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. 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. Union forces outnumbered Confederates by two to one, although McClellan thought Lees forces were much larger. The distance between the blue and gray lines was less than 250 yards. Part of Trimble's Brigade, the 12 th Georgia held part of Jackson's line in front of the Dunker Church during the morning Union attacks at Antietam. 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. The Tigers also clashed with Ricketts brigade, under Colonel Richard Coulter, who had replaced the wounded Hartsuff, as the Federals rushed through the shattered cornfield. At the same time, he began throwing together a patchwork defense of the South Mountain passes at Turners, Foxs, and Cramptons Gaps. But Antietam eclipses even this modern tragedy as America's single bloodiest day, on which 22,000 men became casualties in a war to determine our nation's future. 191. Sign up to receive the latest information on the American Battlefield Trust's efforts to blaze The Liberty Trail in South Carolina. The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point By David A. Welker Casemate, 2020, $34.95. 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. The first Union infantry formations did not arrive until the afternoon of September 15. These Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina troops stood fast and poured such deadly fire into the Pennsylvanians that they fell back to the cover of the trees. Lee was left with few cards to play. On September 14, at the base of South Mountain near Sharpsburg, Confederate Generals D.H. Hills and James Longstreets units encountered Union resistance and sustained heavy casualties. Military historians consider the Battle of Antietam a stalemate. For the next four hours the Cornfield was the center of a storm of lead, iron, and flame as Federal soldiers from the First and Twelfth Corps clashed with Lee's men. Hills rear guard remained at Boonsboro with 5,000 troops. Descending Into The Bloody Cornfield With Civil War Historian, David A. Welker: PreserveCast Episode No. Gen. Alpheus Williams and Colonel Samuel Pittman read the document with great interest. Three hours later, Union troops had pushed the Confederates back and over 5,000 men were either dead or injured. Download the official NPS app before your next visit. It is necessary for you to abandon your position tonight. Greene rode forward and warned the New Yorkers to slow down before they outran covering artillery. As the reliable Battery B, 4th U.S. The water is deep, swift, and crossable only at three stone bridges, making it a natural defensible location. Locally, the members of the congregation were known as Dunkers. Gen. Samuel Sturgis, one of his division commanders, Hallo, Sam, I am dead! Within minutes, Reno proved as good as his word. On the morning of the 13th, the 27th Indiana Infantry paused to rest in a field on the outskirts of Frederick. A most ragged lean and hungry set of wolves.. In the afternoon, the third and final major assault by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps pushes over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek. Mansfield and II Corps under Maj. Gen. Edwin Sumner extended the Federal right opposite Hoods positions along the Smoketown Road to high ground near McClellans headquarters at a brick farmhouse. 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. Gen. John Walkers division was to recross the Potomac and capture Loudoun Heights on the Virginia side of Harpers Ferry. He recorded the hand-hewn grave markers and headstones bearing names of a few of the fallen, created in Antietam's immediate aftermath by friends and brothers. 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. It is remembered as the site of some of the most savage fighting of the Battle of Antietam, which itself was the bloodiest single-day action of the Civil War. September 17. Late in the afternoon, reinforcements from Longstreet began to arrive. Go to the next tour stop - the West Woods Commanders on both sides were trying to make order out of chaos, and even the most hardened veteran could scarcely comprehend the unimaginable holocaust that engulfed the cornfield, the woods, turnpike, and high ground around the Dunker Church, where more than 8,000 soldiers, Union and Confederate, lay dead or wounded. His orders from Lincoln and Army General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck were somewhat vague: protect Washington and, if possible, destroy Lees army in the process. 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. Franklins VI Corps was held in reserve. As Brig. The siege of Harpers Ferry was to be successfully concluded as soon as possible. The 12th Massachusetts had 224 of its 334 soldiers shot down, a casualty rate of 67 percent that was the highest of any Union regiment on the field. Hill forced Cox back to Foxs Gap with a gritty, tooth-and-nail defense that included arming cooks, clerks, and teamsters. Hoods division roared out of the West Woods, around the Dunker Church, and through a gap in the fence along the Hagerstown Turnpike, pitching furiously into the Iron Brigade. As the sun climbed into the sky on September 15, Lee surveyed a long, low ridgeline east of the town and asserted, We will make our stand on those hills. At noon he received confirmation from Jackson that Harpers Ferry had fallen and directed Stonewall to hurry to Sharpsburg, 12 miles to the north. Gibbons command had fought with such ferocity at Turners Gap that Hooker commented that the men were as strong as iron. Lee issued a proclamation to the people of Maryland inviting them to join the Southern cause. Hood, however, was unable to consolidate his gains. The battles outcome would be vital to shaping Americas future, and it remains the deadliest one-day battle in all of American military history. A recently discovered 1864 map suggests the Cornfield's human cost was even greater than previously understood, among other new insights it reveals about the men who fought in and around David Millers deadly Cornfield. Lincoln and McClellan had a tortured relationship. The delaying action at South Mountain, though costly, had given Jackson enough time to tighten his grip on the arsenal. Just eight hours in, there were over 15,000 casualties. 