162-570: The Allegheny Arsenal , established in 1814, was an important supply and manufacturing center for the Union Army during the American Civil War , and the site of the single largest civilian disaster during the war. It was located in the community of Lawrenceville , Pennsylvania , which was annexed by the city of Pittsburgh in 1868. Today, the site is the location of the nine-acre Arsenal Park as well as Arsenal Middle School ,
324-479: A Cavalry Division commanded by Major General J. E. B. Stuart and a unit of reserve artillery led by Brigadier General William Nelson Pendleton . The assignment of units between the wings of Jackson and Longstreet was flexible; at Antietam the two men commanded sectors of the battlefield and divisions fought under the commander whose geographic area they were fighting in. The Army of Northern Virginia held morale and leadership advantages over McClellan's army, but
486-603: A brevet brigadier general when the war ended. Francis B. Spinola recruited four regiments in New York, was soon appointed Brigadier General by President Abraham Lincoln and given command of the Spinola Brigade . Later he commanded another unit, the famed Excelsior Brigade . The Garibaldi Guard recruited volunteers for the Union army from Italy and other European countries to form the 39th New York Infantry . At
648-449: A chief quartermaster, a chief commissary of subsistence, an assistant inspector general, an ordnance officer (all with the rank of colonel ) and a medical director. The actual number of personnel assigned to an army's headquarters could be quite large: at Gettysburg the headquarters of General Meade (excluding engineers, the artillery reserve and the headquarters of each corps) was no less than 3,486 strong. The military organization of
810-566: A county health services complex, and a large condominium development. In 2012, officials from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation began drawing attention to the deteriorating arsenal structures. The Arsenal was established by the U.S. Army Ordnance Department near Pittsburgh in 1814. It was situated on 30 acres (12 ha) of land bordering the Allegheny River in the community of Lawrenceville . The site
972-669: A day. This gave the Confederates more time to prepare defensive positions and allowed Longstreet's corps to arrive from Hagerstown and Jackson's corps, minus A.P. Hill's division, to arrive from Harpers Ferry. Jackson defended the left (northern) flank, anchored on the Potomac, Longstreet the right (southern) flank, anchored on the Antietam, a line that was about 4 miles (6 km) long. (As the battle progressed and Lee shifted units, these corps boundaries overlapped considerably.) On
1134-543: A further 18% were second-generation Americans. 596,670 Union soldiers were killed, wounded or went missing during the war. The initial call-up in 1861 was for just three months, after which many of these men chose to reenlist for an additional three years. When the American Civil War began in April 1861, the U.S. Army included ten regiments of infantry , four of artillery , two of cavalry , two of dragoons , and one of mounted rifles . The regiments were scattered widely. Of
1296-505: A hundred Black men were eventually made officers (not counting those passing as white), none were promoted to a rank higher than major. If captured by Confederate forces, Black soldiers risked being made slaves or summarily executed . Women took on many significant roles in the Union army and were important to its ultimate success on the battlefield. The most direct way they could help was to enlist and fight as soldiers, although women were officially barred from doing so. Nevertheless, it
1458-485: A mile in the rear (at the Philip Pry house, east of the creek). This made it difficult for him to control the separate corps. This is why the battle progressed the next day as essentially three separate, mostly uncoordinated battles: morning in the northern end of the battlefield, midday in the center, and afternoon in the south. This lack of coordination and concentration of McClellan's forces almost completely nullified
1620-536: A misconception that the South held an advantage because of the large percentage of professional officers who resigned to join the Confederate army. At the start of the war, there were 824 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on the active list; of these, 296 resigned or were dismissed, and 184 of those became Confederate officers. Of the approximately 900 West Point graduates who were then civilians, 400 returned to
1782-461: A pre-war total of 308 to over 1100 workers. One of the busiest facilities was the main lab, which employed 158 workers, the majority of whom were women engaged in the making of cartridges. On Wednesday, September 17, 1862, around 2 pm, the arsenal exploded. The explosion shattered windows in the surrounding community and was heard in Pittsburgh, over two miles (3 km) away. At the sound of
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#17327827953181944-525: A range of 250 yards (230 m) and gaining no advantage because of a lack of reinforcements, Duryée ordered a withdrawal. On the attack by the Louisiana Tigers at the Cornfield: "...the most deadly fire of the war. Rifles are shot to pieces in the hands of the soldiers, canteens and haversacks are riddled with bullets, the dead and wounded go down in scores." Capt. Benjamin F. Cook, of
2106-461: A role. Thus for example, comparing two infantry regiments at their full authorized strength one might have twice as many soldiers as the other. Furthermore, even when units were of equivalent size, their actual effectiveness depended greatly on training, leadership, equipment and other factors. During the course of the Civil War, the vast majority of soldiers fighting to preserve the Union were in
2268-509: A second was later released from the defenses of Washington, D.C. to accompany the Army of the Potomac. A third division of the corps reached McClellan the day of the battle. The VI Corps consisted of two divisions and the IV Corps detachment and was commanded by Major General William B. Franklin . These three divisions were positioned about a four-hour march away from McClellan's main body at
2430-736: A storage facility for the Ordnance Department and Quartermaster Corps. In the early 1900s, the War Department consolidated its operations in the western half of the arsenal grounds. The other half, above Butler Street , became surplus property. Five acres at the east end were transferred in 1904 to build the Pittsburgh U.S. Marine Hospital , which is now the Allegheny County Health Department's Frank B. Clack Health Center. The remaining land
