To Antietam Creek

by Hartwig, D. Scott

• ISBN13: 9781421406312
• ISBN10: 1421406314
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-09-17
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

In September 1862 the Federal army huddled within the defenses of Washington, disorganized and discouraged from its recent defeat at Second Manassas. Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his tough and confident Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland in a bold gamble to force a showdown that would win Southern independence. The future of the Union hung in the balance. The campaign that followed lasted only two weeks, but it changed the course of the Civil War. For the sesquicentennial of Antietam and the Maryland Campaign, D. Scott Hartwig delivers a two-volume study of the campaign and climactic battle. This riveting first installment takes the reader from the controversial return of George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac through the Confederate invasion, the siege and capture of Harpers Ferry, the day-long Battle of South Mountain, and ultimately, to the eve of the great and terrible Battle of Antietam.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Return of McClellan	p. 4
"General, lam in command again"
The Army of Northern Virginia	p. 48
"Who could not conquer with troops such as these"
The Army of Northern Virginia Enters Maryland	p. 91
"Our movements will be rapid"
The Army of the Potomac	p. 131
"If we fail now the North has no hope"
The Army of the Potomac Advances to Frederick	p. 162
"You may be sure that I will follow them as closely as I can"
Harpers Ferry	p. 204
"To the last extremity"
The Battle for Maryland Heights	p. 247
"For God's sake, don't fall back"
September 13	p. 271
"My general idea is to cut the enemy in two"
The Morning Battle for Fox's Gap	p. 300
"My God! Be careful!"
Afternoon at Fox's Gap	p. 331
"So little did we know of the etiquette of war"
The First Corps Attacks	p. 375
"It looked like a task to storm "
The Battle for Hill 1280	p. 396
"Some of you will get hurt"
Into Turner's Gap	p. 415
"An ugly looking place to attack"
Crampton's Gap	p. 438
"The best fighting that has been done in this war"
Retreat from South Mountain	p. 478
"God has seldom given an army a greater victory than this"
The Trap Closes and a Cavalry Dash	p. 521
"The fate of Harper's Ferry was sealed"
The Fall of Harpers Ferry	p. 553
"Through God's blessing, Harper's Ferry and its garrison are to be surrendered"
September 16	p. 582
"We are entirely too methodical"
Eve of Battle	p. 606
"I shall not, however, soon forget that night"
Acknowledgments	p. 653
Appendixes	p. 657
Opposing Forces in the Maryland Campaign	p. 657
Strength of Union and Confederate Forces	p. 674
Union and Confederate Casualties	p. 681
List of Abbreviations	p. 687
Notes	p. 689
Essay on Sources	p. 773
Index	p. 777
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