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. By 9:30 a.m. thousands of them lay dead and dying. Lee had no illusions of holding the gaps for an extended period, but any delay in the Union advance might allow the Army of Northern Virginia to escape destruction. Im glad that the map correctly shows the Dunkard Church, after that particular sect of German Baptists. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 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. Adding insult to injury, Confederate cavalry under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Clarissa Clara Harlowe Barton was a former teacher and patent clerk who became a nurse on the front lines during the Civil War. : 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. In 20 minutes of fighting, Duryea lost 300 men. Weeks later, he names Burnside commander of the Army of the Potomac. Miller, saw some of U.S. history's most horrific fighting. His division had suffered 1,380 dead and wounded, about 60 percent of its strength, and was forced to withdraw to the West Woods. About noon on the 16th, Jackson rode up to find Lee and Longstreet observing the Union troops across the creek. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. McClellans plan of attack depended on coordination and timing all along the line. The avalanche of Union troops pushed Rodes steadily back and cost him more than one-third of his command. Hoods men threw down half-eaten biscuits and stuffed bacon into their mouths as they rushed to fill the gap. Western Maryland did not rally to the Stars and Bars. 126, May 18,2020, The Cornfield Inside the Action at Antietams Bloody TurningPoint, Abner Doubleday in Antietams Cornfield: No Day in the (Baseball)Park, Garlands Brigade at the Cornfield: The Death of a Reputationand MuchMore, The 88th Pennsylvania at Antietam: A Cornfield Invalid SavesWashington, Farming the Cornfield: D. R. Millers 1862 Harvest ofDeath, Buffalo in the Cornfield: The 21st New York atAntietam, Claimed by the Cornfield: Georgias Colonel MarcellusDouglass, Cowards in the Cornfield? Typically, he waited until the morning of September 14 to get moving. She saw the desperation of the wounded and dying and did what she could to aid and comfort them. 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. This is that story By David A. Welker Born on 26 June 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York to Ulysses F. and Hester (Donnelly) Doubleday, Abner joined a respected family with deep ties to Continue reading Abner Doubleday in Antietams Cornfield: No Day in the (Baseball)Park, The 1st Georgia Regulars Sergeant William Andrews and the 1st Minnesotas Sergeant Sam Bloomer traveled from very different worlds, and over many miles, to share a moment of grace and humanity amidst the terror of Antietams bloody Cornfield. In a letter to his wife, Mary, Lincoln joked, We are about to be photographed. Over Longstreets objections, Lee deployed 18,000 men, 14 infantry and three cavalry brigades in a four-mile line across the woods and fields at the northern end of the ridge, down to the bluffs of Antietam Creek, where the southernmost of three stone bridges spanned its waters. 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. Forward, guide centre, halt. While his own numbers swelled to nearly 90,000, McClellan, ever cautious, was concerned about the strength of his enemy. Antietam on the Web.Special Orders No. On the political front, Lincoln felt that the war-weary North needed to be energized. By David A. Welker The 90th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was recruited exclusively within the city of Philadelphia. Two divisions under Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws were to approach the arsenal from the north and seize the commanding position of Maryland Heights. The proclamation, Lincoln hoped, would add a moral dimension to the war besides the preservation of the Union. Hood, a Kentuckian, commanded a full division including his old brigade of the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas, the 18th Georgia, Brig. Buy new: $40.64. Click here to open PreserveCast Few names are as synonymous with Civil War battlefields as The Bloody Cornfield. 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. Brig. By mid-summer 1862, President Abraham Lincoln had the Emancipation Proclamationa document declaring freedom for all slaves in the so-called rebellious statesready to go. Take a virtual tour of Antietam Battlefield by clicking on the links for the battlefield tour stops below. 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. A steady drizzle pelted down during the night, soaking the men as they fitfully slept. Colonel Robert H. Chilton, his adjutant, copied the orders for subordinate generals. It was finalized on the afternoon of the 16th, a full day after McClellan had arrived on the scene. Donate Now When Lees order reached Jackson, he dutifully prepared another copy for Hill, his brother-in-law, unaware that Chilton had included Hill among those receiving the order directly from Lee. