After Pope's disastrous defeat at Second Bull Run he begged to be
relieved of the command of the army. He gave as one of the causes of
his defeat that General Fitz John Porter had disobeyed orders. General
Porter's explanation to the Court Marshal failed to convince it and he
was dismissed from the service.
The Army of Virginia and that of the Potomac being united, the command
was handed to the "Little Napoleon" of Peninsula fame, George B.
McClellan.
The South was overjoyed with its victory at Bull Run--twice it had
unfurled its banner in triumph on this battlefield--twice its army
had stood on the road that leads to Washington, only by some strange
destiny of war to fail to enter it on the wave of victory.
This subject, "The Battle of Antietam," is considered one of the
turning points of the war, for it was after this battle that President
Lincoln issued his emancipation proclamation, although it is said that
he had it prepared for some time but on account of the continued defeat
of his armies in Virginia he could not see his way clear to declare it
until after the battle of Antietam.
Lee's army, 50,000 strong, crossed the Potomac and concentrated around
Frederick, Md., only about forty miles from Washington. When it
became known that Lee was advancing into Maryland and was threatening
Washington, McClellan pushed his forces forward to encounter the
invaders. The people of the vicinity, and even at Harrisburg,
Baltimore and Philadelphia, were filled with consternation. Their
fear was intensified by the memory of Second Bull Run, a few weeks
before, and by the fact that at this time General Bragg was marching
northward across Kentucky with a great army, threatening Louisville and
Cincinnati.
Lee sent Jackson against the Union forces at Harper's Ferry, which is
at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, at which place
there were stored valuable stores and munitions of war. This place was
made famous by John Brown's raid a few years before.
Jackson reached the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry on the morning of
the 13th, and captured the town with but little opposition on the
morning of the 15th. There were turned over to him 11,500 prisoners,
seventy-three guns, 13,000 small arms, 200 wagons, and a large store of
supplies. In this enterprise Lee had achieved an important and valuable
success.
Longstreet, who had advanced to Hagerstown, probably with the intention
of invading Pennsylvania, was hastily recalled and sent to reënforce
D. H. Hill, who was being severely pushed at Boonsborough Gap by
McClellan. The defense of this path had been very necessary to Lee,
but, after a desperate conflict, the Union army succeeded in forcing
its way through, this being the first set-back to Lee's invasion, and
he conceived at once that a great battle was at hand and began to
concentrate his forces.
Jackson was marching with all haste to Sharpsburg, near by Antietam
Creek, having left A. P. Hill to receive the surrender at Harper's
Ferry, and on the morning of the 16th the whole army, with the
exception of the force of A. P. Hill, left at Harper's Ferry, was
concentrated behind Antietam Creek.
McClellan's army reached the opposite side of the stream on the same
day.
The bulk of the Confederate forces, under Longstreet and D. H. Hill,
stood along the range of heights between Sharpsburg and Antietam Creek,
with Longstreet on the right and Hill on the left, and Hood's division
on the Hagerstown road north of Miller's farm, and near that point, in
the rear, Jackson's exhausted troops were in reserve.
His lines, stretching from the Hagerstown road towards the Potomac,
were protected by Stuart's cavalry. General Lee had his headquarters in
a tent on a hill near Sharpsburg, where the National Cemetery now is,
and from that point he overlooked much of the country that was made a
battlefield the next day.
[Illustration: JOHN BROWN ON HIS WAY TO THE GALLOWS]
Antietam Creek was spanned by four stone bridges, which were strongly
guarded.
McClellan made his headquarters at the fine brick mansion of Philip
Pry, about two miles east of Antietam. His army was posted in front on
each side, one wing under Sumner and the other under Hooker. Farther
down the stream, and not far from bridge No. 3, Burnside's corps was
posted. McClellan's artillery was planted on the hills in front of
Sumner and Hooker. This was the general position of the contending
armies on the 16th.
