The Battle of Antietam had great significance to both sides due to its record high number of deaths in a single-day battle. It marked the end of Lee’s first attempt at invading the Northern states. And, it was considered a victory by the Union giving President Lincoln cover to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The heavy losses on both sides were due to a lack of Confederate soldiers and poor planning on the Union general’s part. On September 17, 1862, at around 5 A.M., Confederate troops led by General Robert E. Lee and Union troops led by General George McClellan. General Lee created a complex plan that spread his troops out far too thin and a copy of his battle plans even got into the hands of General McClellan. McClellan, however failed …show more content…
Lee chose a spot very well suited for defense, but risky, as the Potomac River was directly behind them which would drastically slow down any retreat. McClellan’s plan was to hit Lee along his left flank and then his right repeatedly until one of them was met with success and then break in through the center, but he failed to exercise control over his troops and fighting broke out into skirmishes along the front line. McClellan’s lack of control over his forces led to the high death rate even though he outnumbered the Confederate troops two-to-one. His entire center or more than a third of his army never even fired a shot drastically reducing his effectiveness on the battlefield. The battle had four main attack phases. The first attack phase took place in the first four hours of the war, fought along farmer David Miller’s thirty acre cornfield, in which neither side gained any land or a real strategic advantage. Some experts say that the cornfield changed hands more than 15 times during the course of the battle. Around seven o’ clock am, Confederate reinforcements arrived stopping Union troops, under the command of Union corps commander Joseph Hooker, from cutting through General Jackson’s, who was a Confederate corps commander in this battle, defensive
Known as the bloodiest single-day battle in American History, the Battle of Antietam took place at Antietam creek in Maryland. Strategic plan unveiled and outnumbered, things didn’t start off smoothly for General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate army; yet, even with a copy of the enemy’s plan and a two-to-one advantage, did things work out for Union! With one side disadvantaged and the other wasting their advantages, the battle stayed undecided for hours- that is until violent attacks to General Lee’s troop had the Confederate army retreating. Although, the Battle of Antietam does not have a clear victorious side, the Union declared it as a victory and used the victory to justify the “Emancipation Proclamation”
The Union was under the command of General Joseph Hooker who was new to the Union Army. General Lee and Jackson met together to discuss the battle and how to defeat the enemy. The two decided that Jackson would take 30,000 troops and attack from the side. Lee took 15,000 men and went around to the backside of the Union army . This was one of Lee’s tactics that he used the most, which was divide and conquer.
Lee would use his exquisite leadership in future battles such as the attempt of the Union to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond; he would turn the tables against the Union general George B. McClellan to take
The Battle of Honey Springs which is also sometimes called the Battle of Elk Creek was the largest hostile encounter in the Indian Territory during the Civil War. The battle took place in McIntosh County about four and one half miles northeast of Checotah and about fifteen miles south of Muskogee in what was known as Creek Nation which is located in eastern Oklahoma. The engagement took place on Friday the 17th of July 1863. Between the 1st Division, Army of the Frontier, commanded by Major General James G. Blunt and the Confederate Indian Brigade commanded by Brigadier General Douglas H. Cooper. A few years before the Battle of Honey Springs began the Federal Forces pulled troops out of the Indian Territory to send reinforcements east
Robert E. Lee imagined that by battling in Maryland, he could win support from the general population of Maryland, and also bolster his troops with nourishment from Maryland ranches. President Abraham Lincoln put Major General George B. McClellan accountable for the Union troops in charge of safeguarding Washington, D.C., against Lee 's attack. McClellan 's Army of the Potomac conflicted first with Lee 's men on September 14, with the
One reason Lee was blamed for them losing was because he didn’t do what was best for what men he did have or to save them. A huge mistake was also stated by Fan, “General Longstreet urges a move around the Union Army flank on the right taking them from behind, however, General Lee orders famous Confederate General John Bell Hood to take his entire division in a frontal assault up a steep, rocky hill, known as
He wanted to take the offensive and break the Union’s will to fight. George McClellan was also supposed to win the election, but they ended up losing. This was one of the most terrible losses for the Confederacy because they had now lost the election and the battle. Lee chose to blame it on himself.
After the recognition of destruction and death struck General Lee, the Confederate Army retreated back to Virginia on September 18th. Reacting as a cautious leader would, McClellan hesitated attacking the vulnerable troops of the Confederate’s as they escaped back into the safety of the South. With both sides wounded and tired, Lee’s bluster to keep the fight going gave the Confederates enough time to gather their wounded and abscond the scene of battle. After Lee took his soldiers back South, McClellan wrote ‘that after a “careful survey of the situation and condition of our army, the strength and position of the enemy, I concluded that the success of an attack on the 18th was not certain”’. McClellan’s hesitation in pursuit was seen as a
everything went down but if gives you the big picture and overall what happened with all the facts to support it. Hickman, K. (2015). “American Civil War: Battle of Antietam.” Retrieved from http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/civilwarintheeast/p/antietam.htm
Lee was so fearless he determined to invade the North reiteratively. Robert E. Lee strategy was to drift the fighting away from Virginia and into the Union Territory. He wanted to move the fighting, because the Confederate were under siege in Virginia. Lee hoped to gain recognition from Britain and France for the Confederacy. Joesph Hooker,the Union commander, was exposed to the worst defeat of the Army of Potomac in the Battle of Chancellorsville.
Why Was The Battle of Gettysburg The Bloodiest Battle The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on the days July 1, 1863 to July 3, 186 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Union the won the battle. It was a major loss for the Confederates.
Abraham Lincoln caused the civil war. Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president on November 16, 1860. Abraham was the first republican president ever. He was born near Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. His family moved to Indiana when he was seven and he grew up on the frontier.
Lee’s plan was to take 60,000 troops north and take out as many military targets as possible. As his troops traveled north they collected various supplies from every farm and town they came across which strengthened his cause. His main goal was to head to the largest cities in the North which would greatly decimate the northerner’s capability and spirits. While traveling Major General George Meade was positioning his troops between Lee’s troops and the Capital until General Lee learned of his in Pennsylvania. This quickly prompted his attack on Gettysburg where on the first day 50,000 soldiers clashed in battle killing or injuring over 15,000.
Originally, the northern area of the town was guarded rather successfully by John Buford and his men, soon to be reinforced with two more corps of Union soldiers. He may have been able to defend that position for a much longer time than he did if it weren’t for the two extremely large Confederate groups that assaulted Buford from the northwest, which had then
He was afraid to risk failure so he never would risk doing anything. On the other hand, the Confederates leaders had General Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He was considered a big risk taker. McClellan was not too worried about Lee or his army thinking that Lee was weak and too cautious but Lee was anything but that. General Lee gathered as many men as was available and attacked General McClellan on June 26, 1862 repeatedly for seven days.