By the evening of the 13th, it appeared to Lee that his risky plan was coming apart. Mansfield was carried from the field and died within hours. This assault on Robert E. Lee's forces began the Battle of Antietam, the single bloodiest day of the Civil War. Gen. Abner Doubledays 1st Division marched through the North Woods, Gibbons 4th Brigade, wearing its distinctive black hats, led the way on the right. September 17. Fewer know about the films opening scenes, which take Captain Shaw and the 2nd Massachusetts into the horror of the Cornfield. Go to the next tour stop - the West Woods Union forces outnumbered Confederates by two to one, although McClellan thought Lees forces were much larger. The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, occurred on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. In Europe, France and Great Britain anxiously watched Americas War Between the States. The Army of the Potomac began to concentrate that night, but during the following day McClellan declined to make a decisive move. Send forward officers to explore the way, ascertain the best crossing of the Potomac.. 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. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. More Union troops joined in from across the turnpike, and the Texans were caught in a murderous crossfire. (1) At daybreak, Gen. Joseph Hookers First Corps, approximately 8,000 men, advanced south through the Cornfield where, the hostile battle lines opened a tremendous fire upon each other. Initially knocked back, Hookers men regrouped and began to push Gen. Stonewall Jacksons men back as the casualties on both sides quickly escalated. Union gunfire wounded Private William Calton Odum of the 6th Georgia Infantry in the right arm during the morning fight in the Cornfield. His decision was pivotal. The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. 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. A steady drizzle pelted down during the night, soaking the men as they fitfully slept. Although Continue reading Cowards in the Cornfield? Duryeas battered brigade withdrew through the cornfield toward the East Woods, exposing the Iron Brigades left flank. The Union troops were thrown back as Wofford rolled into the western portion of the cornfield and Law struck to the east. Just as Burnside's forces begin to collapse the Confederate right, Maj. Gen. A.P. The 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana, moving as flank protection, fired a devastating volley into the two brigades assailing the 6th Wisconsin. Antietam National Cemetery What they didnt understand was just how important holding this place was for a Confederate victory at Antietam, For Gods sake, come and help us out! begged the new head of Hartsuffs Brigade and without a pause, Colonel Lyle had the 90th Pennsylvania marching forward into the swirling inferno of Antietams Cornfield. Western Maryland did not rally to the Stars and Bars. One soldier of the 6th Wisconsin captured the essence of that horrific morning. : The Sorry Story of Colonel WilliamChristian, The 90th Pennsylvania Infantry in the Cornfield: Solitary and alone, we gave and took ourmedicine, The 1st Texas Infantry in the Cornfield: Slipping theBridle, Captain Von Bachelle and his canine friend sacrifice all in theCornfield, Elliotts Antietam Burial Map: New Revelations About the CornfieldsToll, Tigers in the Cornfield: Hays Louisiana Brigade atAntietam, The 105th New York in Antietams Cornfield: The High Price ofAchievement, The 6th Georgia in the Cornfield: Squeezed by a DeadlyVice, The 19th Indiana in Antietams Cornfield: The command is no longer forward, but now it is followme!, The 1st Georgia Regulars and 1st Minnesota Infantry at Antietam: A Kindness in theCornfield, The 2nd Massachusetts in the Cornfield: Robert Gould Shaws Command Baptism byFire, New Old Views of the Miller Farm and Antietams Cornfield, The 5th Virginias Private Ezra Stickley: Irony in theCornfield, John Cook: An Ohio boy comes of age in AntietamsCornfield, The 21st Georgia: An Unexpected Mission in Antietams EastWoods, The 97th New York Infantry in theCornfield. The textile mills of Europe were dependent on Southern cotton for continuing operations, and the British government keenly felt the urgency to recognize the Confederacy. 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. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. Hood, a Kentuckian, commanded a full division including his old brigade of the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas, the 18th Georgia, Brig. From his headquarters at Chantilly, Virginia, Lee wrote to Confederate President Jefferson Davis of his intent to carry the war to Northern soil. ", More than 25,000 soldiers fought in and around the Cornfield. One amazed Confederate artilleryman saw columns of enemy soldiers stretching into the distance and remarked that they were so numerous that it looked as if they were creeping up out of the ground.. Duryeas brigade followed Seymour out of the East Woods and into the cornfield, stepping over mangled Confederate corpses that canister shots had killed moments earlier. On September 15, Lee positions his men behind the creek and waits for McClellan to arrive. But even this firestorm of controversy couldnt prepare Jones for what awaited him when his postwar indiscretions became known. 