This was a day of intense anxiety and unrest in the valley of the
Antietam. The people, who had lived in the farm houses that dotted
the golden autumn landscape in this hitherto quiet community, had
now abandoned their homes and given place to the gathering thousands
who were marching to the stern command of the officers. It was a day
of maneuvering and getting position preparatory to the coming mighty
conflict.
The two great armies now lay facing each other in a grand double line
three miles in length. At one point they were so near together that the
pickets could hear each other tread. It would require no prophet to
foretell what would happen on the morrow.
On the night of the 16th few officers found relief from anxiety, and it
goes without saying that many a soldier on this particular night, with
his mind on the battle which was to be fought on the morrow, did not
close his eyes in slumber.
Beautiful and clear the morning broke over the Maryland hills on the
fateful 17th of September, 1862. The sunlight had not yet touched
the crowned hilltops when artillery fire announced the opening of the
battle. The contest was opened by Hooker with about 8,000 men. He made
a vigorous attack on the Confederate left, commanded by Jackson, and
was supported by Doubleday on the right, and Meade on the left. He had
not gone far before the glint of the rising sun disclosed the bayonet
points of a large Confederate force standing in a cornfield in his
immediate front. This was a part of Jackson's corps, who had arrived
during the morning of the 16th from the capture of Harper's Ferry, and
had been posted in this position to surprise Hooker in his advance. The
outcome was a terrible surprise to the Confederates. Hooker's batteries
hurried into action and opened with canister on the cornfield. Hooker's
object was to push the Confederates back through a line of woods and
seize the Hagerstown road and the woods beyond in the vicinity of the
Dunker church. Around this church on this fateful day the demon of war
reigned supreme, and near this church stood the fine mansion of a Mr.
Mumma, which was fired by a retreating column of Confederate troops and
burned throughout the entire engagement. The Federal batteries on the
east side of the Antietam poured an enfilading fire on Jackson that
galled him very much. The Confederates stood bravely against this fire
and made a determined resistance. Back, and still further back, were
Jackson's men driven across the field, every stalk of corn in which was
cut down by the shot and shell as closely as a knife could have done
it. On the ground the fallen lay in rows, precisely as they had stood
in the ranks. The Confederates were driven from the cornfield into a
patch of woods. Hooker now advanced his center under Meade to seize the
Hagerstown road and the woods beyond. They were met by a murderous fire
from Jackson, who had just been reënforced by Hood's refreshed troops,
who fell heavily upon Meade in the cornfield. Hooker called upon
Doubleday for aid, and a brigade was forwarded at double-quick across
the cornfield in the face of a terrible storm of shot and shell. The
Federals were further reënforced by Mansfield's corps, and while his
divisions were deploying this veteran commander was mortally wounded.
General Williams succeeded to the command of his corps, who pushed on
across the open fields and seized a part of the woods on the Hagerstown
road. At the same time Greene's division took position to the left
of the Dunker church. This was on high ground and was the key to the
Confederate left wing. But Greene's troops were exposed to a galling
fire from the division of D. H. Hill and he called for reënforcements.
General Sumner sent Sedgwick's division across the creek to reënforce
Greene. His troops advanced straight towards the conflict. They found
General Hooker severely wounded in the foot, which became so painful
that he was carried off the field and left his troops in the command of
Sumner. A sharp artillery fire was turned on Sedgwick before he reached
the woods, west of the Hagerstown Pike, but once in the shelter of the
thick trees he passed in safety to the western edge. Here the division
found itself in an ambush.
The Confederates had been heavily reënforced by several brigades under
Walker and McLaws, having just arrived from Harper's Ferry, and had not
only blocked the front but had worked around to the rear of Sedgwick,
who was wounded in the awful slaughter that followed, but he and Sumner
finally extricated their men after severe loss. The Federals were
now reënforced by Franklin's fresh troops and were able to hold the
cornfield and part of the woods over which the conflict had raged till
the ground was saturated with blood.
