...The Battle of Antietam On September 17, 1862 Robert E. Lee’s Army invaded the north to stage a devastating attack in an effort to try to end the civil war. The Battle of Antietam resulted and changed the nature of the war because it put the Union Army on a path towards victory. The Battle of Antietam, which is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Sharpsburg, is commonly referred to as one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War. This battle’s name was derived from the area in which it was fought; around the areas of Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek. As a youth I saw a movie based on this battle and was not even aware of it was based on actual events. I watched this movie again recently in an attempt to gain further knowledge about this specific battle. The 1989 Movie Glory, was based on the first formal unit of the Army that was comprised of only African American men. This movie was told from the point of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, its commanding officer during the American Civil War. The Battle of Antietam was one of the most critical battles of the war because the battle had large implications for ending the war. Robert E. Lee was on a roll coming into this battle because he had defeated the Union Armies the summer prior to Antietam. Although Lee’s Army successful coming into this battle, his army was outnumbered and was not supplied properly as compared to the north. It was only a matter of time before the resources that the union army had would...
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...In this paper, you will read proof of how the Battle of Antietam was a crucial battle in the development of today’s howitzers and how it would mold the future of field Artillery. Since 17 November 1775, the field Artillery became one of the most critical and vital assets to every branch of the United States military. The field Artillery has been utilized in every major conflict to include when they were first deployed on 2 March 1776 under the command of president gorge Washington and Henry Knox. Throughout the endless decades of war, the howitzer has seen many modifications. The howitzer has improved so much from designs such as the catapult, muzzle loaded cannon, QF 13 pounder field gun towed by horses in WWI and all the way to present...
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...the Antietam National Battlefield The Sunken Road, as it was known to area residents prior to the Battle of Antietam, was a dirt farm lane which was used primarily by farmers to bypass Sharpsburg and been worn down over the years by rain and wagon traffic. On September 17, 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill placed his division of approximately 2,600 men along the road, piled fence rails on the embankment to further strengthen the position and waited for the advance of the Union army. As Federal troops moved to reinforce the...
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...Susi Graves History 1010 17, November 2012 Deadliest Day in American History: Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam is considered the turning point of the Civil War. In August, 1862, the Union Army of Virginia lost the Battle of Second Manassas under the command of Major General John Pope to the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Robert E. Lee. This lose left the Union army disorganized and dispirited, forcing President Lincoln to appoint a new leader of the Union army, Major General George McClellan. No other day in the history of our nation has been as brutal, bloody, or deadly as what happened on September 17, 1862. After the Confederate army won the Battle of Second Manassas, Lee needed to plan his next move. Lee wanted to move his soldiers to an area that would help take the pressure off of the Shenandoah Valley. Lee was convinced by making this move he would get the support from Europe if he could win a battle on Northern soil. Lee thought the Union army would take some time to reorganize, so he decided to divide his army. Lee would use these divisions to capture certain areas. He would use Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to achieve these wins. Lee would send Jackson to Harper’s Ferry, were the Union garrison would end up surrendering. Meanwhile, Lee sent Lt. General James Longstreet to Sharpsburg. While entering Frederick, two Union soldiers of the 27th Indiana Regiment found papers wrapped around three cigars in a field on the...
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...the Battle of Antietam was one of the historical circumstances surrounding the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. President Abraham Lincoln, would issue the proclamation, however, he would only issue the proclamation for the border states that owned slaves. The issue of the proclamation would also be for the border states that remained loyal to the union. He issued that those states would be exempt from this proclamation. His advisors encouraged him to hold off on making the announcement of the proclamation, to see if the Battle of Antietam, would result in a confirmed union victory (U.S. National Archives & Records Administration). Finally, in September of 1862, word was given, the Battle of Antietam had been won. As a result, President Lincoln had issued his first announcement that the slaves in these areas of rebellion, would be set free. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln made a final announcement for the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared, all salves would be set free to include rebellious states (Wilson, DiIulio, Jr. and Bose)....
