By David A. Welker John Continue reading Cowards in the Cornfield? Lee detailed his complex plan in Special Orders No. 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. The 12th Massachusetts had 224 of its 334 soldiers shot down, a casualty rate of 67 percent that was the highest of any Union regiment on the field. 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. How it ended Inconclusive. When Frenchs troops arrived, fighting ensued at close range. The 28th Pennsylvania and 5th, 7th, and 66th Ohio of Lt. Col. Hector Tyndales 1st Brigade led the way. The fight began to peter out with the gathering darkness. The Union troops were thrown back as Wofford rolled into the western portion of the cornfield and Law struck to the east. Hesitant to support a pro-slavery regime, England and France decline to form an alliance with the Confederate States of America. This is that story . 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. Colonel Thomas Munford led a brigade of cavalry, bloodied from the fighting at South Mountain, to cover the fords south of the lower bridge. Return to Tour Map The first Confederate shell struck the ranks of the 6th Wisconsin, killing two soldiers and wounding 11. Antietam National Cemetery Stonewall Jackson, Maj. Gen. D.H. Hills division was to follow Longstreet as the armys rear guard. All of Lees troops were worn-out and hungry, and many were sick. The following morning, McClellan attacks. Maryland was a border state and remained in the Union, but Lee believed that large numbers of Southern sympathizers would rally to his ranks once the Army of Northern Virginia entered the state. For generations of Americans, the word Antietam - the name of a bucolic stream in western Maryland - held the same sense of horror and carnage that the date 9/11 does for Americans today. Gen. John Gibbon, commander of the 4th Brigade, I Corps. The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point tells the story of what happened in David Miller's once-peaceful farm field on 17 September 1862, which opened the Civil War Battle of Antietam - America's single bloodiest day. Doctors at the scene are overwhelmed. Join us online July 24-26! Ricketts division was knocked out of the battle with 30 percent casualties, and it fell to Meade to patch a defensive line together. 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.. Their fire was devastating. Miller, saw some of U.S. history's most horrific fighting. It pitted Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of. The first Confederate invasion of Union-held territory is not going as planned. The Cornfield Trail loops around and through the Bloody Cornfield where 8,000 men were killed, wounded or went missing is the ferocious battle for two hours on the morning of September 17. While his own numbers swelled to nearly 90,000, McClellan, ever cautious, was concerned about the strength of his enemy. 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. The Union and Confederates fought in the cornfield, many being wounded. Jefferson County, WV|Sep 12-15, 1862, Frederick County and Washington County, MD|Sep 14, 1862, Washington County, MD|Sep 16-18, 1862, Town of Shepherdstown, WV|Sep 19-20, 1862, Washington County, MD | September 17, 1862. Lincolns cabinet feared releasing the Emancipation Proclamation at that time would seem desperate and be difficult to enforce, so Lincoln decided to wait until another decisive Union victory. The Confederates lost one of their most promising brigade commanders, Brig. 191, dated September 9. We cannot afford to be idle.. Hill and his Light Division to take custody of 73 pieces of artillery and 13,000 rifles and revolvers and parole the prisoners at the arsenal. Gen. John Hatchs 1st Division, I Corps, on his right, and the Pennsylvania Reserve Division under Brig. Instead, McClellans half-hearted approach allowed Lee to hold ground by shifting forces from threat to threat. When another officer asked the whereabouts of his division, he replied sorrowfully, Dead on the field.. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. Brigadier General David Ricketts 2nd Division, led by Brig. As for Gibbon's brigade, the 2nd and 6th Wisconsin regiments led the brigade with the 19th Indiana and 7th Wisconsin regiments in close support, with Battery B split to support both wings of the brigade. Strategically, Lees decision to invade the North made sense. Fighting raged into the gathering darkness as Georgia and Alabama troops under Brig. The trail turns east and through the middle of the Miller Meadow, Continue east along the line toward the Smoketown Road, Walk north on the trail through the East Woods, Continue across Cornfield Avenue and through the East Woods, Explore the Confederate defense and counterattack in the Corn, Walk south through the historic Cornfield. 