Part 9 - The Maryland Campaign

McClellan - Lee

The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign (September 4–20, 1862) is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War.

Following up his victory in the Northern Virginia Campaign on September 4, 1862 Lee moved north with his 55,000 man Army of Northren Virginia.  Lee moved north through the Shennandoah Valley.  His objective was to resupply his army outside of the war-torn Virginia theater and to damage Northern morale in anticipation of the November elections. He undertook the risky maneuver of splitting his army so that he could continue north into Maryland while simultaneously capturing the Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry.  McClellan accidentally found a copy of Lee's orders, wrapped in three cigars, to his subordinate commanders and planned to isolate and defeat the separated portions of Lee's army.

Battle of Antietam

While 'Stonewall' Jackson captured Harper's Ferry, McClellan moved quickly through the South Mountain.  However Lee found out and though being out numbered heavily, delayed McClellan for more than a day before withdrawing.  This delay allowed Lee enough time to concentrate his forces at Sharpsburg, Maryland(Antietam).  The next day, September 17 was the bloodiest one-day battle in U.S. history.  There were over 22,000 casualties.  Lee, outnumbered two to one, moved his defensive forces to parry each offensive blow, McClellan never deployed all of the reserves of his army to capitalize on localized successes and destroy the Confederates. On September 18, Lee ordered a withdrawal across the Potomac and on September 19 and September 20, fights with Lee's rear guard at Shepherdstown finally ended the long bloody campaign.

Although Antietam was a tactical draw, Lee's Maryland Campaign failed to achieve its objectives.  President Lincoln used this to announce the Emancipation Proclamation which effectively ended any foreign alliance with the Confederates.