The Batttle of Sharpsburg

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The Battle of Sharpsburg Name Course Name of instructor 30 March 2021

Lastname 2 The battle of Sharpsburg is also referred to as the Battle of Antietam. This was a decisive engagement that led to seizure of the Confederate invasion of Maryland. This advancement was regarded as one of the prominent threats made to Washington, D. C. This battle was named after the town nearest to where the battle took place. Battles that took place in the south were often named after the nearest town or city while battles in the north were named after physical features. 1 The aim of this paper is to analyze how the battle of Sharpsburg affected the inevitable loss of the confederacy in the civil war. The Civil war was a battle between the Confederate regions and the Union within the United States. The Union was located on the northern region while the Confederates were located on the Southern region. There were many reasons that caused the Civil war but the main one was for the unity of the country. There existed conflicts between the North and the South and during the Civil war, another cause of the fight was slavery. The war in the South was led by General Robert E. Lee who was one of the prominent generals on the confederate side. There was a lot at stake during the battle of Sharpsburg. One of which was that President Abraham Lincoln, who was the President at the time was in possession of the Emancipation Proclamation. 2 This was a document that declared freedom to all slaves who were in the rebellious states. The Union had encountered unexpected and demoralizing losses such the defeat of Major General John Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run which meant that the Confederacy would be a strong opponent. The cabinet at the time was in fear that the release of the Emancipation Proclamation at the time would be viewed as a desperate move hence it would be a challenge to enforce. This resulted in President Lincoln withholding the document until the 1 . Hartwig, D. Scott. “Antietam Eyewitness Accounts.” HistoryNet. HistoryNet, June 22, 2016. 2 . Baracz, Brian. “A Short Overview of the Battle of Antietam (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed February 11, 2021.

Lastname 3 Union had encountered a Victory. There was a midterm elections that were held by the Republicans and they failed to get a victory. This complicated the matters further. Democrats were frustrated with the policies put forward by Lincoln therefore they launched a campaign against the war with the hope of taking over the United States. General Robert E. Lee noticed the disagreement among the ranks of Lincoln and knew that winning the battle over Union land will cause a decline in the support Lincoln gets from the congress and this would help secure Confederacy. Lee believed that for the Confederacy to win the war then they were to do it quickly because the longer they waited, the more time the Union troops gained advantage in terms of population and materiel. 3 If the Confederacy would have won the war on Northern soil then the Union would have no other option than to accept defeat and make peace. General Lee had frustrated the plans of General George B. McClellan by laying siege to the capital city of the Confederate States which was Richmond hence McClellan retreated. General Lee therefore hoped to take advantage of the low morale of the Union and pushed his army north and into Maryland where they occupied the town of Fredrick. General Lee issued a Special Order 191 which defined his Maryland Campaign. McClellan’s army moved into the campsite after Confederates had left. This became a turning point because two soldiers found the Special Order 191whichcontained the information on the movement of the Confederate troops which was then given to General McClellan, who was excited because this gave him an advantage. He moved his troops hoping to foil the plans of General Lee. General Lee discovered that he was missing the Special Order 191and knew the vulnerability of his army. Confederate Generals faced Union resistance and suffered heavy casualties. 3 . Hartwig, D. Scott. “Antietam Eyewitness Accounts.” HistoryNet. HistoryNet, June 22, 2016.

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Lastname 4 The first group of General Lee’s army crossed into Maryland on September 4 and by the 7 th all his troops were ready for the raid. General Lee had many reasons why he wanted Maryland to be part of the Confederacy. One of the main reasons was the location. Maryland was a good location to stage attacks on major cities such as Washington, D. C. This would be an opportunity to have access to the rich farmland that would be a source of food to his army. Despite the raid of Maryland, Lee needed to be connected with Richmond for communication purposes and limited resupply. General Lee’s plan included splitting his troops into four parts three of which were under General Thomas Jonathan, which would move towards the West then proceed towards Harpers Ferry. The second division that was under General John George was to secure Loudoun Heights which would overlook Harpers Ferry. 4 The troops under Major General Lafayette would proceed to capture Maryland Heights which would also overlook Harpers Ferry. The main troops would then cross the mountain and stop at Boonsboro under Major General James Longstreet. General McClellan having the Special Order 191 had gathered his troops at Greencastle. 5 Lee found out and decided to leave one division to act as a rear guard at Boonsboro. Lee had expected that by September 13 Harpers Ferry would be under the Confederates but it was until later that day were the expected troops in position. The army troop in Northern Virginia had then been subdivided into five groups. This was a risky posture until Harpers Ferry had surrendered. The Federals in Washington would have taken this to their advantage and attacked Lee’s troops while they were divided. Lee had made an assumption that it would have taken General McClellan a minimum of one week to take the field 4 . History.com Editors. “Battle of Antietam.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, October 27, 2009. 5 . Vandermolen, Larry. “The Diary of a Union Soldier (1862),” 1991.