2592-507: A strong defensive position, atop a gradual ridge, in a sunken road worn down by years of wagon traffic, which formed a natural trench. French launched a series of brigade-sized assaults against Hill's improvised breastworks at around 9:30 a.m.. The first brigade to attack, mostly inexperienced troops commanded by Brigadier General Max Weber, was quickly cut down by heavy rifle fire; neither side deployed artillery at this point. The second attack, more raw recruits under Colonel Dwight Morris,
2754-480: A volunteer army of up to 500,000 troops to the cause. The call for volunteers initially was easily met by patriotic Northerners, abolitionists , and even immigrants who enlisted for a steady income and meals. Over 10,000 German Americans in New York and Pennsylvania immediately responded to Lincoln's call, along with Northern French Americans , who were also quick to volunteer. As more men were needed, however,
2916-575: Is believed hundreds of women disguised themselves as men in order to enlist. While many were discovered and forced to quit, others were only found out after they were killed in combat, and a number managed to serve throughout the entire war with their true identity successfully concealed. One of the more traditional roles played by women in the Union army was that of camp followers . Thousands of white and Black women accompanied Union armies in an unofficial capacity to provide their services as cooks , laundresses , nurses and/or prostitutes . Many were
3078-474: Is now mounted on the old powder magazine. All of the surviving buildings, along with several sections of stone wall surrounding the former arsenal, became contributing properties to the newly created Lawrenceville Historic District in 2019. Union Army American Indian Wars American Civil War Appomattox Court House During the American Civil War , the United States Army ,
3240-482: The 12th Massachusetts Infantry The reinforcements that Duryée had expected—brigades under Brigadier General George L. Hartsuff and Colonel William A. Christian—had difficulties reaching the scene. Hartsuff was wounded by a shell, and Christian dismounted and fled to the rear in terror. When the men were rallied and advanced into the Cornfield, they met the same artillery and infantry fire as their predecessors. As
3402-502: The 61st and 64th New York forward. Barlow and Lieutenant Colonel Nelson Miles saw a weak point in the line and maneuvered their troops into a position that allowed them to pour enfilade fire into the Confederate line, turning it into a deadly trap. In attempting to wheel around to meet this threat, a command from Rodes was misunderstood by Lt. Colonel James N. Lightfoot, who had succeeded Gordon. Lightfoot ordered his men to about-face and march away, an order that all five regiments of
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#17327827953183564-858: The 69th New York , 63rd New York, 88th New York, 28th Massachusetts, 116th Pennsylvania; the Swiss Rifles (15th Missouri); the Gardes de Lafayette (55th New York); the Garibaldi Guard (39th New York); the Martinez Militia (1st New Mexico); the Polish Legion (58th New York); the German Rangers ; Sigel Rifles (52nd New York, inheriting the 7th); the Cameron Highlanders ( 79th New York Volunteer Infantry ); and
3726-673: The Army of the Potomac was cheered and encouraged. Some Confederate politicians, including President Jefferson Davis , believed that the prospect of foreign recognition would increase if the Confederacy won a military victory on Union soil; such a victory might gain recognition and financial support from the United Kingdom and France, although there is no evidence that Lee thought the Confederacy should base its military plans on this possibility. While McClellan's 87,000-man Army of
3888-583: The Baltimore riots in the spring of 1861 and the fact that President Lincoln had to pass through the city in disguise en route to his inauguration, Confederate leaders assumed that Maryland would welcome the Confederate forces warmly. They sang the tune " Maryland, My Maryland !" as they marched, but by the fall of 1862 pro-Union sentiment was winning out, especially in the western parts of the state. Civilians generally hid inside their houses as Lee's army passed through their towns, or watched in cold silence, while
4050-610: The Battle of Sharpsburg , particularly in the Southern United States , took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia and Union Major General George B. McClellan 's Army of the Potomac near Sharpsburg, Maryland , and Antietam Creek . Part of the Maryland Campaign , it was the first field army –level engagement in
4212-648: The Confederate army . Almost 200 United States Military Academy graduates who previously left the U.S. Army, including Ulysses S. Grant , William Tecumseh Sherman , and Braxton Bragg , returned to service at the outbreak of the Civil War. This group's loyalties were far more evenly divided. Clayton R. Newell (2014) states, 92 wore Confederate gray and 102 put on the blue of the United States Army. Hattaway and Jones (1983), John and David Eicher (2001), and Jennifer M. Murray (2012), state that 99 joined
4374-527: The Department of War . These included, at the onset of the war, the adjutant general , inspector general , paymaster-general , judge advocate general , chief of engineers , chief of topographical engineers , quartermaster general , commissary general of subsistence, chief of ordnance , and surgeon general . After the war started, the position of Provost Marshal General was also created. Originally established on September 24, 1862, as an office in
4536-681: The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It remains the bloodiest day in American history, with a tally of 22,727 dead, wounded, or missing on both sides. Although the Union Army suffered heavier casualties than the Confederates, the battle was a major turning point in the Union's favor. After pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee into Maryland , Major General George B. McClellan of
4698-838: The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies , there were over 200 Italians who served as officers in the U.S. army. By 1860, the African American or Black population of the United States consisted of four million enslaved and half a million free Blacks . When the Civil War began, many freedmen in the North attempted to enlist in federal service but were barred from doing so. Popularly-held prejudices doubted whether Black people could be effective soldiers, and President Lincoln believed allowing their enlistment would anger Northern whites and alienate not just
4860-766: The Southwest was still part of Mexico . Some Confederate propaganda condemned foreign-born soldiers in the Union army, likening them to the German Hessian troops who fought alongside the British Army during the American Revolutionary War . A relatively smaller number of Native Americans , including members of Cherokee , Chickasaw , Choctaw and Muscogee peoples, fought for the Confederacy. The great majority of Italian Americans , for both demographic and ideological reasons, served in
