Despite heavy losses and tenacious resistance, Doubleday had driven deeply into Jacksons line. The 1st Texas, under Colonel P.A. 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. Monday marks the 150th . Two divisions of Sumners corps, commanded by Brig. Encyclopedia Virginia.The Significance of the Battle of Antietam. Amidst a firestorm of Confederate shells, just as his brigade was heading into the hell of Antietam's Cornfield, Colonel William Christian suddenly muttered "I've 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. Many regiments on both sides were cut to pieces. . The trail is 1.25 miles in length and takes approximately sixty minutes to complete. From that moment on, John Cook worked a gun alongside the trained artillerymen to face down the onslaught of Woffords attacking Texas Brigade. One amazed Confederate artilleryman saw columns of enemy soldiers stretching into the distance and remarked that they were so numerous that it looked as if they were creeping up out of the ground.. But even this firestorm of controversy couldnt prepare Jones for what awaited him when his postwar indiscretions became known. Unable to remain in command, he left the scene convinced that Union forces were poised to drive the Confederates into the Potomac. This article about the American Civil War is a stub. Great job. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! The next day, as Lee began the painstaking job of moving his ravaged troops back to Virginia, McClellan, surprisingly, did nothing. 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. I was in the hospital in the afternoon, for it was then only that the wounded began to come in. Meanwhile, Jackson got the remainder of his command on the road toward Sharpsburg. The White House was a somber place in the summer of 1862. A most ragged lean and hungry set of wolves.. A steady drizzle pelted down during the night, soaking the men as they fitfully slept. Dawes remembered: As we appeared at the edge of the cornfield, a long line of men in butternut and gray rose up from the ground. Within the hour Ezra would be troubled by a much greater lossand discover the ultimate irony of Antietam's bloody Cornfield. The present seems the most propitious time since the commencement of the war for the Confederate Army to enter Maryland, Lee noted. Apparently it never reached the general. There has never been a bloodier day in American military history than September 17, 1862. On first division, deploy column, march. How it ended Inconclusive. Jackson called them into battle and, In less than five minutes we were advancing toward the enemy. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at . For nearly three hours, Hooker and Mansfield's Union forces battled Jackson's Confederates. : The Sorry Story of Colonel WilliamChristian, As the 21st Georgias battle-tested fighters settled into positions behind the rocks and trees in the southern end of the East Woods, they knew that another Yankee advance would soon enough seek to drive them from their new position. Lee invaded Maryland in September 1862 with a full agenda. It conjures up visions of harrowing bloodshed and the tragedy of fratricidal combat Yet, for over 150 years, the story of this struggle has been difficult to track the sway of battle back and forth over Continue reading Descending Into The Bloody Cornfield With Civil War Historian, David A. Welker: PreserveCast Episode No. There was a lot at stake for the Battle of Antietam. The first Confederate shell struck the ranks of the 6th Wisconsin, killing two soldiers and wounding 11. Hartsuff was wounded and Christian suffered an emotional breakdown and fled the field. Updated: November 28, 2022 | Original: October 27, 2009. Free delivery for many products! It was obvious to the Union veterans that the area had recently served as a Rebel bivouac. Military historians consider the Battle of Antietam a stalemate. She saw the desperation of the wounded and dying and did what she could to aid and comfort them. As night fell, thousands of bodies littered the sprawling Antietam battlefield and both sides regrouped and claimed their dead and wounded. By the 7th, the army was completely across the Potomac and camped in the vicinity of Frederick. He thought McClellan missed a great opportunity to kick the Army of Northern Virginia while they were down and potentially end the war. The American Battlefield Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. On September 9, Lee issued Special Order 191 defining his Maryland Campaign. His plan to enter northern territory divided his army, sending each unit to march on a specific town: Boonsboro and Hagerstown in Maryland, and Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg in West Virginia. Lt. Col. Robert Andersons 3rd Brigade, four regiments of Pennsylvania Reserves, crouched low behind a rail fence at the northern end of the cornfield and waited. On the same ground where Garland had been killed earlier in the day, Maj. Gen. Jesse Reno, commander of the Union IX Corps, was shot. The Unions claim of victory at Antietam and Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation are thought to be why Republicans held the House in the 1862 mid-term elections. General James Longstreet "On the forenoon of the 15th, the blue uniforms of the Federals appeared among the trees that crowned the heights on the eastern bank of the Antietam. Stuart had raided Popes very headquarters, carrying off the generals dress coat. All Rights Reserved. The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest single day in American history, and the partial victory by Union troops led Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. 