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 begin to make up for the somewhat incompetent union soldiers. Lee’s army was in their poorest conditions despite their victories because of their lack of supplies. Therefore, the soldiers were hungry and improperly clothed from months and months of foot marching. The lacks of supplies to Lee’s army lead to thousands of Lee’s soldiers to desert the army prior to the battle of Antietam.
Throughout the north there was increasing opposition to the war because of the many losses they suffered. If the north incurred another loss, President Lincoln may have come forth to advocate peace. Tactically, Lee tried to take advantage of Lincoln’s presidential problem by planning a daring attack on the union army. When the Confederate army began to cross into union soil, President Lincoln appointed George McClellan to lead the Union army. Lee had a daring plan to divide his army in an attempt to protect his supply line and attack as well. Lee based his decision to dangerously divide his army on the knowledge of McClellan leading the opposition and knowing he had a reputation of being somewhat timid. When union army found plans of what Lee was up to, it created an advantage for the union troops and made Lee’s army vulnerable. Just as Lee expected of his opposition, McClellan’s timid personality caused him not to take advantage of the intelligence he had regarding the positions of the union army.
On the morning of September 17, 1862, the union army did not know the exact location of the confederate army but they moved towards the area in which they were in and began firing. Their orders were to advance towards the high ground and attack. The infamous cornfield the Armies had to maneuver through in route to their objective is where many soldiers did not make it past. Both Union and Confederate forces suffered losses by the thousands in the cornfield. These losses proved that the early morning attack on the northern portion achieved very little. So the union troops shifted their attack toward weakened portions of the confederate army. With this shift in attacks, more losses were inflicted on both sides. There were soldiers decimated on each front, but being that the union had 60,000 plus troops as compared to 40,000 plus troops of confederates, the confederates. The “sunken road” during the Battle of Antietam was where the union troops broke into the center of the lines of Lee’s army. In spite of the fact that he had over 20,000 fresh troops in reserve once he broke into the lines of Lee’s army he chose not to seize the moment. He wanted to push against rebel flanks and create an opening in the center, which he had done, but McClellan’s proven ability to not make the proper decisions during this battle was indefensible. He probably did not make the decision because he believed that Lee had troops in reserve as well. His decision at this point not to think offensively, but rather defensively cost this sure victory to once again slip from his grasp and allowed Lee to dodge defeat at Sharpsburg.
Lee’s decision to stay on the battlefield with his troops so battered can be considered reckless to some, but in my opinion his offensive mindedness is what kept the remaining troops that were suffering from adverse conditions in the fight with spirits high. Adversely, I believe if McClellan had this same mindset, he would have been able to easily defeat the Confederate army with the intelligence that was gained early on about Lee’s plan to attack union forces. Lee’s inability to call his forces to retreat was the moral victory he would later need to rebuild his army. Lee’s knowledge of the mind of his opponent allowed him to make McClellan play a very good hand very poorly so to speak. McClellan thought he fought splendid, but as he was armed with precise information of his opponent’s plan, McClellan failed time after time to finish off Lee’s Army. Honestly, it is doubtful that his army would have been able to withstand another attack on that day. Every commander has faults. Lee’s fault was that he was reluctant to retreat regardless of the circumstances. McClellan’s fault was that he did not want to take any risks, even calculated ones. In regards to this battle, McClellan’s faults seemed to overshadow Lee’s. McClellan was not afraid to take risks because he thought the opposition could over power his own. It is evident that he was afraid of failure. From my own personal experience in the Army, it is well known that you cannot be an effective military commander if you are afraid to take risks. As indecision reigned supreme in the actions and commands of McClellan, the troops came to a decision to call a truce and carry their dead and wounded from the battlefield. This union victory was significant in President Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion. This victory for union troops forever changed the dynamics in America.