Only darkness halted the Union advance. During the course of the morning, the cornfield, a space 250 yards long and 400 yards wide, changed hands 15 times. Gen. Jubal Earlys brigade left Pelhams horse artillery on Nicodemus Hill to join the fray. Over the next half hour, Douglass and half his command fell in the heated exchange of rifle and artillery fire. Colonel Thomas Munford led a brigade of cavalry, bloodied from the fighting at South Mountain, to cover the fords south of the lower bridge. President Abraham Lincoln, still mourning the death of his 11-year-old son, Willie, earlier that year, sought desperately to find a general who could reverse the growing belief that Confederate arms, under the able leadership of General Robert E. Lee, were invincible. Repeated Union attacks and equally vicious Confederate counterattacks sweep back and forth across Millers cornfield and the West Woods. Lee was left with few cards to play. Late on the afternoon of the 16th, Hooker crossed Antietam Creek intending to position more than 8,000 Union troops to launch the attack the following morning. Here is a paper, McClellan chirped, with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home.. On the other side, President Abraham Lincoln was counting on McClellan to bring him the victory he needed to keep Republican control of the Congress and issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The present seems the most propitious time since the commencement of the war for the Confederate Army to enter Maryland, Lee noted. Greenes two brigades were within 200 yards of the Dunker Church, where they halted and watched the West Woods swarm with Confederates. When the Confederates withdrew, Franklin was only six miles from Harpers Ferry. A steady drizzle pelted down during the night, soaking the men as they fitfully slept. The 28th Pennsylvania and 5th, 7th, and 66th Ohio of Lt. Col. Hector Tyndales 1st Brigade led the way. Stonewall Jackson, Maj. Gen. D.H. Hills division was to follow Longstreet as the armys rear guard. In spite of his diminished ranks, Lee continues to skirmish with McClellan on September 18, while removing his wounded south of the Potomac River. As he was carried to the rear, Reno yelled to Brig. Join us online July 24-26! Sunken Road (Bloody Lane) 9. [1]. Lee detailed his complex plan in Special Orders No. Tyndales men charged into the cornfield, and several minutes of hand-to-hand fighting ensued before the Confederates began withdrawing toward the West Woods. Antietam on the Web. Stragglers were everywhere, and entire regiments milled about without direction. Updated: November 28, 2022 | Original: October 27, 2009. Hill and his Light Division to take custody of 73 pieces of artillery and 13,000 rifles and revolvers and parole the prisoners at the arsenal. (Part Two): The Complicated Story of Virginias General John R.Jones, Amidst a firestorm of Confederate shells, just as his brigade was heading into the hell of Antietams Cornfield, Colonel William Christian suddenly muttered Ive always had a great fear of shelling. And with that, he simply vanished By David A. Welker William Henry Christian was born on April 9th 1825 in Utica, New York. With Federal forces closing in from the east, Lee selects strategic ground near Antietam Creek and orders his army to converge there. Lost Order, Lost Cause. Late in the afternoon, reinforcements from Longstreet began to arrive. Within minutes, Doubledays hard-won progress was completely reversed. 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. Brigadier General David Ricketts 2nd Division, led by Brig. All of Lees troops were worn-out and hungry, and many were sick. Two divisions of Sumners corps, commanded by Brig. Three hours later, Union troops had pushed the Confederates back and over 5,000 men were either dead or injured. It was obvious to the Union veterans that the area had recently served as a Rebel bivouac. Starkes Louisiana men took up positions along a rail fence on the east side of the Hagerstown Turnpike. Travel back in time to see Antietam's battlefield as it looked 134 years ago. As he read, McClellan waved his arms and shouted, Now I know what to do! Later that day, McClellan visited with his old friend, Brig. The cannon fire literally blew men apart. Hooker threw a blanket on the ground near the Poffenberger farmhouse and commented within earshot of George Smalley, a reporter for the New York Tribune, If they had let us start earlier, we might have finished tonight.. Adding insult to injury, Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. The dejected Lee ordered Jackson to march to Shepherdstown to cover the withdrawal of Longstreets force. McClellans plan of attack depended on coordination and timing all along the line. The Battle of South Mountain began early on September 14, and by 11 am Union troops of Brig. Although it offered some advantages, it was also precarious. Lee had heard nothing from Stonewall and was startled to receive word a short time later that Harpers Ferry was expected to fall the next day. He contemplated issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, a document that freed all slaves in the rebellious states. Return to Tour Map How it ended Inconclusive. Casualties were fearful. The Confederates were hit from three sides and melted away while the Wisconsin soldiers, accompanied by the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters and the 14th Brooklyn, moved toward the high