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 The avalanche of Union troops pushed Rodes steadily back and cost him more than one-third of his command. Stuart had raided Popes very headquarters, carrying off the generals dress coat. Military historians consider the Battle of Antietam a stalemate. But even this firestorm of controversy couldnt prepare Jones for what awaited him when his postwar indiscretions became known. Lees back was to the Potomac, and only Botelers Ford at Shepherdstown offered a clear avenue of escape across the river if the Confederates were driven from the field. Unfortunately for the Union, this temporal advantage in the center is not followed up with further advances and eventually the Union defenders must abandon their position. Sign up for our quarterly email series highlighting the environmental benefits of battlefield preservation. The Most Terrible Clash of Arms Gen. Mansfield was mortally wounded and Gen. Alpheus Williams took command of the Corps. Hoping to take advantage of the Unions low morale and seeming ineptitude, Lee chose to push his army north across the Potomac and into Maryland where they soon occupied the town of Frederick. The terrain was dotted by farmsteads, pastures, and cornfields, separated here and there by rail fences. This article appears in: Early Fall 2014 By Michael E. Haskew The White House was a somber place in the summer of 1862. 191 that Chilton had intended for Hill. War fever was high that nightthe day before Confederate forces had fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston harborand some 102 men volunteered their services to New York State for Continue reading Buffalo in the Cornfield: The 21st New York atAntietam, With his brigade locked in a nearly point-blank fight on the southern end of Antietams Cornfield, Colonel Douglass had already been wounded seven times but remained in command. A collapse of the Confederate left appeared imminent. I lived there as a child and these were the fields we played in before they became National Park Service protectorates, the mid-1950s. Forward, guide centre, halt. Excellent summaries of the individual skirmishes and the overall battle. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Gen. Jacob Coxs Kanawha Division were in control of Foxs Gap. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. Hays' Louisiana Brigade suffered over 60-percent casualties in 30 minutes. Upon learning of the valuable find, an ecstatic McClellan reportedly exclaimed, Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home. He immediately moved his army in hopes of foiling Lees battle plans. The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point By David A. Welker Casemate, 2020, $34.95. The Army of the Potomac began to concentrate that night, but during the following day McClellan declined to make a decisive move. Its commander, Colonel Hugh McNeil, was killed along with five others, and 20 were wounded. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. We strive for accuracy and fairness. The fighting was so gory Sunken Road earned a new name: Bloody Lane. National Park Service.Why did Lee Enter Maryland? "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. Antietam on the Web. The water is deep, swift, and crossable only at three stone bridges, making it a natural defensible location. By the evening of the 13th, it appeared to Lee that his risky plan was coming apart. Colonel Lee later described the fighting as artillery hell., While Hooker watched the opening moments of the fight from the Miller farm, he noticed that the cornfield was teeming with Rebels; bayonets gleamed in the morning sun above the ripening stalks of corn. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.The Battle of Antietam. We had expended every bandage, tore up every sheet in the house, and everything we could find, when who should drive up but our old friend, Miss Barton, with a team loaded down with dressings of every kind, and everything we could ask for. Wildly exaggerated estimates of Lees numbers, ranging upwards of 200,000 men, filtered into McClellans command from unreliable civilian sources and from agents employed by private detective Allan Pinkerton, whom McClellan knew from their days together on the Illinois Central Railroad before the war. 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. His orders from Lincoln and Army General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck were somewhat vague: protect Washington and, if possible, destroy Lees army in the process. In 20 minutes of fighting, Duryea lost 300 men. 126, May 18,2020, The Cornfield Inside the Action at Antietams Bloody TurningPoint, Abner Doubleday in Antietams Cornfield: No Day in the (Baseball)Park, Garlands Brigade at the Cornfield: The Death of a Reputationand MuchMore, The 88th Pennsylvania at Antietam: A Cornfield Invalid SavesWashington, Farming the Cornfield: D. R. Millers 1862 Harvest ofDeath, Buffalo in the Cornfield: The 21st New York atAntietam, Claimed by the Cornfield: Georgias Colonel MarcellusDouglass, Cowards in the Cornfield? Gen. William French and Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, crossed Antietam Creek to support Mansfield. 