Okla-homey
9/17/2006, 07:36 AM
This Good Morning episode was originally broadcasted on Sept 17, 2005. It has been reformated to fit your screen
September 17, 1862 Antietam: The Bloodiest Day in American History
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/1806/antietam20national20cemetery1q.jpg
Antietam National Cemetery
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac fight to a standstill along a Maryland creek on the bloodiest day in American history. Although the battle was a tactical draw, it forced Lee to end his invasion of the North and retreat back to Virginia.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/1261/amcclellan7mb.gif
"Little Mac" McClellan. A very able administrator, he trained, organized and equipped the Federal Army practically by sheer force of will. As a tactician, he succed
As an aside, the battle of Antietam (called "Sharpsburg" by Southerners) pretty much shot Lee's army's wad for the year of 1862. Lee wouldn't try to move north again until early summer of the next year when in July 1863, Lee's army, and the Confederacy's fortunes, would be at high tide near a little town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/8316/alee9ad.jpg
Bobby Lee
Now, back to our story of just what went down on Sept 17, 1862.
It had been roughly two weeks since Lee's decisive victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run (AKA Second Manassas) on August 30, 1862. The Confederate general had steered his army north into Maryland. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis believed that another big Rebel victory might bring recognition and aid from Great Britain and France. Lee also sought to relieve pressure on Virginia by carrying the conflict to the North. His ragtag army was in dire need of supplies, which Lee hoped to obtain from Maryland farms that were untouched by the war.
Lee split his army as he moved into Maryland. One corps marched to capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia, while the other two searched for provisions. Although a copy of Lee's operations orders ended up in the hands of McClellan -- which is an interesting story in and of itself, the Union general failed to act quickly, allowing Lee time to gather his army along Antietam Creek at Sharpsburg, Maryland. McClellan arrived on September 16 and prepared to attack.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6407/anti955wd.th.jpg (http://img226.imageshack.us/my.php?image=anti955wd.jpg)
You can follow all the action on this NPS map.
ROUND 1: Fighting Joe Hooker vs. Stonewall Jackson
The Battle of Antietam actually consisted of three battles. Beginning at dawn on September 17, Union General Joseph Hooker's men stormed Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's troops around the Dunker Church, the West Woods, and David Miller's cornfield. The Federals made repeated attacks, but furious Rebel counterattacks kept the Yankees in check.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6464/ahooker23rw.jpg
Fightin' Joe Hooker -- he loved the ladies so much an army of prostitutes followed his corps wherever it went. Hence the name "hooker" for ladies who, well, you know.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/226/ageneralthomasjackson0rv.jpg
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. By this time next year, he'll be dead. Shot by his own men in error in the confusion and darkness after his greatest triumph at Chancellorsville.
ROUND 2: The Bloody Lane
By early afternoon on the 17th, the fighting moved south to the middle of the battlefield. Union troops under General Edwin Sumner inflicted appalling casualties on the Confederates along a sunken road that became known as "Bloody Lane" before the Southerners retreated. McClellan refused to apply reserves to exploit the opening in the Confederate center because he believed Lee's force to be much larger than it actually was.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6973/antietamlifestuff6oe.jpg
As it looks today at the national park
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/5589/aconfederatedead30zb.jpg
As it looked the day after the fight on Sept. 18, 1862. They've had time to move some of the dead for mass burial. It was said one could walk the entire half-mile length of the lane entirely stepping on bodies. In places, the blood was an inch deep.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/4271/anttroi9th.jpg
The Irish Brigade going in and hurling itself against the center of the CS line along the sunken or "Bloody" lane.
ROUND 3 - Final: Burnside's Bridge
In the late afternoon, Union General Ambrose Burnside attacked General James Longstreet's troops across a stone bridge that came to bear Burnside's name. The Yankees crossed the creek, but a Confederate counterattack brought any further advance to a halt.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/4460/alongstreet6cw.gif
Pete Longstreet...Lee called him his "old Warhorse." He lived through the war, making it to age 87.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/1193/ambroseeverettburnside9kx.th.jpg (http://img226.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ambroseeverettburnside9kx.jpg)
Ambrose Burnside from Rhode Island. About the only thing good to say about the guy is he is the guy who gave his name to "sideburns". Seriously.
