PDA

View Full Version : Battle of Antietam



Simon445
09-17-2015, 05:53 PM
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM

Have a nice read :3


Beginning early on the morning of this day in 1862, Confederate and Union troops in the Civil War clash near Maryland’s Antietam Creek in the bloodiest one-day battle in American history.

The Battle of Antietam marked the culmination of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the Northern states. Guiding his Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River in early September 1862, the great general daringly divided his men, sending half of them, under the command of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, to capture the Union garrison at Harper’s Ferry.

President Abraham Lincoln put Major General George B. McClellan in charge of the Union troops responsible for defending Washington, D.C., against Lee’s invasion. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac clashed first with Lee’s men on September 14, with the Confederates forced to retreat after being blocked at the passes of South Mountain. Though Lee considered turning back toward Virginia, news of Jackson’s capture of Harper’s Ferry reached him on September 15. That victory convinced him to stay and make a stand near Sharpsburg, Maryland.

Over the course of September 15 and 16, the Confederate and Union armies gathered on opposite sides of Antietam Creek. On the Confederate side, Jackson commanded the left flank with General James Longstreet at the head of the center and right. McClellan’s strategy was to attack the enemy left, then the right, and finally, when either of those movements met with success, to move forward in the center.

When fighting began in the foggy dawn hours of September 17, this strategy broke down into a series of uncoordinated advances by Union soldiers under the command of Generals Joseph Hooker, Joseph Mansfield and Edwin Sumner. As savage and bloody combat continued for eight hours across the region, the Confederates were pushed back but not beaten, despite sustaining some 15,000 casualties. At the same time, Union General Ambrose Burnside opened an attack on the Confederate right, capturing the bridge that now bears his name around 1 p.m. Burnside’s break to reorganize his men allowed Confederate reinforcements to arrive, turning back the Union advance there as well.

By the time the sun went down, both armies still held their ground, despite staggering combined casualties–nearly 23,000 of the 100,000 soldiers engaged, including almost 4,000 dead. McClellan’s center never moved forward, leaving a large number of Union troops that did not participate in the battle. On the morning of September 18, both sides gathered their wounded and buried their dead. That night, Lee turned his forces back to Virginia. His retreat gave President Lincoln the moment he had been waiting for to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, a historic document that turned the Union effort in the Civil War into a fight for the abolition of slavery.

Hinkel
09-17-2015, 06:30 PM
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
By the time the sun went down, both armies still held their ground, despite staggering combined casualties–nearly 23,000 of the 100,000 soldiers engaged, including almost 4,000 dead.

Thats a good summery here.. and awesome music showing the facts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDi94LynKCU&feature=youtu.be&t=735

It always makes me sad.. :(

Mi'kmaq
09-18-2015, 11:37 AM
Horrid battle. Good men lost their lives. May they not be forgotten.

Leifr
09-18-2015, 11:43 AM
I was in the West Virginia/Maryland area during August, visiting a friend and seeing some of the battlefield sites. I'll get some pictures up I took at Antietam later on today, if folk would like to see them? One thing that struck me as something that is impossible to replicate in game is the relentless heat, it's a sticky heat that promotes only heavy sweating and fatigue. I was fortunate enough to walk Antietam just gone midday, the thought of wading through the cornfield and scrapping over the 'Bloody Lane' was largely enough to cause a feeling of nausea.

Soulfly
09-18-2015, 11:52 AM
Thats a good summery here.. and awesome music showing the facts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDi94LynKCU&feature=youtu.be&t=735

It always makes me sad.. :(

The narrator plays his part too, thanks for the link didnt know there are videos too.

Historical Player
09-29-2015, 11:16 AM
So many people woke up that morning without knowing they would never go back to sleep in their tents. They are up in Heaven with God and his Brigade of Angel's. God Bless them all, Union and Confederate!