5022-536: The Union Army launched attacks against Lee's army who were in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Major General Joseph Hooker 's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller's Cornfield, and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church . Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but
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5184-435: The regimental colors and rallied their fellow soldiers to fight, provided first aid or helped the wounded back to a field hospital. A related (and sometimes conflated) role was that of "daughter of the regiment". Often literally a daughter of one of the regimental officers, these women looked to the soldiers' well-being but also served as their regiment's "mascot" who inspired the men by wearing stylish clothing and enduring
5346-443: The volunteer units . The pre-war regular army numbered approximately 16,400 soldiers, but by the end while the Union army had grown to over a million soldiers, the number of regular personnel was still approximately 21,699, of whom several were serving with volunteer forces. Only 62,000 commissions and enlistments in total were issued for the regular army during the war as most new personnel preferred volunteer service. Since before
5508-618: The 197 companies in the U.S. Army, 179 occupied 79 isolated posts in the West , and the remaining 18 manned garrisons east of the Mississippi River , mostly along the Canada–United States border and on the U.S. East Coast . There were only 16,367 servicemen in the U.S. Army, including 1,108 commissioned officers. Approximately 20% of these officers, most of them Southerners , resigned, choosing to tie their lives and fortunes to
5670-404: The 6th Alabama. The Confederate command structure was becoming disorganized. "We were shooting them like sheep in a pen. If a bullet missed the mark at first it was liable to strike the further bank, angle back, and take them secondarily." Unknown sergeant 61st New York Infantry As Caldwell's brigade advanced around the right flank of the Confederates, Colonel Francis C. Barlow led
5832-508: The 7,700 defenders under Stonewall Jackson, and this slight disparity was more than offset by the Confederates' strong defensive positions. Abner Doubleday's division moved on Hooker's right, James Ricketts's moved on the left into the East Woods, and George Meade's Pennsylvania Reserves division deployed in the center and slightly to the rear. Jackson's defense consisted of the divisions under Alexander Lawton and John R. Jones in line from
5994-647: The Adjutant General's department under Simeon Draper , it was made an independent department in its own right on May 1, 1863, under James B. Fry . The Signal Corps was created and deployed for the first time, through the leadership of Albert J. Myer . One drawback to this system was that the authority and responsibilities of the Secretary of War, his Assistant Secretaries , and the General-in-Chief were not clearly delineated. Additionally,
6156-416: The Antietam. The lower bridge (which would soon be named Burnside Bridge ) was dominated by Confederate positions on the bluffs overlooking it. The middle bridge, on the road from Boonsboro , was subject to artillery fire from the heights near Sharpsburg. But the upper bridge was 2 miles (3 km) east of the Confederate guns and could be crossed safely. McClellan planned to commit more than half his army to
6318-563: The Army inquiry and the exact cause remains unknown. Col. Symington would be placed on medical leave after the hearings and retire the following year. The explosion at the Arsenal was overshadowed by the Battle of Antietam , which occurred on the same day near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland . A monument to those killed in the explosion is located near the graves of the unidentified victims in Section 17 of Allegheny Cemetery . The monument
6480-633: The Army of the Potomac in the Peninsula campaign , and the IX Corps was a newer addition to the Army of the Potomac. The latter corps had seen action in North Carolina and a portion of it had fought with Pope. The VI Corps contingent included a division from the IV Corps . Earlier in the campaign, McClellan had assigned twenty-four new regiments of inexperienced troops to his army to bolster
6642-438: The Civil War was a hazardous occupation: grueling hours spent in close proximity to deadly diseases and nearby battlefields resulted in many suffering permanent disabilities or death. Added to this were the prejudices of the male medical officers in charge who did not want them there and frequently clashed with the nurses over issues of triage , patient treatments and hospice care . Tens of thousands of women served as nurses for
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6804-411: The Civil War, the American public had a generally negative view of the nation's armed forces, attributable to a Jeffersonian ideal which saw standing armies as a threat to democracy and instead valorized the " citizen soldier " as being more in keeping with American ideals of equality and rugged individualism . This attitude remained unchanged during the Civil War, and afterwards many would attribute
6966-520: The Confederate army and 114 returned to the Union forces. With the Southern slave states declaring secession from the United States, and with a shortage of soldiers in the army, President Abraham Lincoln called on the states to raise a force of 75,000 troops for three months to put down the Confederate insurrection and defend the national capital in Washington, D.C. Lincoln's call forced
7128-522: The Confederate cause during the Civil War were known as Southern Unionists . They were also known as Union Loyalists or Lincoln's Loyalists. Within the eleven Confederate states, states such as Tennessee (especially East Tennessee ), Virginia (which included West Virginia at the time), and North Carolina were home to the largest populations of Unionists. Many areas of Southern Appalachia harbored pro-Union sentiment as well. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control would serve in
7290-497: The Confederate counterattack. Historian M. V. Armstrong's recent scholarship, however, has determined that Sumner did perform appropriate reconnaissance and his decision to attack where he did was justified by the information available to him. At around 9:45 a.m., Williams was tasked with reinforcing Sumner, and he sent two XII Corps regiments towards the Hagerstown Turnpike. The two regiments were confronted by