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. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at . Pvt. Lost Order, Lost Cause. The fighting was so gory Sunken Road earned a new name: Bloody Lane. General Robert E. Lee committed his entire force to the battle, while Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan sent in less than three quarters of his. He wanted to move the focus of fighting away from the South and into Federal territory. Despite heavy losses and tenacious resistance, Doubleday had driven deeply into Jacksons line. It was obvious to the Union veterans that the area had recently served as a Rebel bivouac. After the war-weary general repeatedly refused Lincolns orders to pursue Lees retreating troops, Lincoln removed McClellan from command on November 5, 1862. 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. He retrieved an envelope that contained three cigars wrapped around the copy of Special Orders No. Widely considered to be one of the most beautiful, pristine and well-preserved Civil War battlefields, Antietam is a must-see for any Civil War Our FREE Virtual Teacher Institute is the can't miss online educator event of the summer. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. Eventually he decided against another general assault. Antietam's opening fight turned a field of crops into a scene of slaughter. It also gave President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a moment of strength rather than desperation. Weeks later, he names Burnside commander of the Army of the Potomac. A collapse of the Confederate left appeared imminent. It conjures up visions of harrowing bloodshed and the tragedy of fratricidal combat Yet, for over 150 years, the story of this struggle has been difficult to track the sway of battle back and forth over Continue reading Descending Into The Bloody Cornfield With Civil War Historian, David A. Welker: PreserveCast Episode No. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Swinging widely to the west, Jackson was to scoop up the enemy garrison at Martinsburg and move on to Harpers Ferry. Gathering up his gearEzra discovered hed misplaced the right glove of his newly-purchased pair, a loss that troubled him considerably. Harpers Ferry was still in Union hands, and McClellans advance toward South Mountain was disturbing. The next day, the Army of Northern Virginia set out from Frederick. 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. 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. Stay up-to-date on our FREE educational resources & professional development opportunities, all designed to support your work teaching American history. Brigadier General David Ricketts 2nd Division, led by Brig. The two brigades emerged from the North Woods simultaneously and crossed a field of clover. 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. The 19th Indiana and 7th Wisconsin crossed the turnpike to cover the Iron Brigades flank, and Gibbon brought up Battery B, 4th U.S. Monday marks the 150th . There are more than 22,000 casualties at the Battle of Antietam. 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. Meades 3rd Division followed in support. The division commander, John R. Jones, had been wounded by shrapnel earlier, and Brig. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! Starke, shot three times, died on the field. Even so, the Union claimed victory. John Cook swung his bugle over his shoulder and wrested from the dead man his leather pouch, bearing the undelivered shell without which the cannon was useless. 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. 2. The delaying action at South Mountain, though costly, had given Jackson enough time to tighten his grip on the arsenal. Here is their shared story By David A. Welker Werner Von Bachelle Continue reading Captain Von Bachelle and his canine friend sacrifice all in theCornfield. This battle flag of the 12 th Georgia includes the names of several color bearers who . Hills rear guard remained at Boonsboro with 5,000 troops. 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. At the same time, he began throwing together a patchwork defense of the South Mountain passes at Turners, Foxs, and Cramptons Gaps. McRaes North Carolina troops advanced into the East Woods. . Miller's 30-acre cornfield at Antietam. Only darkness halted the Union advance. With Federal forces closing in from the east, Lee selects strategic ground near Antietam Creek and orders his army to converge there. As Longstreets men began trudging toward Sharpsburg, Lee reversed his earlier order. The three-hour fight at Cramptons Gap left 500 Union and 750 Confederate dead and wounded. The proclamation, Lincoln hoped, would add a moral dimension to the war besides the preservation of the Union. An original regiment in the storied "Iron Brigade," the 19th Indiana is perhaps best known for its role during the opening hours