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eassays on the battle of antietam
eassays on the battle of antietam
war between the union and the confederacy
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The following case study will be about the Battle of Antietam that took place on September 17, 1862 in Sharpsburg, Maryland along the Antietam Creek. Known as “…the bloodiest single day in American History,” by the end of the day there would be approximately twenty-three thousand casualties of which forty-five hundred to six thousand were dead. The first topic of discussion will be on the history leading up to the morning of the seventeenth in order to establish the mindset of the commanders on both sides of the creek. After the stage is set for the battle the dialogue will be guided through the three major battles of the day that encompass the Battle of Antietam. Lastly the dissertation will wrap up the Battle of Antietam and focus on the lessons learned and/or mistakes that lead to the withdrawal of the confederate forces and the bitter sweet victory of the Union that left so many Americans dead or wounded.
History
The battle at Antietam Creek occurred in the fall of 1862. The following section of this case study will cover the key events in the months leading up to the battle, which will help to understand the state of mind of the military commanders on both sides of the engagement. During the summer of 1862 the Confederacy was feeling defeated after going sometime without a decisive victory over the Union forces. Additionally President Davis had not received any good news from the battle fronts in months.
During this time The Army of the Potomac (Union) under the command of General George B. McClellan is putting on a show of force in the vicinity of Williamsburg road. This show of force, known as the engagement of King’s School house, brought General McClellan’s forces within six miles of downtown Richmond, V...
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...l War Preservation Trust. http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/south-mountain.html (accessed 11 14, 2010).
Gallagher, Gary W. Antietam Essays on the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Kent: The Kent University Press, 1989.
Henley, Brian. Hooves, Heels and Wheels. http://hovesheelswheels.blogspot.com/2010/04/antietam-national-battlefield-hiking.html (accessed November 15, 2010).
Hickman, Kennedy. About.com. http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/civilwar/p/southmountain.htm (accessed 11 14, 2010).
McPherson, James M. Battle Chronicles of the Civil War 1862. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989.
Nelson, Harold W, and Luvaas Nelson. The U.S. Army War College Guide to the Battle of Antietam: The Maryland Campaign of 1862. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
Priest, John Michael. Before Anteitam: The Battle for South Mountain. Shippensburg: White Mane Publishing Company, 1992.
Stephen W. Sears’ Landscape Turned Red is an account of political and military plans. Especially General Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign as well as the Battle of Antietam. Sears frames his work around the pending support of Great Britain and France to the Confederate cause due to cotton. Landscape Turned Red covers the battle of Antietam. It offers a vivid account of both armies, the soldiers and officers, and the bloody campaign. It analyzes the impact of Antietam on the Civil War as a whole. Sears' use of diaries, dispatches, and letters recreate the Battle of Antietam. You experience the battle not only from its leaders but also by its soldiers, both Union and Confederate. Sears attempts to examine the tactical moves of both Lee and General George McClellan. He also talks about the foolish decisions that troubled both the Federal and Confederate forces. Sears' use of traits, political pursuits, and tactical preferences, explain the thoughts of many. Some of these include President Lincoln, General Halleck and General McClellan, and their subordinates. Stephen Ward Sears is an American historian specializing in the American Civil War. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and an attendant to a journalism seminar at Radcliffe-Harvard. As an author he has concentrated on the military history of the American Civil War. Such as the battles and leaders of the Army of the Potomac. He was an editor for the Educational Department at American Heritage Publishing Company. American Heritage Publishing two of his ten books.
The famous Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1 to July 3 of 1863 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle proved to show the most casualties of the entire war and resulted in a crushing defeat of the Confederates. The Battle of Gettysburg is generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil War. This paper will demonstrate the various reasons as to why the Confederates, led by General Robert E. Lee, were unsuccessful in the Battle of Gettysburg during their invasion of the north. General Lee’s over-confidence, the confederate army’s disorganization and failed coordination, and the shift of intelligence all contributed to the crushing defeat of the confederates at Gettysburg. Following his “flawless” battle at Chancellorsville, General Lee was instilled with absolute confidence in his men and failed to see any deficiencies in his army’s offensive capabilities. Lee was not only over-confident, but also knew less than his opponent during the most crucial stages of the battle. The final contributing factor as to why the confederates were defeated was Alexander’s failure to provide effective artillery bombardment and his failure to advise General Pickett not to make the charge after the ineffective bombardment.
In the novel Shiloh, historian and Civil War expert Shelby Foote delivers a spare, unflinching account of the battle of Shiloh, which was fought over the course of two days in April 1862. By mirroring the troops' movements through the woods of Tennessee with the activity of each soldier's mind, Foote offers the reader a broad perspective of the battle and a detailed view of the issues behind it. The battle becomes tangible as Foote interweaves the observations of Union and Confederate officers, simple foot soldiers, brave men, and cowards and describes the roar of the muskets and the haze of the gun smoke. The author's vivid storytelling creates a rich chronicle of a pivotal battle in American history.
The Battle of Antietam could have been a devastating and fatal blow to the Confederate Army if Gen. McClellan acted decisively, took calculated risks, and veered away from his cautious approach to war. There are many instances leading up to the battle and during the battle in which he lacks the necessary offensive initiative to effectively cripple and ultimately win the war. This paper is intended to articulate the failure of Mission Command by GEN McClellan by pointing out how he failed to understand, visualize, describe and direct the battlefield to his benefit.