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/7947/ddddddddddaburnsidebridgewpeople5ndki8.gif (http://imageshack.us)
"Burnside's Bridge" as it appears today.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/8489/aburnsidesbridge6gm.jpg
From the US side of the bridge, pouring men into a meatgrinder.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/7631/aburnsidesbridgestrain2ru.jpg
From high ground on the CS side of the bridge, pouring in fire ffrom rifle and artillery -- federal casualties here would be extreme as they had been that morning for the South along the "bloody lane."
Aftermath:
The fighting ended by early evening, and the two armies remained in place throughout the following day. After dark on September 18, Lee began pulling his troops out of their defenses for a retreat to Virginia.
The losses for the one-day battle were staggering. McClellan lost a total of 12,401 men, including 2,108 dead, 9,540 wounded, and 753 missing. Lee lost 10, 406, including 1,546 dead, 7,752 wounded, and 1,108 missing.
That's almost 23,000 men. For one day of fighting.
We would only lose approximately half that many in the three days of the invasion at Normandy in WWII 82 years later.
Although the Union army drove Lee's force back to Virginia, the battle was a lost opportunity for the Yankees. McClellan had an overwhelming numerical advantage, but he did not know it. Another attack on September 18 may well have scattered the Confederates and cut off Lee's line of retreat.
Epilogue:
A week later, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the states in rebellion. Most people don't know that's all it did. For example, four states which did not secede had slavery. They were Delaware, Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky. Slavery was unaffected in those states by the Emancipation Proclamation.
In fact, it was also pretty ineffective in freeing any slaves at all since, as I've said, it only affected those states in rebellion. Since those states were generally not under Federal control by virtue of the war, slaves there never felt the difference. The only practical effect of the proclamation was it changed the Northern goal from only a war to save the union, by adding to that goal, a crusade to end of slavery.
September 17, 1862 Antietam: The Bloodiest Day in American History
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/1806/antietam20national20cemetery1q.jpg
Antietam National Cemetery
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac fight to a standstill along a Maryland creek on the bloodiest day in American history. Although the battle was a tactical draw, it forced Lee to end his invasion of the North and retreat back to Virginia.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/1261/amcclellan7mb.gif
"Little Mac" McClellan. A very able administrator, he trained, organized and equipped the Federal Army practically by sheer force of will. As a tactician, he succed
As an aside, the battle of Antietam (called "Sharpsburg" by Southerners) pretty much shot Lee's army's wad for the year of 1862. Lee wouldn't try to move north again until early summer of the next year when in July 1863, Lee's army, and the Confederacy's fortunes, would be at high tide near a little town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/8316/alee9ad.jpg
Bobby Lee
Now, back to our story of just what went down on Sept 17, 1862.
It had been roughly two weeks since Lee's decisive victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run (AKA Second Manassas) on August 30, 1862. The Confederate general had steered his army north into Maryland. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis believed that another big Rebel victory might bring recognition and aid from Great Britain and France. Lee also sought to relieve pressure on Virginia by carrying the conflict to the North. His ragtag army was in dire need of supplies, which Lee hoped to obtain from Maryland farms that were untouched by the war.
Lee split his army as he moved into Maryland. One corps marched to capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia, while the other two searched for provisions. Although a copy of Lee's operations orders ended up in the hands of McClellan -- which is an interesting story in and of itself, the Union general failed to act quickly, allowing Lee time to gather his army along Antietam Creek at Sharpsburg, Maryland. McClellan arrived on September 16 and prepared to attack.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6407/anti955wd.th.jpg (http://img226.imageshack.us/my.php?image=anti955wd.jpg)
You can follow all the action on this NPS map.
