After three small battles at Crampton, Fox, and Turner’s Gap, the Union and Confederate army converged on the biggest battle of the Maryland Campaign. Both armies moved towards this little town. Confederates called it the battle of Sharpsburg, while the Union called it the battle of Antietam. With the Rebel forces divided with some of it attacking Harpers Ferry and capturing the Union garrison, the other half is here preparing for battle against most of the Union forces. Even before the battle began, here are the facts:
- Union soldiers numbered 84,000 with approximately 244 cannons
- Confederate soldiers numbered 55,000 with approximately 148 cannons
This picture that is located in front of the Antietam’s Visitor Center shows the aftermath of the battle. It shows the cannon ball damage to the Dunker Church, and those soldiers killed on the field.
On September 17th, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War began. Three phases of the morning, afternoon, and early evening occurred with significance in each time frame. The morning action that was between 5 to 9 a.m. happened on the northern part of the battlefield that included the West Woods, North and East Woods, and the Cornfield. When the fighting eased around 9 a.m., the Confederates retreated towards the West Woods.
There was over 8,000 casualties that were either killed or wounded. This fighting occurred on 24 acres of land. Some regiments of both armies were cut to pieces in less than 30 minutes. As an example, the 12th Massachusetts brought 334 soldiers to the morning fighting. As the fighting eased, less than 100 soldiers remained. It was the highest casualty rate of any Union regiment at Antietam.