7452-653: The Cornfield remained a bloody stalemate, Federal advances a few hundred yards to the west were more successful. Brigadier General John Gibbon's 4th Brigade of Doubleday's division (recently named the Iron Brigade ) began advancing down and astride the turnpike, into the cornfield, and in the West Woods, pushing aside Jackson's men. They were halted by a charge of 1,150 men from Starke's brigade, leveling heavy fire from 30 yards (30 m) away. The Confederate brigade withdrew after being exposed to fierce return fire from
7614-410: The East Woods and exchanged fire with Colonel James Walker's brigade of Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina troops. As Walker's men forced Seymour's back, aided by Lee's artillery fire, Ricketts's division entered the Cornfield, also to be torn up by artillery. Brigadier General Abram Duryée's brigade marched directly into volleys from Colonel Marcellus Douglass's Georgia brigade. Enduring heavy fire from
7776-470: The East Woods, they presented an excellent artillery target, "almost as good a target as a barn." Mansfield himself was shot in the chest and died the next day. Alpheus Williams assumed temporary command of the XII Corps. The new recruits of Mansfield's 1st Division made no progress against Hood's line, which was reinforced by brigades of D. H. Hill's division under Colquitt and McRae. The 2nd Division of
7938-607: The Federal advantage was not followed up. In the afternoon, Union Major General Ambrose Burnside 's corps entered the action, capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and advancing against the Confederate right. At a crucial moment, Confederate Major General A. P. Hill 's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack, driving back Burnside and ending the battle. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight
8100-532: The Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, while removing his battered army south of the Potomac River . McClellan successfully turned Lee's invasion back, making the battle a strategic Union victory. From a tactical standpoint, the battle was somewhat inconclusive;
8262-493: The Iron Brigade rallied men around the artillery pieces of Battery B, 4th U.S. Artillery, and Gibbon himself saw to it that his previous unit did not lose a single caisson. Hood's men bore the brunt of the fighting, however, and paid a heavy price—60% casualties—but they were able to prevent the defensive line from crumbling and held off the I Corps. When asked by a fellow officer where his division was, Hood replied, "Dead on
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#17327827953188424-606: The Iron Brigade, and Starke was mortally wounded. The Union advance on the Dunker Church resumed and cut a large gap in Jackson's defensive line, which teetered near collapse. Although the cost was steep, Hooker's corps was making steady progress. Confederate reinforcements arrived just after 7 a.m. The divisions under McLaws and Richard H. Anderson arrived following a night march from Harpers Ferry. Around 7:15, General Lee moved George T. Anderson's Georgia brigade from
8586-592: The Maryland campaign prior to the major battle of Antietam: Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's capture of Harpers Ferry and McClellan's assault through the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Battle of South Mountain . The former was significant because a large portion of Lee's army was absent from the start of the battle of Antietam, attending to the surrender of the Union garrison; the latter because stout Confederate defenses at two passes through
8748-728: The Potomac was moving to intercept Lee, two Union soldiers ( Cpl. Barton W. Mitchell and First Sergeant John M. Bloss of the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry) discovered a mislaid copy of Lee's detailed battle plans— Special Order 191 —wrapped around three cigars. The order indicated that Lee had divided his army and dispersed portions geographically (to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia , and Hagerstown, Maryland ), thus making each subject to isolation and defeat if McClellan could move quickly enough. McClellan waited about 18 hours before deciding to take advantage of this intelligence and reposition his forces, thus squandering an opportunity to defeat Lee decisively. There were two significant engagements in
8910-488: The Scandinavian Regiment (15th Wisconsin). But for the most part, the foreign-born soldiers were scattered as individuals throughout units. The Confederate army was less diverse: 91% of its soldiers were native-born white men and only 9% were foreign-born white men, with Irish being the largest group, other groups included Germans, French, British, and Mexicans. Most Mexicans happened to have been born when
9072-582: The South but the Border States too. However he eventually changed his mind and persuaded Congress to authorize the first official Black enlistment system in late 1862, which evolved into the United States Colored Troops . Before they were allowed to enlist, many Black people volunteered their services to the Union army as cooks, nurses, and in other informal roles, and several volunteer regiments of Black troops were raised by
9234-410: The U.S. Army and 99 to the Confederacy. The ratio of U.S. Army to Confederate professional officers was 642 to 283. One of the resigning officers was Robert E. Lee , who initially was offered the assignment as commander of a field army to suppress the rebellion. Lee disapproved of secession, but refused to bear arms against his native state, Virginia , and resigned to accept the position as commander of
9396-463: The Union Army successfully repelled the Confederate invasion but suffered heavier casualties and failed to defeat Lee's army outright. President Abraham Lincoln , unhappy with McClellan's general pattern of overcaution and his failure to pursue the retreating Lee, relieved McClellan of command in November. Nevertheless, the strategic accomplishment was a significant turning point in the war in favor of
9558-616: The Union army (including generals Edward Ferrero and Francis B. Spinola ). Six Italian Americans received the Medal of Honor during the war, among whom was Colonel Luigi Palma di Cesnola , who later became the first Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York (1879–1904). Most of the Italian-Americans who joined the Union army were recruited from New York City . Many Italians of note were interested in
9720-421: The Union army in maintaining the order and alignment of formations during marches, battles, and transitioning between the two. Sergeants in particular were vital in this role as general guides and their selection ideally reserved for the most distinguished soldiers. NCOs were also charged with training individuals in how to be soldiers. While the captain or other company-level officers were responsible for training