Sedgwick was twice wounded and carried from the field. The command of
his division involved on General Howard.
It was now about noon and the battle had been raging since early in
the morning. Another deadly conflict was in progress near the center.
Sumner's corps had crossed the stream and made a desperate assault on
the Confederates under D. H. Hill, stationed to the south of where the
battle had previously raged and along a sunken road, since known as
"Bloody Lane." The fighting here was of a most desperate character and
continued nearly four hours. The Federal advance was led by Generals
French and Richardson, who captured a few flags and several prisoners,
but failed to carry the heights along which the Confederates were
posted. Richardson was mortally wounded while leading a charge and was
succeeded by General Hancock, but his men finally captured Bloody Lane
with the 300 living men who remained to defend it.
The final Federal charge was made at this point by Colonel Barlow, who
displayed the utmost bravery, where he won a brigadier-generalship.
He was later wounded and carried off the field. The Confederates had
fought desperately to hold their position at Bloody Lane, and when
it was captured it was filled with dead bodies. It was now after one
o'clock and the firing ceased for the day on the Union right and center.
General Burnside was in command of the Federal left wing and had
remained inactive for some hours after the battle had begun at the
other end of the line, having finally received orders from McClellan
to cross the stone bridge, since known as Burnside's Bridge, and drive
the Confederates out of their strong position. The Confederates at
this bridge were commanded by General Toombs, who had orders from
General Lee to hold the bridge at all hazards. They were behind strong
breastworks and rifle pits, which commanded the bridge with both a
direct and enfilading fire. General Robert Toombs had been a former
United States senator and a member of Jefferson Davis' cabinet. Perhaps
the most notable event of his life was the holding of the Burnside
Bridge at Antietam for three hours against the fearful onslaughts of
the Federals. Burnside's chief officer at this time was General Jacob
D. Cox, afterwards governor of Ohio, who succeeded General Reno, killed
at South Mountain or Boonsborough Gap. On General Cox fell the task of
capturing the stone bridge.
The Confederates had been weakened at this point by the sending of
Walker to the support of Jackson, where, as we have noticed, he took
part in the deadly assault upon Sedgwick's division.
Toombs, with his small force, had a hard task of defending the bridge,
notwithstanding his advantage of position. McClellan sent several
urgent orders to General Burnside to cross the bridge at all hazards.
Burnside forwarded these to Cox and in the fear that the latter would
not be able to carry the bridge by a direct front attack, he sent
General Rodman with a division to cross the creek at a ford below. This
was accomplished after much difficulty. One assault after another was
made upon the bridge in rapid succession, which was at length carried
at the cost of 500 men. Burnside charged up the hill and drove the
Confederates almost to Sharpsburg. The fighting along the Sharpsburg
road might have resulted in the Confederates' disaster and the capture
of General Lee's headquarters had it not been for the timely arrival
of A. P. Hill's division, which emerged out of a cloud of dust on the
Harper's Ferry road and came upon the field at double quick, and, under
a heavy fire of artillery, charged upon Burnside's columns and after
severe fighting, in which General Rodman was mortally wounded, drove
the Federals back almost to the bridge. The pursuit was checked by the
Federal artillery on the eastern side of the stream. Darkness closed
the conflict.
Lee had counted on the arrival of A. P. Hill in time to help hold the
Federals in check at the bridge, but he was late and came up just in
time to save the army from disastrous defeat.
With the gloom of that night ended the conflict known as Antietam.
For fourteen hours more than 100,000 men, with 500 pieces of artillery,
had engaged in Titanic conflict. As the battle's smoke rose and
cleared away the scene presented was one to make the stoutest heart
shudder. There lay upon the ground, scattered for three miles over the
valleys and hills, and in the improvised hospitals, more than 20,000
men.
Horace Greeley was probably right when he said that this was the
bloodiest day in American history.