Maj. Gen. Fitz-John Porters V Corps occupied the Union center along the hills east of Antietam Creek, while Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside positioned his IX Corps opposite the lower bridge and the bluffs that commanded the approaches. Originally designated the 2nd Continue reading The 90th Pennsylvania Infantry in the Cornfield: Solitary and alone, we gave and took ourmedicine, Barely two dozen yards ahead lay the northern end of the Cornfield. Free delivery for many products! Williams sent the order to McClellan with a note that read: I enclose a Special Order of Gen. Lee commanding Rebel forces which was found on the field where my corps is encamped. Learn more about the D.R. Most of the Confederates on the north end of the battlefield retreated to the West Woods and almost 8,000 Union and Confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded in and around the Cornfield. For nearly three hours, Hooker and Mansfield's Union forces battled Jackson's Confederates. Gen. Abram Duryeas 1st Brigade, stepped off to Gibbons left. The Iron Brigade battled several Confederate units during the bloody fighting in D.R. [1]. I lived there as a child and these were the fields we played in before they became National Park Service protectorates, the mid-1950s. McRaes North Carolina troops advanced into the East Woods. Gen. William E. Starke spurred his brigade of Louisiana soldiers and accompanying Virginians headlong into the Iron Brigade. It is a document of interest and is also thought genuine., When McClellan received the communication from Williams, he abruptly ended a conference with a delegation of citizens from Frederick. Three brigades from Hills division supported Hoods defenders, and Brig. The gunners went into action amid Millers haystacks, ignoring Confederate fire that cut down men and horses. The delaying action at South Mountain, though costly, had given Jackson enough time to tighten his grip on the arsenal. She saw the desperation of the wounded and dying and did what she could to aid and comfort them. The three-hour fight at Cramptons Gap left 500 Union and 750 Confederate dead and wounded. It was never my fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battlefield.. Running southward, XII Corps under Maj. Gen. Joseph K.F. The following morning, McClellan attacks. Victories there, could lead to the capture of the Federal capital in Washington, D.C. Confederate success could also influence impending Congressional elections in the North and persuade European nations to recognize the Confederate States of America. On the political front, Lincoln felt that the war-weary North needed to be energized. Colonel Thomas Munford led a brigade of cavalry, bloodied from the fighting at South Mountain, to cover the fords south of the lower bridge. The carnage was terrific; only two dozen of the original 250 men of the 6th Georgia survived the maelstrom without being killed or wounded. [if] we can sit still long enough. Sunken Road (Bloody Lane) 9. The divisions became separated, and Sedgwick pressed forward with 5,000 men through the northern edge of the West Woods, coming under heavy attack from elements of three Confederate divisions and Pelhams horse artillery on Nicodemus Hill. Franklins VI Corps was held in reserve. On the morning of the 13th, the 27th Indiana Infantry paused to rest in a field on the outskirts of Frederick. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at . Lee, hopelessly outnumbered, still intended to make a stand in Maryland. Take a virtual tour of Antietam Battlefield by clicking on the links for the battlefield tour stops below. The 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana, moving as flank protection, fired a devastating volley into the two brigades assailing the 6th Wisconsin. Ricketts remaining two brigades, under Colonel William A. Christian and Brig. Early reports from Stuarts cavalry told him that McClellan was on the road to Frederick, and on September 10 he ordered Longstreet to advance to Hagerstown with 10,000 troops, occupying the village before any Union forces might contest the Confederate rallying point. In less than fifteen we were sending and receiving death missiles by the bushel. Hoods men drove north, forcing the First Corps back across the Cornfield. Three hours later, Union troops had pushed the Confederates back and over 5,000 men were either dead or injured. Meanwhile, on September 2, McClellan retook command of the army to the cheers of his men. Men, I cannot say fell; they were knocked out of the ranks by dozens.. The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, occurred on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Because Federal and Confederate forces . National Park Service.The Maryland Campaign of 1862. In the 1864 election he was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Facing threats in front and right, as the enemy advanced the Georgians suddenly realized they were in a tremendous Union vise that was about to literally squeeze the regiment to death. Perhaps the reality of the battle was best described by Union soldier Charles Goddard in a letter to his mother: If the horrors of war cannot be seen on this battlefield, they cant be seen any where.. On the diplomatic front, the Confederate cause was ripe for recognition by European powers, particularly Great Britain and France. Marylanders were wary and observed the Confederates with a mixture of sympathy, awe, and disdain. Starkes Louisiana men took up positions along a rail fence on the east side of the Hagerstown Turnpike. What happened next was pivotal: On September 13, two Union soldiers, Private Barton W. Mitchell and Sergeant John M. Bloss, discovered a copy of Special Order 191 with detailed Confederate troop movements, allegedly wrapped around three cigars. Im glad that the map correctly shows the Dunkard