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. The terrain was dotted by farmsteads, pastures, and cornfields, separated here and there by rail fences. Lincoln disagreed. James Dougherty, 128th Pennsylvania Infantry, wounded in the Cornfield. Instead, Lee ordered his army to regroup at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg. See, yonders a whole brigade! I ordered him to keep silent and return to his placebut, when this act of indiscretion occurred, they began to break and run By Continue reading Garlands Brigade at the Cornfield: The Death of a Reputationand MuchMore, Now was the moment of truth for Major George Gile and his new command, the 88th Pennsylvania. The Battle of Antietam begins at dawn when Hookers Union corps mounts a powerful assault on Lees left flank. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at . Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The trail is 1.25 miles in length and takes approximately sixty minutes to complete. Six weeks after Antietam, McClellan finally heeded his bosss advice and led the Army of the Potomac into Virginia, but at a snails pace. Then an eighth Union Minie ball suddenly found him By David A. Welker Marcellus Douglass was born in Thomaston, Georgia on October 5th, 1820. Within minutes, Doubledays hard-won progress was completely reversed. Gen. William E. Starke spurred his brigade of Louisiana soldiers and accompanying Virginians headlong into the Iron Brigade. Mumma Farm and Cemetery 7. Battle of Antietam, also called Battle of Sharpsburg, (September 17, 1862), in the American Civil War (1861-65), a decisive engagement that halted the Confederate invasion of Maryland, an advance that was regarded as one of the greatest Confederate threats to Washington, D.C. Simultaneously, the hostile battle lines opened a tremendous fire upon each other. The situation was not as promising as Hooker had hoped. President Lincoln, however, wasnt pleased. Dr. James Dunn, a surgeon at the Battle of Antietam lauded her efforts: The rattle of 150,000 muskets, and the fearful thunder of over 200 cannon, told us that the great battle of Antietam had commenced. Certainly McClellans opportunity was great. This army will respect your choice whatever it may be., To Lees immediate disappointment, the citizens of Frederick generally kept their shops locked up tight. Gen. Truman Seymour, quickly reached the edge of the East Woods at the Smoketown Road. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American military history, showed that the Union could stand against the Confederate army in the Eastern theater. Gen. George S. Greene, a descendant of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. Lincoln called the generals condition a bad case of the slows., Though well-liked by his men, McClellan could be vain and boastful. Hooker sees thousands of his Federals felled in the corn rows, where, every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before. Despite the great Union numerical advantage, Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jacksons Confederate forces hold their ground near the Dunker Church. He contemplated issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, a document that freed all slaves in the rebellious states. The divisions became separated, and Sedgwick pressed forward with 5,000 men through the northern edge of the West Woods, coming under heavy attack from elements of three Confederate divisions and Pelhams horse artillery on Nicodemus Hill. events, and resources, Battle of Antietam: Clash in the Cornfield. Hays' Louisiana Brigade suffered over 60-percent casualties in 30 minutes. It was obvious that Turners Gap could not be held, and he ordered Longstreet and Hill to withdraw to the west. A total of 23,000 men were killed, wounded or captured; 3650 soldiers were killed - 2100 Unionists and 1550 Confederates. Men laughed and giggled, screamed and cried. Travel back in time to see Antietam's battlefield as it looked 134 years ago. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. Frustrated with Lincolns policies and the course of the war, Democrats launched an anti-war campaign, hoping to take over the U.S. House of Representatives. Thomas Wait and myself told him that we were not firing at our own men for those that were firing at us from behind the trees had been firing at us from the first, recalled Libby. Eventually he decided against another general assault. Tyndales men charged into the cornfield, and several minutes of hand-to-hand fighting ensued before the Confederates began withdrawing toward the West Woods. 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. by David A. Welker 9/15/2020. Late on the afternoon of the 16th, Hooker crossed Antietam Creek intending to position more than 8,000 Union troops to launch the attack the following morning. The smoke, heat and roar of battle deluged the senses, obliterating all rational thought. To the west, Doubledays division made better progress. Lees back was to the Potomac, and only Botelers Ford at Shepherdstown offered a clear avenue of escape across the river if the Confederates were driven from the field. The exaggerated estimates played on McClellans natural tendency toward caution and contributed to his lack of aggressiveness. The division commander, John R. Jones, had been wounded by shrapnel earlier, and Brig. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. McClellan charged Hooker and Mansfield, supported by Sumner, with the main effort against the Confederate left, while Burnside crossed the lower bridge and fords at Antietam Creek to attack the ridgeline on the Confederate right. Three brigades from Hills division supported Hoods defenders, and Brig. Greenes 2nd Brigade, under Colonel Henry J. Stainrook, reached the Smoketown Road and unhinged the Confederate right flank. Join us online July 24-26! Theyd remained on the sidelines so far, but as they endured cotton shortages and the south seemed to gain the upper hand, they considered legitimizing the Confederacy, a move with potentially drastic implications. . Libby remembered a loud response from the Maine men to the contrary. Colquitt lost 100 casualties in an already understrength brigade, while Rodes faced two full Federal