ground around the Dunker Church, still several hundred yards away. Among the wounded were Sergeant Bloss and Corporal Mitchell, who had found Lees lost orders four days earlier. About noon on the 16th, Jackson rode up to find Lee and Longstreet observing the Union troops across the creek. As Union soldiers stepped out of the Cornfield at dawn, September 17, 1862, Confederate troops unleashed a horrific volley. Stuarts cavalry screened the Confederate left while D.H. Hills five brigades were funneled into the center of the Confederate line and filed into the sunken road. Gen. Abner Doubledays 1st Division marched through the North Woods, Gibbons 4th Brigade, wearing its distinctive black hats, led the way on the right. Duryeas battered brigade withdrew through the cornfield toward the East Woods, exposing the Iron Brigades left flank. Ironically, Lincolns proclamation didnt free slaves in Marylandone of a handful of slave states that had remained in the Unionsince it only applied to slaves in rebel states. Hoods lightning counterattack prevented the collapse of the Confederate left and forced Hookers corps back essentially to its early morning starting point with more than 2,500 casualties. Six generals were killed or mortally wounded, three from the Union army and three Confederates. The following morning, McClellan attacks. 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. The proclamation, Lincoln hoped, would add a moral dimension to the war besides the preservation of the Union. Here is their shared story By David A. Welker Werner Von Bachelle Continue reading Captain Von Bachelle and his canine friend sacrifice all in theCornfield. Lower Bridge (Burnside Bridge) 10. Some of these regiments attacked all the way to the northern edge of the Cornfield, where they were crushed by the arrival of the Union Twelfth Corps. Upon learning of the valuable find, an ecstatic McClellan reportedly exclaimed, Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home. He immediately moved his army in hopes of foiling Lees battle plans. General Robert E. Lee also recognized dissent among Lincolns ranks and hoped a battle victory on Union land might topple Lincolns congressional support and help secure the Confederacy once and for all. Although Continue reading Cowards in the Cornfield? 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. Antietam National Cemetery The textile mills of Europe were dependent on Southern cotton for continuing operations, and the British government keenly felt the urgency to recognize the Confederacy. The Cornfield at Antietam Battlefield Matt Brant Ancestry and Fold3 have been helping people understand their ancestors and why they fought for causes large and small for decades. Donate Now Why is nurse Clara Barton considered a hero of Antietam? Jackson included the caveat that Hood be ready to move at a moments notice if called upon. Download the official NPS app before your next visit. Commented one civilian: They were the dirtiest men I ever saw. Gibbons Iron Brigade plowed down the Hagerstown Turnpike toward the cornfield and the West Woods. Reinforcements from Longstreet tried to stem the tide but were driven back. 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. Many regiments on both sides were cut to pieces. Hays' Louisiana Brigade suffered over 60-percent casualties in 30 minutes. Gen. Samuel Sturgis, one of his division commanders, Hallo, Sam, I am dead! Within minutes, Reno proved as good as his word. The Most Terrible Clash of Arms Hooker sees thousands of his Federals felled in the corn rows, where, every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before. Despite the great Union numerical advantage, Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jacksons Confederate forces hold their ground near the Dunker Church. Buy new: $40.64. The three-hour fight at Cramptons Gap left 500 Union and 750 Confederate dead and wounded. "Battle of Antietam: Carnage in a Cornfield", "cwla - Antietam Modern Image Gallery 11 Frame", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Miller%27s_Cornfield&oldid=1139340604, Battlefields of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Western Maryland did not rally to the Stars and Bars. McClellan sends Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter to mount a cautious pursuit, which is repulsed at the Battle of Shepherdstown. Little is known Continue reading Claimed by the Cornfield: Georgias Colonel MarcellusDouglass, When General J. R. Jones quickly relinquished command at the prospect of marching his division into Antietams Cornfield, his fellow Southern officers began whispering the word coward behind his back. Lee wrote to McLaws: The day has gone against us and this army will go by Sharpsburg and cross the river. 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. By 9:30 a.m. thousands of them lay dead and dying. The 5th North Carolinas Captain Thompson came up to me in a very excited manner and tone cried out to me They are flanking us! Starke, shot three times, died on the field. McClellan deployed Hookers I Corps astride the Hagerstown Turnpike to the north. Hooker ordered four batteries to unlimber. If successful in Maryland, the army might venture into Pennsylvania, destroy the vital Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge across the Susquehanna River, and threaten the state capital of Harrisburg. Men, I cannot say fell; they were knocked out of the ranks by dozens.. On September 15, Lee positions his men behind the creek and waits for McClellan to arrive. What they didnt understand was just how important holding this place was for a Confederate victory at Antietam, For Gods sake, come and help us out! begged the new head of Hartsuffs Brigade and without a pause, Colonel Lyle had the 90th Pennsylvania marching forward into the swirling inferno of Antietams Cornfield. And keeping Confederates in their southern box enabled President Lincoln to finally release his Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. 