Antietam, the “Bloodiest Single Day” | Crossroads of War

Antietam, the “Bloodiest Single Day”

November 1, 2011 By admin

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Residents of Sharpsburg fleeing the town as Confederates approach and prepare for battle in September 1862 (Harper's Weekly, October 11, 1862; NPS History Collection)

Many residents of the region sought shelter from the impending battle in Killiansburg Cave on the banks of the Potomac River near Sharpsburg (F.H. Schell, artist; Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 25, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Union soldiers charging into a cornfield in the northern part of the battlefield on the morning of September 17, 1862 (Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorlized version appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 4, 1862)

The Union charge through what became known as The Cornfield (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War [New York: The Century Co., 1887], 630)

"Skirmish between the Brooklyn 14th and 300 Rebel Cavalry during the Battle of Antietam," sketched by Alfred R. Waud on September 17, 1862. The 14th Brooklyn Infantry (also known as the 84th New York Infantry) fought in The Cornfield during the Battle of Antietam, but there is no reference to the unit fighting Confederate cavalry (Library of Congress)

Union General Joseph Hooker's corps crossing Antietam Creek to attack the Confederates on the morning of September 17 (Frank Schell, artist; Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorized version appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 11, 1862)

Union General Joseph Mansfield's corps on the extreme northern end of the battlefield (Alfred R. Waud, artist, September 17, 1862; Library of Congress; a version of this appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 11, 1862)

Sharpsburg resident Samuel Mumma's house and barns burning after they were torched by Confederate soldiers so that the buildings could not be used by Federal sharpshooters (Alfred Waud, artist, September 17, 1862; Library of Congress)

The burning of Mumma's farm as it appeared in the Harper's Weekly issue of October 11, 1862 (NPS History Collection)

"A Fateful Turn" by Captain James Hope, a participant in the battle, showing Union troops advancing on the Sunken Road on the right, and the burning Mumma property on the left (James Hope, artist, painted by 1892; Antietam National Battlefield)

The center and right side of the battlefield, from the Union side, around 10:00 am on the morning of September 17 (Paul Fleury Mottelay, and T. Campbell-Copeland, Frank Leslie's The Soldier in Our Civil War Vol. I [New York: S. Bradley Pub. Co, 1893], 386-7; the original appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 11, 1862)

A Union signal tower on Elk Mountain overlooking Sharpsburg after the Battle of Antietam (Alexander Gardner or Timothy H. O'Sullivan, photographer, September 1862; Library of Congress)

Another view of the same signal tower on Elk Mountain overlooking Sharpsburg after the Battle of Antietam (Alexander Gardner or Timothy H. O'Sullivan, photographer, September or October 1862; Library of Congress)

A Union signal tower on Elk Mountain overlooking Sharpsburg after the Battle of Antietam (October 1862; Library of Congress)

A detail of the previous photograph (Library of Congress)

Union soldiers charge into the West Woods early in the afternoon (Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorlized version appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 4, 1862)

"Artillery Hell" by Captain James Hope, showing Confederate artillery near the Dunker Church firing in the early morning of September 17, 1862 (James Hope, artist, painted by 1892; Antietam National Battlefield)

Union soldiers advance during the Battle of Antietam in this lithograph by L. Prang & Co., 1887 (Library of Congress)

Confederate cavalry officers driving stragglers back to the battle (F.H. Schell, artist; Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 25, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Colonel Ernst von Vegesack leading the 20th New York Regiment in a charge during the Battle of Antietam (Alfred Waud, artist; Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorized version appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 25, 1862)

The 1st Maryland Light Battery (Union) firing towards the Dunker Church in the center of the battlefield (Alfred Waud, artist; Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorized version appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 11, 1862)

General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Southern forces at the Battle of Antietam (Julian Vannerson, photographer, March 1864; Library of Congress)

General Robert E. Lee in a photograph taken by Matthew Brady on April 16, 1865, a week after surrendering at Appomattox (Library of Congress)