9882-420: The Union army or pro-Union guerilla groups. Although Southern Unionists came from all classes, most differed socially, culturally, and economically from the region's dominant pre-war planter class . Native-born White Americans made up roughly two-thirds of the soldiers in the Union army, with the rest of many different ethnic groups, including large numbers of immigrants. About 25% of the white men who served in
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#173278279531810044-482: The Union army were foreign-born. The U.S. experienced its heaviest rate of immigration during the 1850s, and the vast majority of these people moved to the Northeastern states. Among these immigrants, Germans constituted the largest group with a million arrivals between 1850 and 1860, many of them Forty-Eighters . Nearly as many Irish immigrants arrived during the same period. Immigrant soldiers were among
10206-408: The Union army, among whom are included Clara Barton , Susie King Taylor , Mary Edwards Walker , and Louisa May Alcott . No less vital were the thousands of women who provided service to the Union army in the field of espionage . Early in the war, women were at a distinct advantage as spies , scouts , smugglers , and saboteurs : the idea of women participating in such dangerous lines of work
10368-470: The Union army. He established a military school in New York City where many young Italians were trained and later served in the Union army. Di Cesnola received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Aldie . Two more famous examples were Francesco Casale and Luigi Tinelli, who were instrumental in the formation of the 39th New York Infantry Regiment . According to one evaluation of
10530-534: The Union due in large part to its political ramifications: the battle's result gave Lincoln the political confidence to issue the Emancipation Proclamation . This effectively discouraged the British and French governments from recognizing the Confederacy, as neither power wished to give the appearance of supporting slavery. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia —about 55,000 men —entered
10692-457: The Union's victory to the volunteers rather than the leadership and staff work provided by the regular army. In return, officers of the regular army despised the militia and saw them as having dubious value. Commentators such as Emory Upton would later argue that the reliance on militia for the nation's defense was responsible for prolonging conflicts and making them more expensive in both money and lives spent. Despite these attitudes towards
10854-525: The United States Army was based on the traditions developed in Europe, with the regiment being the basis of recruitment, training and maneuvering. However, for a variety of reasons there could be vast differences in the number of actual soldiers organized even into units of the same type. Changes in how units were structured during the course of the war, contrasts in organizational principals between regular and volunteer units, and even simple misnaming all played
11016-495: The Virginian Confederate forces. Lee eventually became the overall commander of the Confederate army. The Confederacy had the advantage of having several military colleges, including The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute , but they produced fewer officers. Though officers were able to resign, enlisted soldiers did not have this right. As they usually had to either desert or wait until their enlistment term
11178-585: The West Woods, across the Turnpike, and along the southern end of Miller's Cornfield. Four brigades were held in reserve inside the West Woods. As the first Union men emerged from the North Woods and into the Cornfield , an artillery duel erupted. Confederate fire was from the horse artillery batteries under Jeb Stuart to the west and four batteries under Colonel Stephen D. Lee on the high ground across
11340-424: The XII Corps, under George Sears Greene , however, broke through McRae's men, who fled under the mistaken belief that they were about to be trapped by a flanking attack . This breach of the line forced Hood and his men, outnumbered, to regroup in the West Woods, where they had started the day. Greene was able to reach the vicinity of Dunker Church, and drove off Stephen Lee's batteries. "... every stalk of corn in
11502-410: The action had shifted to the center of the Confederate line. Sumner had accompanied the morning attack of Sedgwick's division, but another of his divisions, under French, lost contact with Sumner and Sedgwick and inexplicably headed south. Eager for an opportunity to see combat, French found skirmishers in his path and ordered his men forward. By this time, Sumner's aide (and son) located French, described
11664-484: The army, and the court concluded that "the cause of the explosion could not be satisfactorily ascertained...." Col. Symington, in a letter to the Ordnance Department two days after the explosion, speculated that it had been caused "by the leaking out of powder when one of the barrels was being placed on the platform." In fact the problem of leaking barrels seemed to be the one point of agreement among all
11826-506: The assault, starting with two corps, supported by a third, and if necessary a fourth. He intended to launch a simultaneous diversionary attack against the Confederate right with a fifth corps, and he was prepared to strike the center with his reserves if either attack succeeded. The skirmish in the East Woods served to signal McClellan's intentions to Lee, who prepared his defenses accordingly. He shifted men to his left flank and sent urgent messages to his two commanders who had not yet arrived on
11988-599: The battle made it impractical to consider retreating in that direction.) And on September 15, the force under Lee's immediate command consisted of no more than 18,000 men, only a third the size of the Federal army. The first two Union divisions arrived on the afternoon of September 15 and the bulk of the remainder of the army late that evening. Although an immediate Union attack on the morning of September 16 would have had an overwhelming advantage in numbers, McClellan's trademark caution and his belief that Lee had as many as 100,000 men at Sharpsburg caused him to delay his attack for
12150-534: The battle, later compared the fighting around the Hagerstown Turnpike with the stone wall at Fredericksburg , Spotsylvania's "Bloody Angle", and the slaughter pen of Cold Harbor , insisting that "the Antietam Turnpike surpassed them all in manifest evidence of slaughter." Hooker was reinforced by the 7,200 infantrymen of Mansfield's XII Corps, which had been held in a loosely defined reserve role. Half of Mansfield's men were raw recruits, and Mansfield
12312-455: The battlefield: Lafayette McLaws with two divisions and A.P. Hill with one division. McClellan's plans were ill-coordinated and were executed poorly. He issued to each of his subordinate commanders only the orders for his own corps, not general orders describing the entire battle plan. The terrain of the battlefield made it difficult for those commanders to monitor events outside of their sectors. Moreover, McClellan's headquarters were more than
