Battle of Antietam
by Staff EditorOn September 17, 1862 the bloodiest battle of American history took place in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Referred to either as the “battle of Antietam” or by the South as the “battle of Sharpsburg,” it was the first major battle of the Civil War to be fought on Union territory. Even though the results of this battle were basically inconclusive, it was considered a strategic win for the North.
General Robert E. Lee feeling confident of his win at the 2nd battle of Bull Run, thought it was a good time to move forward onto northern soil. Lee believed that Maryland was a good state to campaign in due to the fact that it was slave territory. It consisted of groups of Confederacy supporters. There Lee wanted to replenish his supplies and reinforce his army.
On the other hand, Union General George B. McClellan had mobilized his Army of Potomac, containing 87,000 men to intercept Lee’s advances. Two Federal soldiers, Corporal Barton W. Mitchell and First Sergeant John M. Bloss, happened to stumble across a misplaced copy of General Lee’s battle plans. These plans disclosed information regarding the division of Lee’s men to three separate locations. These locations were Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and Hagerstown, Maryland. If McClellan acted quickly enough he could keep separate and defeat Lee’s divided force. The determination to proceed on the offensive and begin what was the battle of Antietam came within an 18 hour time period of receiving this intelligence.
General Lee set up his line along the Antietam Creek. Lee organized the commander of his Army of Virginia, General James Longstreet, to hold the right flank in Antietam MD and General Jackson the left flank along the Potomac River. In this arrangement the Confederate army had only one way of retreating, if it was necessary, since it was blocked in by the Potomac River. Late in the day of September 16th McClellan launched his first move to cross the Antietam Creek and investigated the enemy’s position in the East Woods.
At the dawn of September 17th in Antietam MD, the Union Brigade, under General Joseph Hooker, began their assault down the Hagerstown Turnpike. The gunfire damaged both the corn farm grounds and the armies when it resulted in over 8,000 casualties. Jackson’s men were soon reinforced and pushed the Federals back. General Mansfield then counterattacked this surge making up for some lost ground. Meanwhile, in the West Woods General John Sedgwick’s troop was combated from three sides by Confederate divisions resulting in a horrific number of casualties.
At the middle of the line in the battle of Antietam, General William French moved to support Sedgwick in the West Woods. However, French took the wrong road and found himself on a sunken road surrounded by the Confederate General Hill’s division. As the Union fought to hold the Confederates back, over 5,500 deaths occurred along an 800 yard road, giving it the nickname “Bloody Lane.” General Richardson came in to support French driving back Lee’s men and destroying his line in the center. Due to exhaustion and confusion, the battle in this region as well as the northern part of Antietam MD ended around midday.
In the southeast portion of the battle of Antietam, Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside finally crossed a bridge over the Antietam Creek after persistently fighting since early that morning. After a two hour period of regrouping, Burnside continued his assault on the Confederates over the slope pushing them further and further back into Sharpsburg. With this move the Union threatened to cutoff Lee’s only retreat route which would completely close him in. However, Confederate General Hill immediately joined the line traveling from his previous engagement alongside Jackson at Harpers Ferry. This last effort by the Confederacy drove back Burnside’s troops to the bridge and ultimately concluded the battle of Antietam.
Outcomes of the Battle of Antietam
By nightfall, 26,000 men were killed, wounded or missing, forcing Lee to retreat to Virginia. Federal losses totaled over 12,000 and the Confederates suffered over 10,000 casualties. Despite the Union army's success at Antietam, President Lincoln was dissatisfied with McClellan's reluctance to quickly follow up his military success. Lincoln relieved McClellan of his duties and replaced him with General Ambrose E. Burnside as the new commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Even though the battle was not tactically won, the Union was strategically victorious as it prevented Lee and his army from entering the North. The victory of the battle of Antietam gave President Lincoln the boost he needed to deliver his Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. Issuing the statement to appease radical Republicans who opposed slavery while keeping a rein on anti-abolitionists, Lincoln decreed in the statement that all slaves residing in rebellion states would be freed as of January 1, 1863. It did not apply to the border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri who had all remained loyal to the Union during the war. Thus the battle of Antietam indirectly changed the war to a dual purpose, to preserve the Union and end slavery.