of the Battle of Gettysburg, which has for too long overshadowed its actions in Antietam's deadly Cornfield Featured The Cornfield Casualty Top Ten Featured / 5 Comments (3) Gen. Lee ordered troops from Gen. D. H. Hills command at the Sunken Road to move north into the Cornfield. Apparently it never reached the general. Hoods men threw down half-eaten biscuits and stuffed bacon into their mouths as they rushed to fill the gap. The rail fence provided little protection, and Starkes men fell in heaps. As night fell, thousands of bodies littered the sprawling Antietam battlefield and both sides regrouped and claimed their dead and wounded. While the Battle of Antietam is considered a tactical draw, President Lincoln claims a strategic victory. By David A. Welker The 90th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was recruited exclusively within the city of Philadelphia. List Price: $51.99. 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. Americas bloodiest day began with heavy fighting that ravaged a previously innocuous cornfield in western Maryland. If either effort made good progress, McClellan was prepared to pitch every available soldier against the center of Lees line. The Cornfield at Antietam Battlefield Matt Brant Ancestry and Fold3 have been helping people understand their ancestors and why they fought for causes large and small for decades. 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. Free shipping for many products! On the diplomatic front, the Confederate cause was ripe for recognition by European powers, particularly Great Britain and France. Though somewhat mis-titled -- it could have been called The East Woods, The West Woods and The Cornfield as it actually covers all of the fighting on the north end of the battlefield, not just in the Cornfield -- this is an excellent work of accessible scholarship. Lee, hopelessly outnumbered, still intended to make a stand in Maryland. President Lincoln, however, wasnt pleased. "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. Unable to remain in command, he left the scene convinced that Union forces were poised to drive the Confederates into the Potomac. Jackson summoned his last reserves, the 2,300 men of Hoods division. This 24-acre cornfield, owned by D.R. 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.. The avalanche of Union troops pushed Rodes steadily back and cost him more than one-third of his command. 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. . Mitchell took the document to Sergeant John M. Bloss, and the two took it to Captain Peter Kop, their company commander. As Jacksons line wavered under unrelenting Union pressure, two brigades of his old division, 1,150 strong, rolled out of the West Woods. For those of us interested in understanding and preserving the events of the Civil War and Antietams Cornfield, heres our own such list the Cornfield casualty top ten. The Battle of Antietam begins at dawn when Hookers Union corps mounts a powerful assault on Lees left flank. Hesitant to support a pro-slavery regime, England and France decline to form an alliance with the Confederate States of America. Running southward, XII Corps under Maj. Gen. Joseph K.F. Commence, firing! And with that the 88th Pennsylvania entered the fight for Antietams Cornfield By David A. Welker The 88th Pennsylvania Continue reading The 88th Pennsylvania at Antietam: A Cornfield Invalid SavesWashington, With the sun glistening off rainwater on the tall, waving cornstalks this clear September morning, David Miller could have no way of knowing that soon his cornfield would become the most dangerous place to be on earth. Miller's Cornfield (usually referred to as 'the Cornfield') is a section of the Antietam battlefield of the American Civil War. The gunners went into action amid Millers haystacks, ignoring Confederate fire that cut down men and horses. ", "Through a shower of bullets and shells, it was only the thoughts of home that brought me from that place." Lee planned to retreat to Virginia, but changed his mind after hearing Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Jacksonbetter known as Stonewall Jacksonhad captured Harpers Ferry. He also counted on McClellan to move slowly, which he did. All Rights Reserved. Lt. Col. Robert Andersons 3rd Brigade, four regiments of Pennsylvania Reserves, crouched low behind a rail fence at the northern end of the cornfield and waited. Six generals were killed or mortally wounded, three from the Union army and three Confederates. Donate Now The White House was a somber place in the summer of 1862. A wave of panic gripped McRaes men, who turned and fled, causing the remnants of Hoods brigades to fall back as well. He surveyed the terrain and noticed a patch of high ground about a mile to his front near the junction of the Smoketown Road and the Hagerstown Turnpike. Facing threats in front and right, as the enemy advanced the Georgians suddenly realized they were in a tremendous Union vise that was about to literally squeeze the regiment to death. 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.

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