ROUND 1: Fighting Joe Hooker vs. Stonewall Jackson
The Battle of Antietam actually consisted of three battles. Beginning at dawn on September 17, Union General Joseph Hooker's men stormed Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's troops around the Dunker Church, the West Woods, and David Miller's cornfield. The Federals made repeated attacks, but furious Rebel counterattacks kept the Yankees in check.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6464/ahooker23rw.jpg
Fightin' Joe Hooker -- he loved the ladies so much an army of prostitutes followed his corps wherever it went. Hence the name "hooker" for ladies who, well, you know.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/226/ageneralthomasjackson0rv.jpg
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. By this time next year, he'll be dead. Shot by his own men in error in the confusion and darkness after his greatest triumph at Chancellorsville.
ROUND 2: The Bloody Lane
By early afternoon on the 17th, the fighting moved south to the middle of the battlefield. Union troops under General Edwin Sumner inflicted appalling casualties on the Confederates along a sunken road that became known as "Bloody Lane" before the Southerners retreated. McClellan refused to apply reserves to exploit the opening in the Confederate center because he believed Lee's force to be much larger than it actually was.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6973/antietamlifestuff6oe.jpg
As it looks today at the national park
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/5589/aconfederatedead30zb.jpg
As it looked the day after the fight on Sept. 18, 1862. They've had time to move some of the dead for mass burial. It was said one could walk the entire half-mile length of the lane entirely stepping on bodies. In places, the blood was an inch deep.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/4271/anttroi9th.jpg
The Irish Brigade going in and hurling itself against the center of the CS line along the sunken or "Bloody" lane.
ROUND 3 - Final: Burnside's Bridge
In the late afternoon, Union General Ambrose Burnside attacked General James Longstreet's troops across a stone bridge that came to bear Burnside's name. The Yankees crossed the creek, but a Confederate counterattack brought any further advance to a halt.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/4460/alongstreet6cw.gif
Pete Longstreet...Lee called him his "old Warhorse." He lived through the war, making it to age 87.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/1193/ambroseeverettburnside9kx.th.jpg (http://img226.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ambroseeverettburnside9kx.jpg)
Ambrose Burnside from Rhode Island. About the only thing good to say about the guy is he is the guy who gave his name to "sideburns". Seriously.
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/7947/ddddddddddaburnsidebridgewpeople5ndki8.gif (http://imageshack.us)
"Burnside's Bridge" as it appears today.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/8489/aburnsidesbridge6gm.jpg
From the US side of the bridge, pouring men into a meatgrinder.
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/7631/aburnsidesbridgestrain2ru.jpg
From high ground on the CS side of the bridge, pouring in fire ffrom rifle and artillery -- federal casualties here would be extreme as they had been that morning for the South along the "bloody lane."
Aftermath:
The fighting ended by early evening, and the two armies remained in place throughout the following day. After dark on September 18, Lee began pulling his troops out of their defenses for a retreat to Virginia.
The losses for the one-day battle were staggering. McClellan lost a total of 12,401 men, including 2,108 dead, 9,540 wounded, and 753 missing. Lee lost 10, 406, including 1,546 dead, 7,752 wounded, and 1,108 missing.
That's almost 23,000 men. For one day of fighting.
We would only lose approximately half that many in the three days of the invasion at Normandy in WWII 82 years later.
Although the Union army drove Lee's force back to Virginia, the battle was a lost opportunity for the Yankees. McClellan had an overwhelming numerical advantage, but he did not know it. Another attack on September 18 may well have scattered the Confederates and cut off Lee's line of retreat.
Epilogue:
A week later, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the states in rebellion. Most people don't know that's all it did. For example, four states which did not secede had slavery. They were Delaware, Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky. Slavery was unaffected in those states by the Emancipation Proclamation.
In fact, it was also pretty ineffective in freeing any slaves at all since, as I've said, it only affected those states in rebellion. Since those states were generally not under Federal control by virtue of the war, slaves there never felt the difference. The only practical effect of the proclamation was it changed the Northern goal from only a war to save the union, by adding to that goal, a crusade to end of slavery.