What was antietam

The Significance of the Battle of Antietam. Antietam on the Web. Special Orders No. Why did Lee Enter Maryland? But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, , involved nearly , combatants, the largest concentration of troops in any Civil War battle.

Ambrose Burnside, the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, had ordered his more than , troops to cross the Lee marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in late The battles of Cold Harbor were two American Civil War engagements that took place about 10 miles northeast of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. Fought in Grant in the spring of In May , Confederate forces clashed with the advancing Union Army in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, which lasted for the better part of two weeks and included some of the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War.

After an indecisive battle in the dense Virginia woods The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, took place from April 6 to April 7, , and was one of the major early engagements of the American Civil War The battle began when the Confederate Army launched a surprise attack on Union forces Lee opts to make one last stand in the hopes of salvaging his Maryland Campaign. With Federal forces closing in from the east, Lee selects strategic ground near Antietam Creek and orders his army to converge there.

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.

The water is deep, swift, and crossable only at three stone bridges, making it a natural defensible location. On September 15, Lee positions his men behind the creek and waits for McClellan to arrive. On the afternoon of September 16, Union general George B. McClellan sets his army in motion, sending Maj. The following morning, McClellan attacks.

September 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. 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.

In the afternoon, the third and final major assault by Maj. Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps pushes over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek. Just as Burnside's forces begin to collapse the Confederate right, Maj. There are more than 22, casualties at the Battle of Antietam.

Doctors at the scene are overwhelmed. In spite of his diminished ranks, Lee continues to skirmish with McClellan on September 18, while removing his wounded south of the Potomac River. Late that evening and on September 19, after realizing that no further attacks are coming from McClellan, Lee withdraws from the battlefield and slips back across the Potomac into Virginia.

McClellan sends Maj. Fitz John Porter to mount a cautious pursuit, which is repulsed at the Battle of Shepherdstown. While the Battle of Antietam is considered a tactical draw, President Lincoln claims a strategic victory. Lincoln has been waiting for a military success to issue his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. In his letter dated September 7, , from near Rockville, Maryland, Abial Edwards told Anna Conant that "it is sad to think that they [Lee's forces] have entered Maryland but so it is[.

The boy's are all waiting with determination to fight and to conquer or die. For defeat here would be worse than death. They went first to Frederick, Maryland, then to the passes of South Mountain.

By September 15, both armies had established battle lines west and east of Antietam Creek near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. By a. At approximately a. Over 5, troops of the II Corps, commanded by Maj. Edwin Sumner, marched towards the West Woods in an attempt to eventually sweep south, driving the Confederates from the field. Shortly after moving into the woods, a Confederate attack struck the flank of the Union soldiers and in twenty minutes, 2, out of 5, men had fallen killed or wounded.

Following the struggle in the West Woods, by a. Close to 10, soldiers had been killed or wounded during those first four hours of fighting. Due to confusion on the side of the Union and the fact there were no infantry men to push into the battle at this point, the attack sputtered out. By p. Ambrose Burnside, was struggling to cross the Antietam Creek.