Battle Of Antietam Essay

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About 150 years ago, on the day of September 17, 1862, Americans experienced what is still known as the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. More lives were lost on the day of this Civil War battle than on any other day in the nation’s history. After twelve hours of brutal fighting, nearly 23,000 of the 131,000 participating men were killed, wounded, or missing in the fields, woods and dirt roads of Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Battle of Antietam, also known in the South as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was the first major Civil War battle to be fought on Northern soil, as a part of the Maryland Campaign. In early September 1862, Robert E. Lee marched his Confederate troops across the Potomac River. On 14 September, Lee’s troops were blocked…show more content…
On the Confederate side of the creek, Jackson commanded the left flank, with General James Longstreet at the center and to the right. These Confederate troops were located to the west of the creek, with the Potomac to their rear. General McClellan’s pre-planned strategy was to attack the enemy left, then the right, and finally, when either of those movements was met with success, to move forward in the center. As dawn approached on the morning of 17 September, McClellan launched attacks from defensive positions behind…show more content…
Burnside first had to capture the bridge over Antietam Creek that was later named after him. After three hours of Confederate forces fighting back from higher ground, Burnside eventually succeeded in capturing the bridge. Upon capture of the bridge around 1:00pm, Burnside proceeded to reorganize his troops before moving forward. After two hours, the advance began, but not for long. In the time Burnside spent reorganizing his troops, Confederate General A.P. Hill had time to call in reinforcements from Harpers Ferry. These reinforcements were successful in turning back the Union
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