Church, after that particular sect of German Baptists. He retrieved an envelope that contained three cigars wrapped around the copy of Special Orders No. The Most Terrible Clash of Arms Dawes remembered: As we appeared at the edge of the cornfield, a long line of men in butternut and gray rose up from the ground. Because Federal and Confederate forces . A total of 23,000 men were killed, wounded or captured; 3650 soldiers were killed - 2100 Unionists and 1550 Confederates. This is that story, Viewers of the 1989 film Glory know it tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts African American regiment and its commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who share a fate at the 1863 assault on Fort Wagner. Union Advance 8. Lee detailed his complex plan in Special Orders No. Although it offered some advantages, it was also precarious. Encyclopedia Virginia.The Significance of the Battle of Antietam. Widely considered to be one of the most beautiful, pristine and well-preserved Civil War battlefields, Antietam is a must-see for any Civil War Our FREE Virtual Teacher Institute is the can't miss online educator event of the summer. North Woods 3. Excellent summaries of the individual skirmishes and the overall battle. Jackson in turn detailed Maj. Gen. A.P. Gen. Alpheus Williams and Colonel Samuel Pittman read the document with great interest. Lees positions provided natural cover, with an undulating landscape and rocky limestone outcroppings, while west of the Hagerstown Turnpike the knoll known as Nicodemus Hill offered a commanding position for Confederate artillery. Donations to the Trust are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under the law. The dejected Lee ordered Jackson to march to Shepherdstown to cover the withdrawal of Longstreets force. The first Confederate invasion of Union-held territory is not going as planned. Harpers Ferry was still in Union hands, and McClellans advance toward South Mountain was disturbing. As the reliable Battery B, 4th U.S. The North Woods stretched across the farmland of Joseph Poffenberger. Williams took command of XII Corps and the fight for the cornfield continued, with men from both sides tripping over the dead and falling bleeding among the severed cornstalks. In 1881 Barton founded the American Red Cross. Spotting Mansfields tightly packed troops, Hoods men fired on the 10th Maine Regiment. Hoods division roared out of the West Woods, around the Dunker Church, and through a gap in the fence along the Hagerstown Turnpike, pitching furiously into the Iron Brigade. Sergeant E.J. The Army of the Potomac began to concentrate that night, but during the following day McClellan declined to make a decisive move. Starke, shot three times, died on the field. . The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, occurred on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Following the debacle at Second Bull Run, Lincoln turned again to McClellan, whose extreme timidity in the field was contrasted with his superb organizational skills and the enduring confidence of his men. Lieutenant James Wilson, a member of McClellans staff, observed, Nobody seemed to be in a hurry. Stay up-to-date on the American Battlefield Trust's battlefield preservation efforts, travel tips, upcoming events, history content and more. Walker lost 228 of his 700 soldiers and was forced to retire. While Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were indeed triumphant, the Confederate commander realized all too well that his gains were temporary; he needed to undertake a bold stroke while the opportunity still presented itself. Gen. John Hatchs 1st Division, I Corps, on his right, and the Pennsylvania Reserve Division under Brig. Just then, an enemy sharpshooter put a bullet through Hookers foot, which bled profusely. He contemplated issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, a document that freed all slaves in the rebellious states. The Union and Confederates fought in the cornfield, many being wounded. Apparently it never reached the general. Gen. Truman Seymour, quickly reached the edge of the East Woods at the Smoketown Road. Buy new: $40.64. Mansfield and II Corps under Maj. Gen. Edwin Sumner extended the Federal right opposite Hoods positions along the Smoketown Road to high ground near McClellans headquarters at a brick farmhouse. On the Confederate left, two brigades under Brig. At about 9:00 a.m. there was a short lull in the action. The first Confederate shell struck the ranks of the 6th Wisconsin, killing two soldiers and wounding 11. When the Confederates withdrew, Franklin was only six miles from Harpers Ferry. McRae remembered: The most unutterable stampede occurred. It pitted Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of. His decision was pivotal. But after several unexpected and demoralizing Union losses, including Major General John Popes sound defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, it became clear the Confederacy wasnt going to be easy to crush. By David A. Welker John Continue reading Cowards in the Cornfield? From his headquarters at Chantilly, Virginia, Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis of his intent to carry the war to Northern soil. Lee directed Lt. Gen. James Longstreets three divisions to cross South Mountain, a ridgeline running north to south along the eastern edge of the Cumberland Valley, and proceed to Boonsboro, about halfway to Hagerstown. The present seems the most propitious time since the commencement of the war for the Confederate Army to enter Maryland, Lee noted. Gibbons Iron Brigade plowed down the Hagerstown Turnpike toward the cornfield and the West Woods. Just twelve hours of intense and often close-range fighting with muskets and cannons had resulted in around 23,000 casualties, including an estimated 3,650 dead. Halt where you are. The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 56,000 acres in 25 states! As night fell, thousands of bodies littered the sprawling Antietam battlefield and both sides regrouped and claimed their dead and wounded. Lincolns cabinet feared releasing the Emancipation Proclamation at that time would seem desperate and be difficult to enforce, so Lincoln decided to wait until another decisive Union victory. The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point By David A. Welker Casemate, 2020, $34.95. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NAMING THE EASTERN SIERRA By Marguerite Sowaal Dirty Sock to Bloody Canyon 1985 at the best online prices at eBay! Lt. Col. Robert Andersons 3rd Brigade, four regiments of Pennsylvania Reserves, crouched low behind a rail fence at the northern end of the cornfield and waited. The rail fence provided little protection, and Starkes men fell in heaps. Tyndales men charged into the cornfield, and several minutes of hand-to-hand fighting ensued before the Confederates began withdrawing toward the West Woods. The battles outcome would be vital to shaping Americas future, and it remains the deadliest one-day battle in all of American military history. These Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina troops stood fast and poured such deadly fire into the Pennsylvanians that they fell back to the cover of the trees. The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point tells for the first time the full story of the exciting struggle to control "the Cornfield," the action on which the costly battle of Antietam turned, in a thorough yet readable narrative. On September 9, Lee issued Special Order 191 defining his Maryland Campaign. His plan to enter northern territory divided his army, sending each unit to march on a specific town: Boonsboro and Hagerstown in Maryland, and Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg in West Virginia. The trail turns east and through the middle of the Miller Meadow, Continue east along the line toward the Smoketown Road, Walk north on the trail through the East Woods, Continue across Cornfield Avenue and through the East Woods, Explore the Confederate defense and counterattack in the Corn, Walk south through the historic Cornfield. . Certainly McClellans opportunity was great. Final Attack 11. His opponent, Abraham Lincoln, was reelected for another term. Near the center of the battlefield, another site of slaughter was a farm lane known as the Sunken Road, where Hills division of approximately 2,600 men had piled fence rails along the roads embankment to fortify their position against Union Major General William H. Frenchs 5,500 approaching troops. Lee prodded Jackson and McLaws to wrap up their work at Harpers Ferry. Reaching the fence, the 6th Georgia had restored the Souths hold on the vital Cornfield only to find itself in a dire position. It is necessary for you to abandon your position tonight. One of my ancestors, Robert W. Austin of . In a superb organizational effort lasting just four days, he completed the assimilation of units from the former Army of Virginia into the Army of the Potomac. The first reports of the Confederate move into Maryland arrived in Washington on the afternoon of September 4, prompting McClellan to begin moving at a deliberate pace from his encampment at Rockville, Maryland. General Robert E. Lee committed his entire force to the battle, while Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan sent in less than three quarters of his. Its commander, Colonel Hugh McNeil, was killed along with five others, and 20 were wounded. Ricketts division was knocked out of the battle with 30 percent casualties, and it fell to Meade to patch a defensive line together. The little hillock would be his objective for the morning attack. As he was carried to the rear, Reno yelled to Brig. The Pennsylvanians fired a tremendous volley into the flank of Colquitts brigade, already locked in heavy combat with Union troops in the clover pasture beyond the northern fringe of the cornfield. Stuarts cavalry was to remain east of South Mountain, screening the movements from the enemy. Jefferson County, WV|Sep 12-15, 1862, Frederick County and Washington County, MD|Sep 14, 1862, Washington County, MD|Sep 16-18, 1862, Town of Shepherdstown, WV|Sep 19-20, 1862, Washington County, MD | September 17, 1862. To take it, Hookers divisions would advance along the turnpike between the East and West Woods, through the pastures of the Miller farm, and across the cornfield at the turnpikes eastern edge. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. It was never my fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battlefield. Duryeas battered brigade withdrew through the cornfield toward the East Woods, exposing the Iron Brigades left flank. Reinforcements from Longstreet tried to stem the tide but were driven back. A collapse of the Confederate left appeared imminent. Duryeas men fought valiantly, pressing the Georgians hard. Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood wrote: "It was here that I witnessed the most terrible clash of arms, by far, that has occurred during the war." While Douglass and Walker held on, Colonel Harry T. Hays hard-fighting Louisiana brigade, nicknamed the Louisiana Tigers, moved forward. Antietam | Cornfield | Sep 17, 1862 | 8:00 - 8:30 am (November 2021) [PDF] 580.63 KB Preserve 128 sacred acres at Antietam and Shepherdstown We can add 6 additional acres to the 130-year-old Antietam Battlefield site and preserve 122 acres of nearly-pristine land at Shepherdstown all part. September 17. From my earliest study of the war, I was fascinated by the idea that its events could transform otherwise mundane spots into unique and special places, with Antietam's Cornfield being one of the most singular. 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