Lastname 5 and that he would have made cautious advancements and that he would be unaware of the division in Lee’s army. The plan that General Lee had was setback because of the Special Order 1919 which had been found at the campsite near Fredrick and given to General McClellan. He then swiftly united and reorganized the Army of the Potomac adding elements of the Army of Virginia that were not functional. He was at the field by September 7 which was the same day that the last group of Lee’s troops were crossing the Potomac and despite the precaution that the army had taken, they had reached Fredrick by September 13. Since General McClellan had the plan that would be followed by Lee, he used it to make advances through the southern mountain which would then allow him to access Boonsboro, a pace where the main body of Lee’s troop would be located as stated in the Special Order 191. Had he rushed he could have ended the entire war. The Confederate troop that was left at Boonsboro was the one under Hill, which had successfully defended two gaps which were Turner and Fox from the Union II corps led by General Edwin, and IX corps that was led by General Jesse Lee, although he was killed. Reinforcements were received and enabled Lee to control these two gaps. Crampton’s Gap which was closer to Potomac River allowed the Union troops to have access to the backside of McLaws’ division which was already at Maryland and was besieging Harpers Ferry however the Confederates were able to hold off the Union troops until night fall which enabled them to a retreat to a safer position where they prepared themselves for Franklin’s attack. 6 Despite being able to hold of the Union army on the first day, Lee knew they were not in a position to hold the gaps for the second day. His army was still divided. Lee had sought a defensible position towards the Maryland side which how had found at Sharpsburg and this decision had been controversial and the creek was the only advantage that he had. The issue however was that the creek was waist level deep with steep banks making it difficult for the 6 . Morris, Graham J. “THE BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG.” Battlefield Anomalies, June 2010.

Lastname 6 entire troop to cross under fire from the enemy. There was a high ground west of the creek that would have made a strong fighting position. 7 The terrain was composed of knolls and ravines which would conceal the Confederates so that the Federals would find it difficult to have a good look at how the Confederates were disposed. However, the disadvantage that Sharpsburg had on the Confederates army was that they would have to fight with their back facing Potomac River, there was no bridge that could be used when defeated and there was a single ford. The speculated reasons why Lee chose Sharpsburg include for political reasons, he could not leave Maryland without a fight. Some historians believe Lee was unaware of the magnitude of damage caused on his troops or he was overconfident regarding the force he had. Some believe that Sharpsburg placed Lee on the side of the Federal army to recapture the town unless Harpers Ferry victory had been cemented. 8 However, historians criticize the decisions made by McClellan. The advancement of his army approached the high ground on the eastern side of the creek and by 16 he had the opportunity to make advancements on Lee’s army since most of it was still around Harpers Ferry. He was however contented by the shift of I and XII corps across the creek. The intention was for these units to make advancements the following morning. The remaining plans that McClellan had were questionable, however as the plans continued to unfold, it took an engagement where they were achieved piece by piece. This was however a deliberate move. Other questionable plans included the fact that his headquarters was too close to the battlefield hence would affect the decisions that McClellan made. Further plan that was questioned was the reason for holding the entire V corps in reserve, probably this was for insurance purposes. McClellan had instructed 7 . National Geographic Society. “Defining Battles of the Civil War.” National Geographic Society, November 19, 2019. 8 . Baracz, Brian. “A Short Overview of the Battle of Antietam (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed February 11, 2021.

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Lastname 7 Major General Ambrose to attack stone bridge from Antietam Creek after a delay was experienced while trying to secure the bridge. Later General Lee discovered the mistake he had made by overestimating he had at hand with almost a third of them being casualties. He realized that he was making a huge gamble and that this would not have given him any advantage over McClellan’s troops. The result of the battle is considered a tactical stalemate but a marginal success for McClellan due to the successful escape of Lee. The battle of Sharpsburg had weakened the Confederate army while on the other hand strengthened the Union army. Victory of the Union army strengthened the power of President Lincoln which enabled him issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This is evident that General McClellan had played an important role in determining the final results of the battle. This was so especially after he received a copy of the Special Order 191 that the Confederate army had left at the campsite near Fredrick. The Emancipation Proclamation freed all the slaves in the rebellious states with the justification being a wartime measure. The proclamation minimized the labor force of the Confederacy putting the international public opinion in favor of the Union side. African American war soldiers were in a position to join the Union Army by the end of the war in 1865. Bibliography Baracz, Brian. “A Short Overview of the Battle of Antietam (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed February 11, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/articles/a-short-overview-of-the-battle-of-antietam.htm . Hartwig, D. Scott. “Antietam Eyewitness Accounts.” HistoryNet. HistoryNet, June 22, 2016. https://www.historynet.com/antietam-eyewitness-accounts.htm .

Lastname 8 History.com Editors. “Battle of Antietam.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, October 27, 2009. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-antietam . Morris, Graham J. “THE BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG.” Battlefield Anomalies, June 2010. https://battlefieldanomalies.com/the-battle-of-sharpsburg/ . National Geographic Society. “Defining Battles of the Civil War.” National Geographic Society, November 19, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/defining-battles-civil- war/?utm_source=BibblioRCM_Row. Vandermolen, Larry. “The Diary of a Union Soldier (1862),” 1991. https://wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/resources/documents/ch17_04.htm.

The Batttle of Sharpsburg

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