191, dated September 9. 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. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! After he failed to attack Lees depleted troops as they fled Sharpsburg on September 18, he wrote to his wife, Ellen, that, ''those in whose judgment I rely tell me that I fought the battle splendidly & that it was a masterpiece of art.'' After McClellan fails to pursue Lee on his retreat south, Lincoln loses faith in his general. Gen. Samuel Garland, mortally wounded just as he completed an assessment of the situation. Gen. Jacob Coxs Kanawha Division were in control of Foxs Gap. The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point By David A. Welker Casemate, 2020, $34.95. While the Battle of Antietam is considered a tactical draw, President Lincoln claims a strategic victory. Lt. Col. Edward Bragg of the 6th Wisconsin was wounded as the regiment was hit in both flanks. Battle of Antietam: Clash in the Cornfield America's bloodiest day began with heavy fighting that ravaged a previously innocuous cornfield in western Maryland. The Tigers also clashed with Ricketts brigade, under Colonel Richard Coulter, who had replaced the wounded Hartsuff, as the Federals rushed through the shattered cornfield. Eventually he decided against another general assault. This battle flag of the 12 th Georgia includes the names of several color bearers who . He needed a legitimatizing Union victory in the field before he could issue the proclamation. .In my feeble estimation, General McClellan, with all his laurels, sinks into insignificance beside the true heroine of the age, the angel of the battle field. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American military history, showed that the Union could stand against the Confederate army in the Eastern theater. 12. For generations of Americans, the word Antietam - the name of a bucolic stream in western Maryland - held the same sense of horror and carnage that the date 9/11 does for Americans today. Encyclopedia Virginia.The Significance of the Battle of Antietam. Lee issued a proclamation to the people of Maryland inviting them to join the Southern cause. Gen. D.R. They also ended any hope of France and Great Britain acknowledging the Confederacy and coming to their aid. Bodies in front of the Dunker Church - Antietam Battlefield (Library of Congress) In the nether world of the West Woods, choked with the bodies of the dead and wounded and shrouded in the misty blue-gray smoke of musketry and artillery fire, the North Carolinians struck with a vengeance. Gen. John Hatchs 1st Division, I Corps, on his right, and the Pennsylvania Reserve Division under Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood went into line on the fringe of the West Woods, a stretch of trees 300 yards wide to the west of the Hagerstown Turnpike, the major thoroughfare that led into Sharpsburg. We cannot afford to be idle.. Because Federal and Confederate forces . Strategically, Lees decision to invade the North made sense. Gen. William French and Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, crossed Antietam Creek to support Mansfield. See, yonders a whole brigade! I ordered him to keep silent and return to his placebut, when this act of indiscretion occurred, they began to break and run By Continue reading Garlands Brigade at the Cornfield: The Death of a Reputationand MuchMore, Now was the moment of truth for Major George Gile and his new command, the 88th Pennsylvania. (Today its called Burnside Bridge.) But Antietam eclipses even this modern tragedy as America's single bloodiest day, on which 22,000 men became casualties in a war to determine our nation's future. Forward, guide centre, halt. 191. This assault on Robert E. Lee's forces began the Battle of Antietam, the single bloodiest day of the Civil War. It is remembered as the site of some of the most savage fighting of the Battle of Antietam, which itself was the bloodiest single-day action of the Civil War. 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. On first division, deploy column, march. For nearly three hours, Hooker and Mansfield's Union forces battled Jackson's Confederates. The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, occurred on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. He tended to details while three of Jacksons footsore divisions began trickling into the vicinity. 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. Frustrated with Lincolns policies and the course of the war, Democrats launched an anti-war campaign, hoping to take over the U.S. House of Representatives. The ordeal on the Confederate left was not yet over. Fearful that the brigade was about to be flanked, he raised the alarm prematurely. Corps and divisions moved as languidly to the places assigned them as if they were getting ready for a grand review instead of a decisive battle.. It is necessary for you to abandon your position tonight. 