could have walked on them as far as he could see without touching the ground. McClellan successfully turned Lee's invasion back, making the battle a Union victory, but President Abraham Lincoln, unhappy with McClellan's general pattern of overcaution and his failure to pursue the retreating Lee, relieved McClellan of command in November. [59] The fighting on September 17, 1862, killed 7,650 American soldiers. His images of dead soldiers still on the field were like nothing anyone had seen before. But Hill's men were in a strong defensive position, atop a gradual ridge, in a sunken road worn down by years of wagon traffic, which formed a natural trench. Burnside has been widely criticized for ignoring this fact. 1 / 25 Flashcards Learn Test Match Created by Tuthill_DMS Teacher Terms in this set (25) Antietam First major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. Gen. Richardson personally dispatched the brigade of Brig. So, it is legitimate to say that Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle, period, of the Civil War. The Seven Days Battles | American Battlefield Trust The canvasses were exhibited in his gallery in Watkins Glen, New York, until his death in 1892. Hill commanded about 2,500 men, less than half the number under French, and three of his five brigades had been torn up during the morning combat. The Battle of Antietam (/ntitm/ an-TEE-tm), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/the-battle-of-antietam-1773739. [citation needed], The Union victory and Lincoln's proclamation played a considerable role in dissuading the governments of France and Britain from recognizing the Confederacy; some suspected they were planning to do so in the aftermath of another Union defeat. The deadliest single-day battle was at Antietam. Historian M. V. Armstrong's recent scholarship, however, has determined that Sumner did perform appropriate reconnaissance and his decision to attack where he did was justified by the information available to him.[51]. This made it difficult for him to control the separate corps. The battle was shockingly violent, with casualties so high on both sides that it forever became known as "The Bloodiest Day in American History." "Confederate soldier who after being wounded had evidently dragged himself to a little ravine on the hillside where he died". If this broken sector of the Confederate line were exploited, Lee's army would be divided in half and possibly defeated. "Stonewall" Jackson's Left Wing or Command consisted of the following divisions: The remaining units were the Cavalry Division, under Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, and the reserve artillery, commanded by Brig. In September 1864 Sherman's capture of Atlanta electrified the North and set the stage for the final drive to Union victory. The 4th Rhode Island came up on the right, but they had poor visibility amid the high stalks of corn, and they were disoriented because many of the Confederates were wearing Union uniforms captured at Harpers Ferry. [71], While Rodman's division was out of touch, slogging toward Snavely's Ford, Burnside and Cox directed a second assault at the bridge by one of Sturgis's brigades, led by the 2nd Maryland and 6th New Hampshire. The VI Corps, under Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin, had just arrived with 12,000 men. the most deadly fire of the war. June 26, 2023. Eicher, p. 363, cites 75,500 Union troops. They also fell prey to the Confederate sharpshooters and artillery, and their attack fell apart.
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