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...Abstract The Battle of Antietam took place on 17 September 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland. The battle was fought between General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and General McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. Although the battle lasted only 12 hours, it was a significant point of the American Civil War, as well as the deadliest day in history. Tactically the battle was considered a draw, but the North claimed strategic victory and President Lincoln published the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing hundreds of thousands of slaves. The Battle of Antietam Antietam Antietam is actual creek that is 41.7 miles long, located in Pennsylvania and Western Maryland. On September 17, 1862 during the American Civil War, the Union, and Confederate armies fought near Antietam creek, which is known as the Battle of Antietam. This battle was the first battle of the war that took place in the Northern territory. The Battle of Antietam was the turning point of the American Civil War. The Leaders of The Battle of Antietam The Commander of the Union Army of the Potomac was General George B. McClellan. General McClellan was a West Point graduate, class of 1846, commanded in the Mexican–American War, and took command of the Union forces on September 1, 1862. At this time the army was divided into four separate entities: Departments of Northeastern Virginia, Washington, Baltimore, and the Shenandoah, with thousands of untrained Soldiers and numerous small cells that needed to be combined...
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...Ferry, and continuing his campaign deeper into Maryland, thereby threatening the Capitol itself. In the final week prior to Antietam, Lee expected the Army of the Potomac would take significant time to refit after their defeat. Additionally, when he heard of McClellan’s command, he was further assured in his decisions to split his armies. His objectives were to seize Harper’s Ferry, a critical supply hub, as well as to secure Catoctin Mountain and South Mountain, which were key terrain features from which to mount raids into Pennsylvania. At this juncture, Lee assumed great tactical risk by dividing his armies into three columns with disparate objectives and decentralized mission command on a tight timetable. All were to concentrate...
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...British were on the verge of recognizing the Confederacy if they could show it could hold its own, and Lee was anxious to provide a cornerstone for the Confederacy to build upon. The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day in American history and was a major blow to the Army of Northern Virginia and the morale of the south. This is the tableau against which our story unfolds. Stephen W. (Ward) Sears was born July 27th, 1932 in Ohio. He is a pre-eminent American historian specializing in all facets of the Civil War. He graduated from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio and was an attendee of a journalism seminar at Radcliffe-Harvard. As a novelist, he has concentrated on the military history of the Civil War, primarily focusing his works on the battles involving and leaders of the Army of the Potomac. He was formerly employed as an editor for the Educational Department at the American Heritage Publishing Company. Sears currently resides in Norwalk, Connecticut. Some of the other books he has written on the Civil War are Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign, and George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon. However, it is his novel, Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam, that we are concerned with here. It is a fantastic book detailing the battle of Antietam or, as it is sometimes known, Sharpsburg. The diplomatic undercurrent of pending support for the Confederate cause from cotton-dependent nations such as Great Britain and France isn’t a factor...
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...If it were not for an impending fight, Antietam would have made for a beautiful spot to visit. Rolling hills, mumbling creeks, and farmland abound, however none of that would matter to the men from Shippensburg. While in Antietam, Kelso and his men, along with the other members of the 130th Regiment joined the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division of the 2nd Corps. The men crossed Antietam Creek and successfully drove the Confederates back. The next morning, revulsion in the most brutal form awaited them. Samuel Bates describes the shocking scene in his work, History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, by stating, “Daylight revealed a scene of horror and destruction; ruined houses, scarred trees, the dead stretched as they fell, and the wounded with their ghastly features, which parties with ambulances were busy with removing.” Part of the ghastly site, were five men from Company D of the 130th Regiment. Overall, 35 men from the Regiment were killed in this battle;...
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...September 17 1862, is considered the bloodiest day in American military history. With an estimated 23,000 casualties, the casualties were a result of the Battle of Antietam which took place during the Civil War. Some of the major factors that played part in such a high casualty rate in this battle were the artillery pieces used, the terrain and location of the battle, and the two experienced generals on both sides, George B McClellan as the Union commander, and Robert E. Lee as the Confederate commander. The Battle of Antietam featured four different artillery cannons, those cannons were the 1857 model Napoleon, the 3inch ordnance rifle, the 1841 model gun, and lastly the 10 pound parrot rifle. The 1857 model Napoleon cannon fired 12 pound projectiles, and had a ranger of up to 1600 yards. The...