12474-425: The beginning of the battle. The IX Corps contained four divisions and was nominally commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside , but Burnside temporarily commanded a wing of McClellan's army and active commanded passed to Major General Jesse Reno until his death at the battle of South Mountain, and then to Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox . The XII Corps was McClellan's smallest corps and contained two divisions. It
12636-426: The border states to choose sides, and four seceded, making the Confederacy eleven states strong. It turned out that the war itself proved to be much longer and far more extensive in scope and scale than anyone on either side, Union North or Confederate South, expected or even imagined at the outset on the date of July 22, 1861. That was the day that Congress initially approved and authorized subsidy to allow and support
12798-552: The breeze, a regimental chaplain, Father William Corby , rode back and forth across the front of the formation shouting words of conditional absolution prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church for those who were about to die. The mostly Irish immigrants lost 540 men to heavy volleys before they were ordered to withdraw. General Richardson personally dispatched the brigade of Brigadier General John C. Caldwell into battle around noon (after being told that Caldwell
12960-421: The brigade thought applied to them as well. Confederate troops streamed toward Sharpsburg, their line lost. Most of George Anderson's brigade withdrew as well, caught up in the retreat of Richard Anderson's division. Richardson's men were in hot pursuit when massed artillery hastily assembled by General Longstreet drove them back. A counterattack with 200 men led by D.H. Hill got around the Federal left flank near
13122-402: The cause of the explosion was that the metal shoe of a horse had struck a spark which touched off loose powder in the roadway near the lab, which then traveled up onto the porch where it set off several barrels of gunpowder . A coroner's jury held that the accident had been the result of the negligent conduct of Col. John Symington and his subordinates in allowing loose powder to accumulate on
13284-451: The colors. There were a number of staff NCO positions including quartermaster sergeant , ordnance sergeant , and commissary sergeant. NCOs in the volunteer forces were quite different from their regular counterparts as the war began. Appointed to their role as each regiment was created, they were often on a first-name basis with both their superior officers and the enlisted men they were tasked to lead. Discipline among friends and neighbors
13446-553: The corps after the death of Reno at South Mountain. Burnside had four divisions (12,500 troops) and 50 guns east of Antietam Creek. Facing him was a force that had been greatly depleted by Lee's movement of units to bolster the Confederate left flank. At dawn, the divisions of Brig. Gens. David R. Jones and John G. Walker stood in defense, but by 10 a.m. all of Walker's men and Colonel George T. Anderson's Georgia brigade had been removed. Jones had only about 3,000 men and 12 guns available to meet Burnside. Four thin brigades guarded
13608-500: The day, the commander of the other reserve unit near the center, the V Corps, Major General Fitz John Porter, heard recommendations from Major General George Sykes, commanding his 2nd Division, that another attack be made in the center, an idea that intrigued McClellan. However, Porter is said to have told McClellan, "Remember, General, I command the last reserve of the last Army of the Republic." McClellan demurred and another opportunity
13770-566: The division of John G. Walker, newly arrived from the Confederate right. Walker's men repulsed the two Union regiments, and one of the Confederate brigades, commanded by Colonel Van H. Manning attacked Greene's position near the Dunker Church around 10 a.m. After repulsing Manning's brigade, Greene's soldiers counterattacked into the West Woods. The fighting died down around the Dunker Church, and shifted towards Lee's center. The morning phase ended with casualties on both sides of almost 13,000, including two Union corps commanders. By midday,
13932-477: The division, launched the attack with an unusual battle formation—the three brigades in three long lines, men side-by-side, with only 50 to 70 yards (60 m) separating the lines. They were assaulted first by Confederate artillery and then from three sides by the divisions of Early, Walker, and McLaws, and in less than half an hour Sedgwick's men were forced to retreat in great disorder to their starting point with over 2,200 casualties, including Sedgwick himself, who
14094-445: The efforts of the four "supply" departments (Quartermaster, Subsistence, Ordnance & Medical) were not coordinated with each other, a condition that would last throughout the war. Although the "War Board" could provide military advice and help coordinate military policy, it was not until the appointment of Ulysses Grant as General-in-Chief was there more than the vaguest coordination of military strategy and logistics. The Union army
14256-542: The end of the war, prominent examples include Harriet Tubman , Mary Louvestre , Pauline Cushman , Elizabeth Van Lew , and Mary Bowser . In his 1997 book examining the motivations of the American Civil War's soldiers, For Cause and Comrades , historian James M. McPherson states that Union soldiers fought to preserve the United States, as well as to end slavery, stating that: Antietam 53,632 engaged 30,646 engaged The Battle of Antietam ( / æ n ˈ t iː t əm / an- TEE -təm ), also called
14418-431: The evening of September 16, McClellan ordered Hooker's I Corps to cross Antietam Creek and probe the enemy positions. Meade's division cautiously attacked Hood's troops near the East Woods. After darkness fell, artillery fire continued as McClellan positioned his troops for the next day's fighting. McClellan's plan was to overwhelm the enemy's left flank. He arrived at this decision because of the configuration of bridges over
14580-430: The exact number of guns issued to some of the Confederate batteries is not known. Lee's army was weakened by disease, and the historian Joseph T. Glatthaar estimates that about one-third to one-half of Lee's army was absent at Antietam due to straggling. The Confederate strength at Antietam is difficult to determine; Hartwig states that a precise figure is indiscernible, but estimates a strength of about 37,600 men. Near