The Battle of Antietam was significant to the United States for many reasons. One of the reasons why the battle was so significant was because Abraham Lincoln was up for reelection for president in 1864. Lincoln at the time knew that if he went into battle that he was for sure not to lose his presidency seat, but he was also afraid of what the outcome might bring him. Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State William Seward had made a suggestion at the cabinet meeting that was held that Abraham should wait for a Union victory from the battle. The reason Seward had suggested this plan was to make Abraham Lincoln not look like he was so desperate for a victory so that he could issue his Emancipation Proclamation Act.
Rhea, Gordon, and George F. Skoch. The Battle of Cold Harbor: Civil War Series. Fort Washington, Pa.: Eastern National, 2001.
During the War Between the States there were two large-scale, decisive battles fought near the town of Manassas, Virginia. This will be a guided look at the second of those two occurring at the end of August in 1862. There were several great leaders from both sides of the war involved in the 2nd of Manassas, however I am going to focus on the attitudes, maneuvers, and decisions of the four primary generals; General Robert E. Lee, Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Major General John Pope, and Major General George B. McClellan, as it was these men who, ultimately, shaped the actions and outcome of the battle. Following the Seven Days Battle, Maj. Gen. McClellan’s armies were camped on the banks of the James River, 20 miles from Richmond1 (Debelius 1998) and Gen Lee had just taken control of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 12 (Hennessy 2005). Maj. Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson was a subordinate commander in the Army of Northern Virginia and Maj. Gen. Pope was inbound to “assist” Maj. Gen. McClellan in securing the area of Northern Virginia for the Union high command. This study will focus on the mind-sets, maneuvers, and decisions these men made throughout the course of the battle that led to the defeat of the Union forces under Maj. Gen. Pope’s leadership.
The ending of this battle is tragic and enlightening as well, the great idea of sneak attacks at dawn by the Confederates and the righteous timings of reinforcement by the Union, brought this story to my attention. Gathering this information brought me believe that this is a movie, a novel, but this was actual real life. Losing lives in a battle like this one bring only one thing to mind, that each side was fierce on fighting for what they believe in. No other battles before this have had this much bloodshed in less than a day, the planning done by Grant and Johnston was phenomenal. The steady mind of Johnston and the brave hearts that were under Grant is what brought this battle to what is today’s history. Working on this essay has been excellent in my learning process and I hope to be doing another one soon.
---. “Washington, D.C., March 1861.” Simpson, Brooks D., Stephen W. Sears, and Aaron Sheehan-Dean 109-110.
Earl J. Hess, The Union Soldier in Battle, (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1997).
The Battle of Fredericksburg falls in a long list of failures of the Army of the Potomac during the first year of the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Antietam the Northern Army had the opportunity to defeat Lee’s army. However, Northerners, were shocked by Lee’s escape following this battle on 17 September 1862, and were further upset by Major General George B. McClellan’s procrastination in pursuing Lee and allowing General J.E.B. Stuarts daring cavalry raid into Pennsylvania around Gettysburg (10-12 October 1862). McClellan’s failure to pursue Lee’s Army is mainly due to his own lack of confidence, believing that he doesn’t have enough men or material in order to defeat the Army of Virginia. President Lincoln had finally had enough; he fired McClellan for the second and final time, and replaced him with Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, whom he had initially offered the job. No military officer in the Civil War resisted promotion more assiduously than did Major General Burnside during 1862. On three separate occasions that year, President Lincoln asked Burnside to assume command of the Army of the Potomac, and each time the general demurred on the grounds that he was not competent to handle such a large force. Once General Burnside took command he immediately set forth after General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
Earl Hess, Pickett's Charge: The Last Attack at Gettysburg, (North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2001)
It is far easier for us in the present than it was for those at Gettysburg, to look back and determine the path that the leaders should have taken. As students, studying battles such as this, we have the advantage of hindsight, knowing the outcome. Nonetheless, we can still learn valuable lessons from it. To do so, this analysis will explore some of the decisions of the leaders at Gettysburg, and how they were affected by the operational variables. This essay will scrutinize some of the leaders at Gettysburg, and the impact of their actions. The outcome of this analysis will show that what was true in 1863 is still true today. While many variables are vital to a successful army on the battlefield, none should be neglected. Each variable discussed in this examination will prove to be important, but the information battle will be paramount in the battle of Gettysburg.
The Battle of Antietam was significant because the Confederate Army had to retreat and it lead to Abraham Lincoln creating the Emancipation Proclamation, it was the bloodiest day of fighting and it motivated the Union that they could win the Civil War. According to the article, Battle of Antietam from the website Thoughtco, it states “The Battle of Antietam forced the Confederate Army to retreat back across the Potomac River. President Abraham Lincoln saw the significance of this and issued the famous Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.” This shows that the Battle of Antietam was significant because the Union won the Battle and forced the Confederate Army to retreat back to where they had just came from. The Battle of Antietam also lead to Lincoln creating a document to try and outlaw slavery in the Confederate States. Unfortunately, since Lincoln had no control over what happened there the Proclamation could not be enforced, but it started to the decision about if slavery outlawed and showed the Confederate States that if they were going to join the Union again then slavery would not be allowed anymore. Also, according to the article, What is the Battle of Antietam from the website Study.com it says “The Battle of Antietam was one of the most important events of the American Civil War. Fought on September 17, 1862, Antietam was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history with over 23,000 casualties (men listed as killed, wounded, captured or missing) in roughly 12 hours. The battle ended the Confederate invasion of Maryland in 1862 and resulted in a Union victory” This shows that the Battle of Antietam was very significant because many soldiers died on both sides about 23,000
McPherson, James M.; The Atlas of the Civil War. Macmillan: 15 Columbus Circle New York, NY. 1994.