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. He retrieved an envelope that contained three cigars wrapped around the copy of Special Orders No. Most of the Confederates on the north end of the battlefield retreated to the West Woods and almost 8,000 Union and Confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded in and around the Cornfield. As Jacksons line wavered under unrelenting Union pressure, two brigades of his old division, 1,150 strong, rolled out of the West Woods. Final Attack 11. 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. As Longstreets men began trudging toward Sharpsburg, Lee reversed his earlier order. Please stay on the trail and remember you are in an agricultural area. Lee prodded Jackson and McLaws to wrap up their work at Harpers Ferry. Adding insult to injury, Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Getty Images / HUM Images / Universal Images Group, The Significance of the Battle of Antietam, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-antietam. In less than fifteen we were sending and receiving death missiles by the bushel. Hoods men drove north, forcing the First Corps back across the Cornfield. Prominent in Hoods defensive area was a plain, whitewashed church belonging to the German Baptist Brethren, a Christian sect that shunned anything ostentatious, including church steeples, and believed in baptism by full immersion. 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. 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. It pitted Confederate General Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia against Union General George McClellans Army of the Potomac and was the culmination of Lees attempt to invade the north. After McClellan fails to pursue Lee on his retreat south, Lincoln loses faith in his general. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. Colonel Thomas Munford led a brigade of cavalry, bloodied from the fighting at South Mountain, to cover the fords south of the lower bridge. Artillery to dislodge the Rebels to his front. Gen. George A. Hartsuff, moved forward. The trail turns east and through the middle of the Miller Meadow, Continue east along the line toward the Smoketown Road, Walk north on the trail through the East Woods, Continue across Cornfield Avenue and through the East Woods, Explore the Confederate defense and counterattack in the Corn, Walk south through the historic Cornfield. 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. Fewer know about the films opening scenes, which take Captain Shaw and the 2nd Massachusetts into the horror of the Cornfield. In the 1864 election he was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. A military victory in the North, Lee reasoned, would all but assure recognition of the Confederate States of America as a sovereign nation. 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. A wave of panic gripped McRaes men, who turned and fled, causing the remnants of Hoods brigades to fall back as well. 191. 191 that Chilton had intended for Hill. As the reliable Battery B, 4th U.S. The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. (Part Two): The Complicated Story of Virginias General John R.Jones, Cowards in the Cornfield? Eventually he decided against another general assault. Free shipping for many products! They watched and waited as McClellans army assembled along the creeks east side. Victories there, could lead to the capture of the Federal capital in Washington, D.C. Confederate success could also influence impending Congressional elections in the North and persuade European nations to recognize the Confederate States of America. more information on current conditions Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details. McClellans plan of attack depended on coordination and timing all along the line. Hoods men threw down half-eaten biscuits and stuffed bacon into their mouths as they rushed to fill the gap. Stay up-to-date on our FREE educational resources & professional development opportunities, all designed to support your work teaching American history. No constraint upon your free will is intended, no intimidation is allowed, Lee promised. Although Continue reading Cowards in the Cornfield? From his headquarters at Chantilly, Virginia, Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis of his intent to carry the war to Northern soil. 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.. Doctors at the scene are overwhelmed. 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. I lived there as a child and these were the fields we played in before they became National Park Service protectorates, the mid-1950s. Halt where you are. Go to the next tour stop - the West Woods Its authenticity was confirmed when Pittman noted Chiltons signature and recognized the handwriting of Lees adjutant, with whom he had served before the war. [if] we can sit still long enough. After the Confederates abandoned their campsite around Frederick, McClellans army moved in. 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