Battle at Antietam

Battle at Antietam
By Mary L. Bushong
The battle of Antietamor Sharpsburg as it was known
in the South-- was the first of two invasions led by Southern General Robert
E. ee into the !orthern states. "n it# he fa$ed General George %$&lellan#
the leader of the 'nion army. ee was in need of men and supplies and
hoped to get them in %aryland. (n the mar$h into %aryland# he split his
army.
)alf went to )arper*s +erry with Stonewall ,a$kson# while ee led the
others to the passes around South %ountain.
%$&lellan had the good fortune of finding a $opy of ee*s spe$ial
orders detailing where he would be# but even that was not enough to
guarantee him a vi$tory. After seeing ee*s orders# he wrote to
-resident in$oln and told him he was going to go and get ee. Then#
oddly# he didn*t. -erhaps his $autious nature suspe$ted a trap. -erhaps
he was still under the delusion that the invading &onfederate for$e
was mu$h larger than it really was.
After initial engagements in and around the passes of South
%ountain# the area be$ame 'nion $ontrolled. The mu$h smaller
&onfederate for$e had already done their .ob# however# by delaying
the !orthern army until ,a$kson*s half of the army $ould get ba$k to
the main body. )e returned with e/hausted men and with supplies
they desperately needed. "t also gave ee time to $hoose his
battlefield.
The early morning of September 01# 0234 found ee*s army on a low
ridge with Antietam &reek to his right and the -otoma$ River to his
left. The battle would unfold with a$tion in three main areas5 the
$ornfield# the sunken road# and the bridge.
6hile artillery began firing as soon as it was light# it was espe$ially
bad in %iller*s $ornfield. The field was full of tall stalks# but the
gunfire was so thi$k that most of it was $ut off at the ground. The
&onfederates under General ,a$kson $ould hardly move for a full hour
under su$h heavy fire# until they were reinfor$ed and were able to
advan$e. 7efore long# the battle moved to in$lude 8unker &hur$h#
where 'nion $asualties were espe$ially high.
&onfederate soldiers along the sunken road between two farms
surprised a group of 'nion soldiers who were not where they were
supposed to be. Soon bitter fighting $entered on that area. +rom about
95:; a.m. until about 05;; p.m. the &onfederates held the road.
7attlefield $onfusion and e/haustion finally brought fighting there to
an end. So many had died there# it was $alled the 7loody ane.
6hile the battle of 7loody ane was going on# 'nion General
7urnside was trying to get his men over a bridge blo$ked by <;;
entren$hed soldiers from Georgia. The bridge went over an easily
fordable stream# but he was determined to gain $ontrol of the $rossing.
"t took them three hours to win the bridge# and they were $lose to a
de$isive vi$tory for the battle. "nstead of pressing forward# 7urnside
had his men stop to eat lun$h. 7y the time they were ready to go#
&onfederate reinfor$ements had arrived# and they were pushed ba$k
again.
"n spite of having half the numbers of the 'nion army# the
&onfederates lost almost no ground to the vi$ious fighting. At dark
both sides stopped fighting to rest for the night. %$&lellan $ould have
$alled up reserves to finish the battle on the 02th# but he didn*t. )e
$hose instead to wait for more reserves to move up# and so he lost the
opportunity to make a $rushing blow. The la$k of a $lear vi$tory# so
desired by his superiors# $aused them to repla$e him again in
!ovember.
6hen fighting didn*t resume on the 02th# ee waited until dark
before withdrawing his men to the other side of the -otoma$. %ore
men =appro/imately 4:#;;;> died or were wounded in that one day*s battle
than in any other day of the war.
The battle had no $lear winner# but be$ause ee withdrew first# it was
a strategi$ vi$tory for the 'nion. %ore was riding on that battle than
.ust a win or loss. +ran$e and England had been $onsidering
re$ogni?ing the &onfederate government as legitimate. The loss made
them $hoose to wait. The out$ome also en$ouraged -resident in$oln
to issue the first drafts of the Eman$ipation -ro$lamation.

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