divisions, Brig. And keeping Confederates in their southern box enabled President Lincoln to finally release his Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. Repeated Union attacks and equally vicious Confederate counterattacks sweep back and forth across Millers cornfield and the West Woods. A collapse of the Confederate left appeared imminent. Reaching the fence, the 6th Georgia had restored the Souths hold on the vital Cornfield only to find itself in a dire position. The 12-hour clash created 21,699 casualties, killed 3,654, and turned many innocuous spots around quiet Sharpsburg, Maryland into national icons of death and suffering, including the Burnside Bridge, the Sunken Road, the West Woods, and the Cornfield . more information on current conditions Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details. Turn left (south) and walk through the historic Cornfield to complete your hike. Mansfield was carried from the field and died within hours. Americas bloodiest day was far from over. With the full commitment of McClellans troops, which outnumbered the Confederates two to one, the battle might have had a more definitive outcome. From his headquarters at Chantilly, Virginia, Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis of his intent to carry the war to Northern soil. The two brigades emerged from the North Woods simultaneously and crossed a field of clover. Miller's Cornfield (usually referred to as 'the Cornfield') is a section of the Antietam battlefield of the American Civil War . Here is a paper, McClellan chirped, with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home.. Miller's 30-acre cornfield at Antietam. 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. Same location Antietam National Battlefield--Cornfield Trail, Washington County, Maryland, US Same area and date Another location near Antietam National Battlefield--Cornfield Trail, Washington County, Maryland, US on Sat Apr 15, 2023 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. The Union and Confederates fought in the cornfield, many being wounded. The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, occurred on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood wrote: "It was here that I witnessed the most terrible clash of arms, by far, that has occurred during the war." Lee detailed his complex plan in Special Orders No. Meades 3rd Division followed in support. Lincoln has been waiting for a military success to issue his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. A brigade of Georgians under the command of Colonel Marcellus Douglass stood firm along the southern edge of the cornfield, reinforced by three regiments from Walkers brigade. Stop the Largest Rezoning in Orange County History, Nineteenth-Century Geolocation: The Elliott Map of Antietam, Antietam: Federal Flank Attack at Dunker Church, Lessons From the Fallen: Depictions of the Dead of Antietam, Antietam | Burnside's Bridge | Sep 17, 1862. After losing his command, McClellan took up a new careerpolitics. List Price: $51.99. Maryland was a border state and remained in the Union, but Lee believed that large numbers of Southern sympathizers would rally to his ranks once the Army of Northern Virginia entered the state. War fever was high that nightthe day before Confederate forces had fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston harborand some 102 men volunteered their services to New York State for Continue reading Buffalo in the Cornfield: The 21st New York atAntietam, With his brigade locked in a nearly point-blank fight on the southern end of Antietams Cornfield, Colonel Douglass had already been wounded seven times but remained in command. Near the center of the battlefield, another site of slaughter was a farm lane known as the Sunken Road, where Hills division of approximately 2,600 men had piled fence rails along the roads embankment to fortify their position against Union Major General William H. Frenchs 5,500 approaching troops. Perhaps the reality of the battle was best described by Union soldier Charles Goddard in a letter to his mother: If the horrors of war cannot be seen on this battlefield, they cant be seen any where.. North Woods 3. Racing 150 yards ahead of the units on either side, the whooping Texans came within 30 yards of the Pennsylvanians, who rested their rifles on the lowest fence rails and fired a withering volley at the legs of the onrushing Rebels, shrouded in the thick smoke of battle. For more than three hours, fewer than 500 Confederate soldiers held Lower Bridge against multiple assaults by Union General Ambrose Burnsides Ninth Corps. Some of these regiments attacked all the way to the northern edge of the Cornfield, where they were crushed by the arrival of the Union Twelfth Corps. Halt where you are. Hays' Louisiana Brigade suffered over 60-percent casualties in 30 minutes. Antietam National Cemetery Corporal Barton W. Mitchell of Company F noticed something unusual lying in the grass. Reinforcements from Longstreet tried to stem the tide but were driven back. This battle flag of the 12 th Georgia includes the names of several color bearers who . National Park Service.The Maryland Campaign of 1862. The pockets and cartridge pouches of the dead and wounded were ransacked, and soldiers handed muskets to those with better shots at the enemy. Hill worked feverishly to extricate his battered brigades, while the 102nd New York Regiment drove relentlessly toward the high ground around the Dunker Church, where Colonel Lees artillerymen were doing their best to limber their guns and retire. The Cornfield Antietam's Bloody Turning Point.m4b 748.6 MB; The Cornfield Antietam's Bloody Turning Point.jpg 51.6 kB; The Cornfield Antietam's Bloody Turning Point.cue 1.3 kB; The Cornfield Antietam's Bloody Turning Point.nfo 1.2 kB; : 713.95MB : 2022-12-18 : 19. 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