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...1859, Jackson was one of the VMI officers who accompanied a contingent of VMI cadets to Harper's Ferry April 21, 1861 - the VMI Corps of Cadets was ordered to Richmond to serve as drillmasters for new army recruits. o April 27, 1861 - Gov. John Letcher ordered Colonel Jackson to take command at Harper's Ferry, o July 1861 - Promoted to Brigadier General. Battle of 1st Manassas, where he acquired the legendary nickname Stonewall. "Look, there stands Jackson like a stone wall." o October 1861 - Promoted to Major General. o 1862 May & June - Jackson's brilliant Shenandoah Valley Campaign; 1862-1889 o 1862 June 15-July 1 - Seven Days Battles. o 1862 June-September. Battles of Cedar Mountain, Clark's Mt., 2nd Manassas (July 21), Antietam (September 17). o 1862 October - Lee reorganized his army into two corps. Jackson was promoted to Lt. General o 1862 November - Jackson's daughter, Julia Laura, was born. o 1862 December 13 - Battle of Fredericksburg o 1862 December-1863 March - In quarters at Moss Neck, 10 miles south of Fredericksburg. o 1863 April - in camp at Hamilton's Crossing...
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...Battle of Fredericksburg 1. Battle of Fredericksburg a. Who i. The Battle of Fredericksburg took place during a time were a new nation, America, was trying to find its identity after succeeding from Britain. Because of different viewpoints of the citizens in this new country, states started to succeed to sustain their way of living. The southern states in this new nations earned its living from agriculture, which heavily relied on slaves to tend the fields. The northern states were industrial for the most part during this time period and earned its keep by trade. President Lincoln had a different point of view of how the new nation should operate. He believed the nation would only be as strong as its weakest link, and wanted to stop the states from succeeding. This essentially caused the civil war, which was fought between the Union and the Confederacy. b. When ii. There were a number of battles that occurred on the eastern side of the United States that led to the Battle of Fredericksburg such as: the Battle of Hampton Roads, the Battle of Winchester, The Seven Days Battle, the Second Battle of the Bull Run and etc. All of these prior conflicts led to the Battle of Fredericksburg that began on December 11, 1862 and ended December 15, 1862. c. Where iii. The Battle of Fredericksburg started in the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia. This battle is considered the first urban assaults led by the Union army of this era; the...
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...from the time that a group of unprepared men helped win a war against their overbearing – to say the least- mother country Britain. Unfortunately, a few decades later, America waged a not so civil war within their independent nation. The Civil War resulted in a plethora of casualties of American citizens who fought relentlessly for their side’s cause. The Battle of Antietam was part of the bountiful amount of battles and is the bloodiest single-day war in American history. The Battle of Antietam resulted in a victory which gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation of Proclamation that formally declared, in addition to preserving the Union, that slavery would be eliminated. The Battle of Antietam was fought courageously and vigorously by Union and Confederate soldiers on September 17, 1862. It was the first major battle of the Civil War to be fought on Union soil; the battle took place near Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The commander of the Union forces was George B. McClellan and the commander of the Confederate soldiers was Robert E. Lee. The Union initiated...
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...Emancipation Proclamation summary: The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as the country entered the third year of the Civil War. It declared that "all persons held as slaves … shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free"—but it applied only to states designated as being in rebellion, not to the slave-holding border states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri or to areas of the Confederacy that had already come under Union control. The careful planning of this document, with Lincoln releasing it at just the right moment in the war, ensured that it had a great positive impact on the Union efforts and redefined the purpose of the war. The Emancipation Proclamation continues to be a symbol of equality and social justice. The First Confiscation Act In August 1861, Congress passed the First Confiscation Act, authorizing the confiscation of any property—including slaves—used in the rebellion against the U.S. government. Later that month, Union major general John C. Fremont, commander of the Department of the West, issued an order declaring martial law in Missouri and freeing all slaves held by Missouri secessionists. In a letter dated September 11 that was published in Union newspapers, Lincoln ordered Fremont to change his order to conform to the First Confiscation Act, afraid that linking abolition with the war would cause the slave-holding border states to rebel. When it became clear that Fremont would not revoke...
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...Wars cannot be won without sacrifices. A war without casualties can, in fact, hardly be classified as a war. Although there is no need for mindless bloodshed, if one hundred soldiers are killed destroying the enemy sides’ supply lines, the gain outweighs the loss. War is a strategic chess game, where sometimes a pawn must be sacrificed to make way for the queen to take out the king and win the game. For instance, in the American Civil War, the Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day in American history, but it did an extraordinary amount to help the Union win the war. When the Union drove the Confederates out of Sharpsburg, it sent an important message to European countries to not bring much-needed aid to the South. Although the battle was officially counted as a draw, the Union claimed victory, also giving President Lincoln the advantage he needed to issue the...
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