VIENNA, Va., September 24, 2011 — More words have probably been written about the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg as it is known in the South) over the past 150 years than any conflict other than Gettysburg. Taking place near a small creek called Antietam in the middle part of Maryland, the final casualty total was 23,000, both North and South, in a single day’s fighting.
All this took place on September 17, 1862, beginning at 5:30 a.m. as part of the Maryland Campaign. It was the first major battle to be fought on Northern soil. The eponymous creek was a small one, less than 100 feet wide, with three stone bridges a mile apart to facilitate crossing.
For all those men and all the deaths, the sad fact remains that it was tactically a draw, with no winners and many, many losers lying that day in The Sunken Road. However, it would go down in history as a strategic victory for the Union.
Soldiers at Antietam grave
The forces of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee numbered 38,000, outnumbered by those of Gen. George B. McClellan, with 75,500. McClellan had pursued Lee across the Potomac River and into Maryland, where he began to mount attacks against the Virginia general.
Arriving at the battle site early, Lee’s troops had ample time to assume good defensive positions. Further, McClellan believed that Lee had 100,000 men at his disposal, which resulted in the Union general being overly cautious as he proceeded to battle.
When the first Union troops came out of the North Woods and into the cornfield area, the battle became a full artillery fight. One of his main generals, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, had launched a strong attack on Lee’s left flank, and the two sides fought with everything they had across the cornfield of farmer Miller and all around the Dunker Church.
The old, whitewashed church of the German Baptists is still there, reconstructed after being destroyed not by the battle, but by a windstorm in the 1920s. Visitors can go in, sit down, and contemplate the horrors it saw that terrible autumn day.
Artillery groups under CSA Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and Col. Stephen D. Lee, who would later describe the scene as “artillery Hell,” met Hooker’s men.
Aside from the artillery barrage, hand-to-hand fighting reached a fever pitch, men using bayonets and rifle butts against each other and inflicting major casualties. It is said that the rifles became too hot from the steady firing, which resulted in fouled weapons, no longer usable. The cornfield was cut down completely from the fighting, not a stalk left at the end of the day.
Many historians feel that McClellan failed to coordinate the plans for the battle, since he gave orders to his subordinate officers only applying to their specific units, leaving them ignorant of the overall plan. Since this was a hilly area, it was difficult to maintain sight lines between the groups of men.
The dead at Bloody Road
Perhaps the high point of the battle was along the Sunken Road with a cornfield and cross-timbers fencing on one side; it is said that the bodies of men and horses were piled so high, the lane was almost level. From that point on, it would be always known as "Bloody Lane." It was at this point that the center of the Confederate lines faltered, but for some reason, the Union troops did not follow up on the assault.
A friend remarked of Bloody Lane that she could literally feel the ghosts of the men killed there as she walked across. If one is open to such experiences, it has been a popular site for those who go to hear or feel the spirits of the slaughtered soldiers.
About that time, the Union troops of Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside arrived. They quickly captured the old stone bridge over the creek and moved against the Confederate right.
Burnside may have breathed a sigh of relief until the Federals received a major surprise. Confederate Gen. A. P. Hill, who had been involved in the fighting at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia some 25 miles away, had marched his men to Antietam and drove Burnside back from his position of strength, basically ending the battle.
Lee had thrown his entire forces into the battle, even though he was outnumbered two to one. Apparently feeling he had the advantage, McClellan had used less than three-fourths of his army, which made the opposing sides more equal.
McClellan failed to destroy the Southern army as he had envisioned he would do, and Lee was able to lead his embattled and badly wounded troops back into Virginia. Surprisingly, McClellan failed to go after Lee’s retreating forces.
Lee retreats across Burnside Bridge
The slim victory at Antietam is credited with giving President Abraham Lincoln the fuel to issue his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22,1862, freeing at first only those slaves in the seceded states. Those living in Confederate states under the control of the Union and in the border states would have to wait two more years for their emancipation.
Antietam National Battlefield is a little over an hour away from the Washington, DC and Northern Virginia area, and well worth an autumn drive. It has a good visitor’s center, highlighting all the pertinent sites. For more information, call (301) 432-5124.
Follow the blog on Face Book and LinkedIn at Martha Boltz; my email is MBoltz2846@aol.com Read more of Martha’s columns on The Civil War at the Communities at the Washington Times.
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