At the end of August, Lees Army of Northern Virginia routed another Union army, under Maj. Gen. John Pope, at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Following the Confederate triumph at Second Bull Run, British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston had observed that the Union forces had received a very complete smashing. If Lees remarkable run of success continued, said Palmerston, Would it not be time for us to consider whether in such a state of things England and France might not address the contending parties and recommend an arrangement on the basis of separation?, For all those reasons, the stakes were extremely high when the Army of Northern Virginia reached Whites Ford on the banks of the Potomac River on September 4 and 55,000 hungry troops stripped off their ragged clothes and began wading into Maryland. Early reports from Stuarts cavalry told him that McClellan was on the road to Frederick, and on September 10 he ordered Longstreet to advance to Hagerstown with 10,000 troops, occupying the village before any Union forces might contest the Confederate rallying point. A short video presentation on Tour Stop 4, The Cornfield. Union gunfire wounded Private William Calton Odum of the 6th Georgia Infantry in the right arm during the morning fight in the Cornfield. Antietam National Cemetery Later in the war, Lincoln authorized Barton to form the Office of Correspondence with Friends of Missing Men in the United States Army, an effort that eventually identified 22,000 missing Union soldiers. To save his army from impending destruction, Lee decided to terminate the siege of Harpers Ferry and prepare for a general retirement across the Potomac to the safety of Virginia. 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. The smoke, heat and roar of battle deluged the senses, obliterating all rational thought. The remainder of the Army of Northern Virginia, divided into three separate commands, would converge on Harpers Ferry and compel the garrison to surrender. He could not understand why his general was not on the tail of the Confederates, and he went to McClellans headquarters at Antietam to light a fire under him. Many regiments on both sides were cut to pieces. Sunken Road (Bloody Lane) 9. Unfortunately for the Union, this temporal advantage in the center is not followed up with further advances and eventually the Union defenders must abandon their position. The cannon fire literally blew men apart. And when Lee heard a copy of Special Order 191 was missing, he knew his scattered army was vulnerable and rushed to reunite its units. There are more than 22,000 casualties at the Battle of Antietam. Nine regimental color bearers were killed, and in less than half an hour the 1st Texas lost 186 dead and wounded, more than 82 percent of its strength, the highest casualty rate of any regiment on either side during the entire war. The Battle of Antietam, America's bloodiest single day, immediately claimed 3,654 lives and generated an additional 8,772 wounded and missing casualties on both sides, many of whom should properly be moved to the "killed" category. Late in the afternoon, reinforcements from Longstreet began to arrive. 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 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. Final Attack 11. Gen. George S. Greene, a descendant of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. 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. Turn left (south) and walk through the historic Cornfield to complete your hike. Gen. Jacob Coxs Kanawha Division were in control of Foxs Gap. East Woods 4. Williams took command of XII Corps and the fight for the cornfield continued, with men from both sides tripping over the dead and falling bleeding among the severed cornstalks. To the west, Doubledays division made better progress. Many regiments on both sides were cut to pieces. West Woods 6. He believed McClellan spent too much of his command drilling troops and little of it pursuing Lee. In 20 minutes of fighting, Duryea lost 300 men. Go to the next tour stop - the West Woods Halt, 102nd, he ordered. Hood, however, was unable to consolidate his gains. Great job. National Park Service.Why did Lee Enter Maryland? 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. On the afternoon of September 16, Union general George B. McClellan sets his army in motion, sending Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers First Corps across Antietam Creek to find Lees left flank. A total of 23,000 men were killed, wounded or captured; 3650 soldiers were killed - 2100 Unionists and 1550 Confederates. Lee accompanied Longstreets columns across Antietam Creek, a tributary of the Potomac, heading toward the village of Sharpsburg. "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. Reinforcements from Longstreet tried to stem the tide but were driven back. While the Battle of Antietam is considered a tactical draw, President Lincoln claims a strategic victory. How it ended Inconclusive. A mile east of the town of Sharpsburg, the creek meanders through the hilly but open countryside, good for long-range artillery and moving infantry. Unable to remain in command, he left the scene convinced that Union forces were poised to drive the Confederates into the Potomac. Among the wounded were Sergeant Bloss and Corporal Mitchell, who had found Lees lost orders four days earlier. From that moment on, John Cook worked a gun alongside the trained artillerymen to face down the onslaught of Woffords attacking Texas Brigade. The American Battlefield Trust and our members have saved more than 56,000 acres in 25 states! 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. Jackson in turn detailed Maj. Gen. A.P. 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. Central Intelligence Agency.The Battle of Antietam: A Turning Point in the Civil War. Because Federal and Confederate forces repeatedly traded control of the spot, the fight for the Cornfield is a story of human struggle against fearful . Stragglers were everywhere, and entire regiments milled about without direction. Mansfield spluttered, Yes, yes, you are right. Precisely at that moment a bullet hit the 58-year-old general squarely in the chest. (4) At 8:00 a.m., Gen. Joseph Mansfields Twelfth Corps, over 7,000 soldiers, arrived and drove back Hoods men and the Confederate reinforcements from the Sunken Road. An up-close look at the people, places and turning points of the American Civil War. Lincolns cabinet feared releasing the Emancipation Proclamation at that time would seem desperate and be difficult to enforce, so Lincoln decided to wait until another decisive Union victory. Dunker Church 2. Buy new: $40.64. Return to Tour Map As for Gibbon's brigade, the 2nd and 6th Wisconsin regiments led the brigade with the 19th Indiana and 7th Wisconsin regiments in close support, with Battery B split to support both wings of the brigade. Captain Benjamin F. Cook of the 12th Massachusetts remembered the horrific fighting in the cornfield and its aftermath. Apparently it never reached the general. This 24-acre cornfield, owned by D.R. The single, bloodiest day in American History had begun in earnest. Following the surrender of Harpers Ferry, the scattered Confederate forces would converge. Among the wounded during two hours of savage fighting was Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes, commander of the 23rd Ohio Regiment and a future president of the United States. 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. What there are left of us open on them with a cheer; and the next day, the burial parties put up a board in front of the position held by the Twelfth with the following inscription: In this trench lie buried the colonel, the major, six line officers, and one hundred and forty men of the [13th] Georgia Regiment.. .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. 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. Their fire was devastating. As he was carried to the rear, Reno yelled to Brig. Stuart had raided Popes very headquarters, carrying off the generals dress coat. The fighting was so gory Sunken Road earned a new name: Bloody Lane. The battles outcome would be vital to shaping Americas future, and it remains the deadliest one-day battle in all of American military history. Lincoln and McClellan had a tortured relationship. All of Lees troops were worn-out and hungry, and many were sick. Because Federal and Confederate forces . Strategically, Lees decision to invade the North made sense. Even so, the Union claimed victory. On the political front, Lincoln felt that the war-weary North needed to be energized. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. . Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at . Meanwhile, towards the center of the battlefield, Union assaults against the Sunken Road pierce the Confederate center after a terrible struggle for this key defensive position. . Lee prodded Jackson and McLaws to wrap up their work at Harpers Ferry. ", "Through a shower of bullets and shells, it was only the thoughts of home that brought me from that place." The 1st Texas, under Colonel P.A. It is for you to decide your destiny, freely and without constraint. 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. The 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana, moving as flank protection, fired a devastating volley into the two brigades assailing the 6th Wisconsin. Miller's 30-acre cornfield at Antietam. Nearing the end of 2018, well be bombarded by the annual parade of top ten lists counting down everything from the years news events to songs and online fads. This is that story By David A. 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