126, May 18,2020, D. R. Millers Cornfield was a long way from New Orleans docks and marshes, but for many "Louisiana Tigers" in Hays Brigade this deadly spot would become their final resting place, By David A. Welker With my book on Antietam's Cornfield finally published, click here for a brief taste of some of the big themes it discusses: "The Cornfield Inside the Action at Antietams Bloody Turning Point" And if you'd like a preview to read a few pages, here's another link you can click on Continue reading The Cornfield Inside the Action at Antietams Bloody TurningPoint. Hooker threw a blanket on the ground near the Poffenberger farmhouse and commented within earshot of George Smalley, a reporter for the New York Tribune, If they had let us start earlier, we might have finished tonight.. Our first stop is D. R. Miller's farm, around which swirled fighting in the bloody Cornfield By David A. Welker One of the most enjoyable moments when researching history comes in finding something new, even when that thing is quite old. Meades 3rd Division followed in support. Jackson in turn detailed Maj. Gen. A.P. . Meanwhile, Lee was becoming anxious. From his point of view, hed accomplished his mission of forcing Lees troops from Maryland and preventing a Confederate win on Union soil. The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education. This further isolated the Confederacy and made it harder for them to re-supply their troops and citizens. On September 14, at the base of South Mountain near Sharpsburg, Confederate Generals D.H. Hills and James Longstreets units encountered Union resistance and sustained heavy casualties. There they ran headlong into one of Lawtons brigades under Colonel James A. Walker. Rifles are shot to pieces in the hands of the soldiers, canteens and haversacks are riddled by bullets, the dead and wounded go down in scores, he wrote. Battle of Antietam, also called Battle of Sharpsburg, (September 17, 1862), in the American Civil War (1861-65), a decisive engagement that halted the Confederate invasion of Maryland, an advance that was regarded as one of the greatest Confederate threats to Washington, D.C. Lee knew that the capacity of the Union to wage war was virtually limitless. Hood, a Kentuckian, commanded a full division including his old brigade of the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas, the 18th Georgia, Brig. Dr. James Dunn, a surgeon at the Battle of Antietam lauded her efforts: The rattle of 150,000 muskets, and the fearful thunder of over 200 cannon, told us that the great battle of Antietam had commenced. The Cornfield Trail at Antietam National Battlefield. When the Confederates withdrew, Franklin was only six miles from Harpers Ferry. McRae remembered: The most unutterable stampede occurred. Meanwhile, Lee counted on McClellans lack of aggressiveness. Federal Identification Number (EIN): 54-1426643. North Woods 3. Theyd remained on the sidelines so far, but as they endured cotton shortages and the south seemed to gain the upper hand, they considered legitimizing the Confederacy, a move with potentially drastic implications. Greene rode forward and warned the New Yorkers to slow down before they outran covering artillery. Union forces outnumbered Confederates by two to one, although McClellan thought Lees forces were much larger. This assault on Robert E. Lee's forces began the Battle of Antietam, the single bloodiest day of the Civil War. He was convinced that the bulk of Jacksons command, marching hard from Harpers Ferry, would reach the battlefield and swell his ranks to 50,000 men to confront McClellans force of 80,000. The Iron Brigade battled several Confederate units during the bloody fighting in D.R. He could not understand why his general was not on the tail of the Confederates, and he went to McClellans headquarters at Antietam to light a fire under him. Starke, shot three times, died on the field. After Burnsides troops finally took the bridge and had the Confederate right flank in sight, Confederate reinforcements arrived and pushed them back. On first division, deploy column, march. Travel back in time to see Antietam's battlefield as it looked 134 years ago. One of his junior officers observed a large Union formation moving to the right. By 5:30 am, the morning fog had burned off enough for the Confederate horse artillery under Major John Pelham to fire at the Union vanguard from Nicodemus Hill. Antietam | Cornfield | Sep 17, 1862 | 8:00 - 8:30 am (November 2021) [PDF] 580.63 KB Preserve 128 sacred acres at Antietam and Shepherdstown We can add 6 additional acres to the 130-year-old Antietam Battlefield site and preserve 122 acres of nearly-pristine land at Shepherdstown all part. The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. On September 9, Lee issued Special Order 191 defining his Maryland Campaign. His plan to enter northern territory divided his army, sending each unit to march on a specific town: Boonsboro and Hagerstown in Maryland, and Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg in West Virginia. Later in the war, Lincoln authorized Barton to form the Office of Correspondence with Friends of Missing Men in the United States Army, an effort that eventually identified 22,000 missing Union soldiers. It explains what happened in Antietam's Cornfield and why. His decision was pivotal. 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. Gen. William E. Starke spurred his brigade of Louisiana soldiers and accompanying Virginians headlong into the Iron Brigade. The decimated survivors retreated in disorder, leaving behind 2,200 killed and wounded. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 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