HARPERS FERRY TO ANTIETAM... THE BLOODIEST DAYS IN AMERICA'S HISTORY

Famous American Civil War - Battles and Events ^ | Sept 15, 2003 | National Park Service description of the Battle of Antietam

[varina davis]

Slave trade was a particular unsavory aspect of primarily the Southern states it did exist widely in the north as well.. but it was not the primary, or secondary cause of the split.

Carlo, you have this exactly right. No CSA flag ever flew atop a slave ship. The issue was correctly states rights and freedom from oppressive taxation. Plus a real fear by Southern states that their agrarian and religious freedom was in jeopary.

Anyone unfamiliar with the issues might read The South was Right by Donnie and James Kennedy. Or Southern by the Grace of God by Grissom. And there are many, many others. The Tragic Era is another comprehensive book written not so many years after The War for Southern Independence.

[Timmy]

September 17, 1862 was the bloodiest DAY in U.S. history. However, July 1-3, 1863 were the bloodiest DAYS in U.S. history.

[cyborg]

This may be of interest to you

[carlo3b]

The FReeper Foxhole will be covering the Battle of Antietam on the 17th. We found an interesting article that presents the battle in a different perspective.

Sam I will be watching for your view, as always.. You are my mirror into the heart of all of these battles.. Keep up your wonderful work.. Thanks for you kind words..

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the compliment carl3b.

We just find good stuff on the net and put it together for our readers.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the compliment carlo3b.

We just find good stuff on the net and put it together for our readers.

[skeeter]

A relative, John Kirkpatrick of the 48th PVA, a farmer & carpenter, fought at Antietam & died on the 18th from wounds received on 9/16. Bump.

[Little Bill]

I know how you feel. In Lynn, Mass I discovered an archive in the old GAR hall, Loads of letters and diaries. Most people don't even know this place exists.

[x]

If one understands that the Civil War was not about freeing slaves (a depicable practice that should have been ended) as it was about states rights, it all becomes clearer.

Freeing the slaves wasn't an issue at the beginning of the war, but things wouldn't have reached the point of secession and war if it hadn't been for slavery and the debate over whether it was a good thing. That doesn't mean that everyone was fighting for or against slavery, but it does mean that if we leave slavery out of the picture we get further from what was actually going on.

[carlo3b]

All of a sudden, I couldn't smell the flowers anymore, but I could smell blood so strongly that it almost made me sick. I felt like I was going backwards through a tunnel. I've never had that experience at any other site, but Devil's Den still effects me.

The hair on the back of my neck just stood up.. I had the same experience at a small ghost town in Nevada.. We, my family and I on a trip across country on old route 66,  I saw a small sign with an arrow pointing down a lonely dirt road leading up to the foot of a mountain. We were looking down the edge of the cliffs as I slowly drove the single lane road. As we made a sharp winding turn the darkened town suddenly appeared. Dozens of buildings, most in total disrepair, but standing.. The kids and wife jumped as I gasped, making the situation a whole lot worse!

 I opened the window of my car to listen and watch if I had disturbed anything, as if there was anything left to disturb.. All was totally quiet and still. I got out alone, my 3 small daughters and my wife stayed behind, looking as if they had already seen a ghost.  As I walked down the middle of that street, the wind began to blow, the skeletons of those old shacks flanking me ..shadows long and now a hollowing hot incessant wind blew through the broken windows.

 I swear I could hear cries and moaning, and the smell went from dust to blood.. I knew there was death still in that town.. and confirmed that fact at a roadside cafe about 20 miles away.. The waitress told us how the town died 40 years before with a shoot out, and several deaths.. Been there, done that.. I know what you mean...GULP..  :|

[SAMWolf]

The Texas Brigade at Antietam

[carlo3b]

July 1-3, 1863 were the bloodiest DAYS in U.S. history.

Gettysburg
 
                      Wounded  Killed Missing
Union              14,529  3,155  5,365
Confederates   18,735  3,903  5,425

[carlo3b]

Anyone unfamiliar with the issues might read The South was Right by Donnie and James Kennedy. Or Southern by the Grace of God by Grissom. And there are many, many others. The Tragic Era is another comprehensive book written not so many years after The War for Southern Independence

Sounds like I will have some warm books to read on some cold nights.. Thank you so very much..

[carlo3b]

A relative, John Kirkpatrick of the 48th PVA, a farmer & carpenter, fought at Antietam & died on the 18th from wounds received on 9/16.

We seem to forget that those tragic casualties, in their great numbers are hinding the fact that these were each real people. Each had a home, and loved ones hoping and praying for their return.. Reading the letters and hearing people mention their kinship, bring the whole horrific story to life. Thanks for reminding us..