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. The smoke, heat and roar of battle deluged the senses, obliterating all rational thought. From his point of view, hed accomplished his mission of forcing Lees troops from Maryland and preventing a Confederate win on Union soil. It also gave President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a moment of strength rather than desperation. Had Franklin overwhelmed McLaws and marched hard for Harpers Ferry, he might have lifted the siege and checked any subsequent movement by Jackson. One soldier of the 6th Wisconsin captured the essence of that horrific morning. A major victory on Northern soil would allow Lee to menace Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even Washington. 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. Hood was aghast at the losses. Even so, the Union claimed victory. An hour before dawn, Hooker rode from the Poffenberger farm to his picket line beyond the edge of the North Woods. Send forward officers to explore the way, ascertain the best crossing of the Potomac.. At about 9:00 a.m. there was a short lull in the action. The distance closed to 30 yards, and the two sides blazed away at one another. Gen. Wade Hamptons South Carolina Legion under the command of Colonel William T. Wofford, and a second brigade under Colonel Evander M. Law that consisted of the 4th Alabama, 2nd and 11th Mississippi, and the 6th North Carolina regiments. Why did Lincoln lose faith in George McClellans command after Antietam? He surveyed the terrain and noticed a patch of high ground about a mile to his front near the junction of the Smoketown Road and the Hagerstown Turnpike. It is for you to decide your destiny, freely and without constraint. In the 1864 election he was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Turn left (south) and walk through the historic Cornfield to complete your hike. One soldier remembered: "The air seems full of leaden missiles. Works, was hot on the heels of the fleeing Federals and outran the rest of Woffords brigade. The water is deep, swift, and crossable only at three stone bridges, making it a natural defensible location. Gen. William E. Starke spurred his brigade of Louisiana soldiers and accompanying Virginians headlong into the Iron Brigade. The Cornfield Trail loops around and through the Bloody Cornfield where 8,000 men were killed, wounded or went missing is the ferocious battle for two hours on the morning of September 17. When Frenchs troops arrived, fighting ensued at close range. When the Union men loosed a volley in reply, Mansfield, who had only taken command two days earlier, became confused, believing that large numbers of Federal troops were still to their front. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Spotting Mansfields tightly packed troops, Hoods men fired on the 10th Maine Regiment. After more than an hour of fighting around the East Woods and the eastern half of the cornfield, the Federals had failed to press their slight advantage, feeding troops into the battle piecemeal as the Confederates had rushed reinforcements from the center to stem the Union tide. When another officer asked the whereabouts of his division, he replied sorrowfully, Dead on the field.. The 12th Massachusetts had 224 of its 334 soldiers shot down, a casualty rate of 67 percent that was the highest of any Union regiment on the field. Gen. George G. Meades 3rd Division led the way as flank protection, and one of its regiments, the 13th Pennsylvania, hearty deer hunters from the western woodlands known as the Bucktails, was hit particularly 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." Fearful that his untried troops would break and run, Mansfield countermanded an order to deploy from columns into line of battle, and the massed ranks became a prime target for Confederate artillery. Lincoln has been waiting for a military success to issue his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. As night fell, thousands of bodies littered the sprawling Antietam battlefield and both sides regrouped and claimed their dead and wounded. The next day, the Army of Northern Virginia set out from Frederick. Hills rear guard remained at Boonsboro with 5,000 troops. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. Walker lost 228 of his 700 soldiers and was forced to retire. Artillery blasted Hoods Texans with double loads of canister, Gibbon moved in to personally direct the fire. At that moment it must have entered the minds of the men of the 1st Texas that it might just be possible to break the Yankees hold on this spot, if only they could reach it in time By David A. Welker The Continue reading The 1st Texas Infantry in the Cornfield: Slipping theBridle, You may have heard the story of Werner Von Bachelle and his beloved dog, who shared their lives and met their respective fates in Antietams Cornfield. More Union troops joined in from across the turnpike, and the Texans were caught in a murderous crossfire. The smoke and fog lift; and almost at our feet, concealed in a hollow behind a demolished fence, lies a rebel brigade pouring into our ranks the most deadly fire of the war. The 1st Texas, under Colonel P.A. ", "Through a shower of bullets and shells, it was only the thoughts of home that brought me from that place." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.The Battle of Antietam. 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