14742-539: The explosion is in a ballfield in Arsenal Park. Most of the arsenal buildings were demolished, but there are four still standing: the powder magazine , now a maintenance shed for the park, two magazine buildings on the grounds of the Clack Health Center, and a former officers' quarters on 39th Street. A Quartermaster Corps insignia dated 1814 that was originally part of the gate was preserved and
14904-537: The field operations of the army. At the start of the war, Simon Cameron served as Secretary of War before being replaced in January 1862 by Edwin Stanton . The role of general-in-chief was filled by several men during the course of the war: The gap from March 11 to July 23, 1862, was filled with direct control of the army by President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, with the help of an unofficial "War Board" that
15066-542: The field." Hooker's men had also paid heavily but without achieving their objectives. After two hours and 2,500 casualties, they were back where they started. The Cornfield, an area about 250 yards (230 m) deep and 400 yards (400 m) wide, was a scene of indescribable destruction. It was estimated that the Cornfield changed hands no fewer than 15 times in the course of the morning. Maj. Rufus Dawes , who assumed command of Iron Brigade's 6th Wisconsin Regiment during
15228-415: The first explosion, Col. John Symington, Commander of the Arsenal, rushed from his quarters and made his way up the hillside to the lab. As he approached, he heard the sound of a second explosion, followed by a third. Fire fighting equipment as well as a bucket brigade tried to douse the flames with water. The volunteer fire company from Pittsburgh arrived and assisted in bringing the fire under control. By
15390-429: The foot. Command of his I Corps was assigned to Meade by Hooker. Ricketts had seniority over Meade, but McClellan backed Hooker's decision to place Meade in command of the corps. But with Hooker removed from the field, there was no general left with the authority to coordinate the remaining troops on the field. In an effort to turn the Confederate left flank and relieve the pressure on Mansfield's men, Sumner's II Corps
15552-455: The heads of the Federal infantry into the field. A battle began, with considerable melee action with rifle butts and bayonets due to short visibility in the corn. Officers rode about cursing and yelling orders no one could hear in the noise. Rifles became hot and fouled from too much firing; the air was filled with a hail of bullets and shells. Meade's 1st Brigade of Pennsylvanians, under Brigadier General Truman Seymour, began advancing through
15714-435: The job too unsuitable for women of social rank, particularly at the thought of unmarried women surrounded by thousands of men in close quarters. Nevertheless, Congress eventually approved for women to serve as nurses, to which Dorothea Dix – appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses – was responsible for setting hiring guidelines and starting a training program for prospective candidates. For the women who served, nursing during
15876-526: The land force that fought to preserve the collective Union of the states , was often referred to as the Union army , the federal army , or the northern army . It proved essential to the restoration and preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic. The Union Army was made up of the permanent regular army of the United States , but further fortified, augmented, and strengthened by
16038-495: The many temporary units of dedicated volunteers , as well as including those who were drafted in to service as conscripts . To this end, the Union army fought and ultimately triumphed over the efforts of the Confederate States Army . Over the course of the war, 2,128,948 men enlisted in the Union army, including 178,895, or about 8.4% being colored troops ; 25% of the white men who served were immigrants, and
16200-462: The most enthusiastic in the Union army, not only from a desire to help save their adoptive home but to prove their patriotism towards it. To help cement immigrant enthusiasm and loyalty to the Union, several generals were appointed from these communities, including Franz Sigel and Michael Corcoran . Many immigrant soldiers formed their own regiments, such as the Irish Brigade , including
16362-459: The mountains delayed McClellan's advance enough for Lee to concentrate the remainder of his army at Sharpsburg. Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac , bolstered by units absorbed from John Pope 's Army of Virginia , included six infantry corps. The I Corps and XII Corps were units from Pope's force, the II Corps , V Corps , and VI Corps had fought with McClellan and
16524-426: The necessity of leading their units into combat and their conspicuousness when accompanied by staff and escorts. Among memorable field leaders of the army were Nathaniel Lyon (first Union general to be killed in battle during the war), William Rosecrans , George Henry Thomas , William Tecumseh Sherman , and Phil Sheridan . Others include Benjamin F. Butler . Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were important in
16686-422: The northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the [Confederates] slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before." Major General Joseph Hooker Commander of I Corps (Union Army) Hooker attempted to coordinate the assault, but a Confederate sharpshooter spotted the general and his white horse and shot Hooker through
16848-672: The notion that Black soldiers were a liability, allowing about 200,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union army during the Civil War. Even as they served their country, Black soldiers were subject to discrimination. They were more often assigned to menial labor. Some Union officers refused to employ them in combat, but when they were they often had to use inferior weapons and equipment. Black soldiers were paid less than white soldiers ($ 10 vs $ 16 per month) until Congress yielded to public pressure and approved equal pay in June 1864. Black units were led predominantly by white officers, and while more than
17010-560: The notoriety of the coming battle. The bridge was a difficult objective. The main road leading to it was exposed to enemy fire, but a farm lane allowed a more protected approach to around 250 yards (230 m) from the bridge. The bridge was dominated by a steep bluff on the west bank, and trees and an old quarry provided cover for defenders. The Confederates also strengthed their position with breastworks made from logs and fence rails. "Go and look at [Burnside's Bridge], and tell me if you don't think Burnside and his corps might have executed
17172-399: The number of volunteers fell and both money bounties and forced conscription had to be turned to. Many Southern Unionists would also fight for the Union army. An estimated 100,000 white soldiers from states within the Confederacy served in Union army units. Between April 1861 and April 1865, at least 2,128,948 men served in the United States Army, of whom the majority were volunteers. It is