[carlo3b]

In Lynn, Mass I discovered an archive in the old GAR hall, Loads of letters and diaries. Most people don't even know this place exists.

Thanks Bill..I sometimes sit and read those books, and letters and feel as though I can hear the words not just read them.. If you haven't watched The CIVIL WAR series by Ken Burns, you have missed a real treat.. and BTW, Lynn Mass. well because of you..it's no secret anymore.. :)

[reg45]

Since the Siege of Vicksburg was going on at the same time, the daily casualty counts for July 1-3, 1863 will be even higher.

[SAMWolf]

Rebels never had a better chance

TERRY HEADLEE


The Confederacy was on a roll during the summer of 1862. Just a year after the outbreak of the Civil War, rebel troops had managed to make a presence along a 1,000-mile front stretching from Sharpsburg, Md., to Newtonia, Mo.

For the moment, it appeared the Confederates were on the verge of accomplishing their goal of becoming a separate nation, said James M. McPherson, a Pulitzer Prize-winining Civil War author.

From June 26 until Sept. 17, rebel armies won numerous key battles, driving Union troops from the Peninsula in Virginia and taking a smashing victory at the Battle of Second Manassas in August.

"Lee already gave the Union a one-two punch. He invaded the North in early September hoping to make it 'three and out,'" McPherson siad.

Then came Antietam.

Historians would later peg Antietam, and not Gettysburg as is widely believed, as the turning point of the Civil War.

By the time the cannon smoke cleared after nearly 12 hours of hellacious fighting, Confederate forces led by Gen. Robert E. Lee were in full retreat from Sharpsburg.

The battle ended Lee's high hopes for a major victory in his first invasion of the North.

And in the next three weeks, the Confederacy would suffer a chain of losses and retreats.

"Antietam changed the momenum for the Confederacy from being on a roll, to being in retreat," McPherson said.

Suddenly, Lee had failed to win Maryland, a border state, and the Confederacy was no longer seen as invincible.

That gave a much-needed boost to the morale of the Union soldiers.

Even worse for the Confederacy, Lincoln seized the moment to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in Confederate states as of Jan. 1, 1863.

That's significant because it elevated the war to a higher level by converting it from a struggle over states' rights to the higher moral cause of slavery.

That practically ended the Confederates' quest for diplomatic recognition from Britain and France.

The two countries weren't anxious to get involved in a moral war.

Recognition could have turned the Civil War into a world war if the Union attempted to stop the two world powers from shipping supplies to the South.

"It almost certainly would have ended the blockade of the South," McPherson said. "That's why what happened at Antietam had world importance."

"Antietam was a crucial turning point. It was important for Maryland, nationally and internationally," said McPherson, a Princeton University professor whose 1988 book, "Battle Cry of Freedom," won the Pulitzer Prize.

No other Civil War battle can make that claim, he said.

Not even Gettysbug.

Historians say Gettysburg is often mistakenly considered the turning point of the Civil War.

It was fought over three days with more total casualties, about 50,000.

It also marked the Confederate's highest penetration of the North.

The battle was a victory for the Union. Lee was forced to retreat to Virginia and never again undertook a major offensive.

McPherson said even if Lee had won at Gettysburg, the Confederacy lost a significant battle at Vicksburg, Miss., the next day.

That Union victory gave federal troops vital control over the Mississippi River and doomed any hope for the Confederacy to win the war.

[carlo3b]

Since the Siege of Vicksburg was going on at the same time, the daily casualty counts for July 1-3, 1863 will be even higher...

With Vicksburg, it certainly looks like that would have tipped the balance..

[Constitution Day]

Thanks again, CD, for getting me involved with SCV. I got my truck tag with our logo on it too.

You're most welcome!
I have yet to get the NCSCV plate because I have the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" plate with a very low tag # and don't want to lose it.
I have thought of transferring it to my wife's car.

Hey, our camp is working on a field trip to either Pamplin Park in Petersburg or the Museum of the Confederacy; possibly both.
Do y'all ever do anything like that?

[azhenfud]

Sounds like it'd be a nice outing.
I wished several camps could join together in doing things like that.

We do have FT's, but Sept's meet was this past Sat where we conducted another marker decication with the cannon and riflemen. Oct's meet will be @ Tabor City's yam festival and Nov's we'll have a work/planning day. We had talked of visiting Fisher this spring, but haven't made any definites yet.

Of my GGG Grand's five kids, four were captured at Fisher in various states of health and cattled off to Lookout in '65. My GG Grand was wounded and disabled at 2nd Manassas and was out by '62.

My family (mom's side) is to have a reunion in Manassas Oct. 11 and I can hardly wait to get to the valley. Now that all the family research has tied those places into the sacrifices of my GG Grands, it makes them that much more hallowed grounds.

When is your camp planning to visit Virginia?