Confederate General Robert E. Lee (Vic Arnold, artist, c.1882; Library of Congress)

The Jacob H. Grove house in Sharpsburg, where General Robert E. Lee met with Generals James Longstreet and D.H. Hill during the battle (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War [New York: The Century Co., 1887], 666)

General McClellan giving orders in the field (Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorlized version appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 4, 1862)

Major General George B. McClellan, the Union commander at the Battle of Antietam (engraved and published by John Chester Buttre, c.1864; Library of Congress)

"Major General George B. McClellan: At the Battle of Antietam, Md. Sept. 17th 1862" (lithograph by Currier & Ives, c.1862; Library of Congress)

"Major General George B. McClellan on the Battle Field of Antietam" (painting by C. Schussele, engraving by A.B. Walter, and published by John Dainty, Philadelphia, 1863; Library of Congress)

"The Battle of Antietam" (color lithograph by Currier & Ives; Library of Congress)

A shell bursting in the cellar window of the John Kretzer house in Sharpsburg, where townspeople had retreated for safety (F.H. Schell, artist; Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 25, 1862; courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Edwin Forbes' sketch of Union Colonel Rush Hawkins' "Zouaves" (9th NY Regiment) charging with bayonets on the left flank of the Union line on the afternoon of September 17 (Library of Congress)

Forbes' sketch of the charge of Hawkins' Zouaves as it appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 11, 1862 (courtesy of Timothy R. Snyder)

Union General Ambrose Burnside's soldiers holding a ridge on the southern end of the battlefield in the late afternoon (Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorlized version appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 4, 1862)

"Wasted Gallantry" by Captain James Hope, showing an ill-fated charge by the 7th Maine Regiment through Henry Piper's cornfield on the afternoon of the battle (James Hope, artist, painted by 1892; Antietam National Battlefield)

Burnside's division charging across the Lower Bridge (later called Burnside Bridge) (Edwin Forbes, artist, 1862; Library of Congress; an uncolorized version appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 11, 1862)

"Battle of Antietam," lithograph by Kurz and Allison, 1888, showing the fighting around Burnside Bridge (Library of Congress)

"The Charge Across Burnside Bridge," by Edwin Forbes, September 17, 1862 (Library of Congress)

"A Fateful Delay" by Captain James Hope, showing Union troops crossing Burnside Bridge; the delay in getting more troops across, however, prevented the Union soldiers from holding their position and they were forced to retreat (James Hope, artist, painted by 1892; Antietam National Battlefield)

Fighting at Burnside Bridge during the Battle of Antietam (lithograph by Currier & Ives; Library of Congress)

A flag of truce after the battle so both sides could remove the wounded near the Dunker Church (Alfred Waud, artist; Antietam National Battlefield; an uncolorized version appeared in Harper's Weekly, October 25, 1862)

Pickets firing on one another across the Potomac River near Shepherdstown after the Battle of Antietam (courtesy of Timothy R. Snyder; A.R. Waud, artist; originally published in Harper's Weekly, October 11, 1862)

The 118th Pennsylvania Regiment (also known as the Corn Exchange Regiment) crossing the Potomac River near Shepherdstown to pursue the Confederates after the Battle of Antietam (courtesy of Timothy R. Snyder; A.R. Waud, artist; originally published in Harper's Weekly, October 11, 1862)

"Battle-Field of Shepherdstown," from John L. Smith, compiler, History of the Corn Exchange Regiment (Philadelphia: J.L. Smith, 1888), 83

On September 20, 1862, Union troops that had crossed over the Potomac River near Shepherdstown were overwhelmed by a Confederate force and pushed back across the river (Paul Fleury Mottelay, and T. Campbell-Copeland, Frank Leslie's The Soldier in Our Civil War Vol. I [New York: S. Bradley Pub. Co, 1893], 408; originally published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 25, 1862)

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