Posted on 09/17/2018 4:54:56 AM PDT by Bull Snipe
The bloodiest day in American military history occurred. Before the sun had set, 22,727 men had been killed, wounded, captured or simply disappeared. General George B, McClellan’s Army of the Potomac attacked Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia along Antietam creek, near the town of Sharpsburg, MD. The next day, General Lee decided to withdraw his army from Maryland. He would begin moving his army back to Virginia on the 19th of Sept. General McClellan did not order a pursuit of the retreating Confederates
I am doing research for a book on the 4th NC Infantry, of which my great x 3 grandfather had four boys enlisted. Two of the them died in the war. The 4th fought at Bloody Lane under Daniel Harvey Hill. The 4th’s commander, George Burgwyn Anderson, took a ball to the ankle, and was sent home to North Carolina where he died. Anderson’s Brigade repelled at least three separate attacks by the federals before they were flanked and had to withdraw.
1862
thanks
The phrase “McClellan attacked” is not something I ever recall hearing before.
In my mind the phrase “McClellan stalled, marched drilled and preened while in rebellious disobedience to the Commander In Chief” was always the best fit.
Man was a lunatic. But, if it weren’t for McClellan, we would never have had Grant.
: )
Thanks for the posting.
Have walked down Bloody Lane and seen how close the combatants were to each other while firing. Antietam/Sharpsburg was truly a day that should be included in any definition of War Is Hell.
I visited Antietam, and felt nothing. But, at Gettysburg, I was almost overwhelmed by the “energy” still there.
This is nothing to denigrate the sacrifice at Antietam, but there is something about Gettysburg.
Was just in Bloody Lane this past April - on a cool, rainy spring day. It was still very easy to think of those Brady photos of all the dead boys decomposing in the sun.
Maybe that’s because a) Gettysburg is the most hyped of just about any battle in our history and b) Gettysburg is absolutely riddled with monuments everywhere across the entire very large area. Which in many ways is good because it gives much better visual just where - and how many - troops were involved.
My paternal Great-Grandfather fought in this battle with General Lee.
No, there is “energy” there.
“...I visited Antietam, and felt nothing...”
My family visited Antietam.
First, we canoed Antietam Creek. When you pass under “Burnside Bridge” you definitely feel something, and it stays with you all the way to the Potomac.
The second day we toured the battlefield and felt the frustration. After a bloody day of fighting the armies ended up pretty much where they started.
McClellan never committed 30,000 reserves - which could have destroyed Lee’s army. Also, he let Lee escape back across the Potomac.
A couple of years later, Lee came back - this time he was met at Gettysburg.
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