17334-488: The other corps. The I Corps was commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker and contained three divisions. The II Corps was commanded by Major General Edwin Vose Sumner , and contained three divisions. As a whole, the veteran elements of the corps had a reputation as a good fighting unit. The V Corps was commanded by Major General Fitz John Porter . Originally only one division of the corps accompanied McClellan, but
17496-491: The outbreak of the American Civil War, Giuseppe Garibaldi was a very popular figure. The 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment , of whose 350 members were Italian, was nicknamed Garibaldi Guard in his honor. The unit wore red shirts and bersaglieri plumes . They carried with them both a Union Flag as well as an Italian flag with the words Dio e popolo, meaning "God and people." In 1861 Garibaldi himself volunteered his services to President Abraham Lincoln . Garibaldi
17658-496: The pike from the Dunker Church to the south. Union return fire was from nine batteries on the ridge behind the North Woods and twenty 20-pounder Parrott rifles , 2 miles (3 km) east of Antietam Creek. The conflagration caused heavy casualties on both sides and was described by Colonel Lee as "artillery Hell." Seeing the glint of Confederate bayonets concealed in the Cornfield, Hooker halted his infantry and brought up four batteries of artillery, which fired shell and canister over
17820-534: The regulars' performance could impress even the most battle-hardened volunteers. At The Wheatfield during the Battle of Gettysburg , the regulars' fighting skill and orderly retirement under fire drew the admiration of many observers, including Prince Philippe, Count of Paris . As one volunteer put it, "For two years the U.S. Regulars taught us how to be soldiers [;] in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg, they taught us how to die like soldiers." The regulars became
17982-406: The regulars, they would serve as an important foundation around which the Union army was built. In the disastrous First Battle of Bull Run , it was the regulars who acted as rearguard during the retreat while the volunteers fled, and when George McClellan was put in charge of what became the Army of the Potomac he used regular officers and non-commissioned officers to train the volunteers. Training
18144-410: The ridges near Sharpsburg, primarily a low plateau known as Cemetery Hill. The remaining 400 men—the 2nd and 20th Georgia regiments, under the command of Brigadier General Robert Toombs, with two artillery batteries—defended Rohrbach's Bridge, a three-span, 125-foot (38 m) stone structure that was the southernmost crossing of the Antietam. It would become known to history as Burnside's Bridge because of
18306-587: The right flank of the army to aid Jackson. At 7 a.m., Hood's division of 2,300 men advanced through the West Woods and pushed the Union troops back through the Cornfield again. They were aided by three brigades of D.H. Hill's division arriving from the Mumma Farm, southeast of the Cornfield, and by Jubal Early's brigade, pushing through the West Woods from the Nicodemus Farm, where they had been supporting Jeb Stuart's horse artillery. Some officers of
18468-498: The right, preparing an attack that would envelop French's left flank. But at the same time, the 4,000 men of Major General Israel B. Richardson's division arrived on French's left. This was the last of Sumner's three divisions, which had been held up in the rear by McClellan as he organized his reserve forces. Leading off the fourth attack of the day against the sunken road was the Irish Brigade of Brigadier General Thomas F. Meagher. As they advanced with emerald green flags snapping in
18630-420: The roadway and elsewhere. However, during a subsequent military inquiry into the conduct of Col. Symington, many of the same witnesses who had appeared before the coroner changed their testimony. There were so many discrepancies between the two hearings that most of the commonly held views of the explosion have been shown to be thoroughly discredited. In the end Col. Symington was found innocent of any wrongdoing by
18792-402: The same grade regardless of their date of commission, a feature which could have become a subject of contention. The use of brevet ranks was also a common feature of the Union army. Officer appointments depended on the commission grade and whether it was in the regular or volunteer forces. The President reserved the right to issue commission for all regular officers and for general officers in
18954-511: The same hardships as them. Some of the most prominent women to accompany the Union armies in the field include Anna Etheridge , Marie Tepe , and Nadine Turchin . Women also sought to serve more formally as nurses in the Union army, many having been inspired by the work of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War . However, there was strong resistance against these efforts at first. Societal prejudices saw women as too delicate and
19116-406: The soldiers when assembled into squads, platoons or as a company, experienced NCOs could take over this training as well. NCOs were also responsible for the regimental colors , which helped the unit maintain formation and serve as a rally point for the regiment. Typically a sergeant was designated the standard-bearer and protected by a color guard of corporals who only opened fire in defense of
19278-592: The standard by which the Volunteers were measured, and to be described as being as good or better than them was considered the highest compliment. Commissioned officers in the Union army could be divided in several categories: general officers , including lieutenant general , which was added on March 2, 1864, major generals and brigadier generals ; field officers including colonels , lieutenant colonels and majors ; and company officers including captains , first lieutenants and second lieutenants . There
19440-476: The state of Maryland on September 3, following their victory at Second Bull Run on August 30. Emboldened by success, the Confederate leadership intended to take the war into enemy territory. Lee's invasion of Maryland was intended to run simultaneously with an invasion of Kentucky by the armies of Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith . It was also necessary for logistical reasons, as northern Virginia's farms had been stripped bare of food. Based on events such as
19602-498: The states. These included the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment , the first Black regiment to be raised and the first to engage in combat; the 1st Louisiana Native Guard , raised from both freedmen and escaped slaves after the Capture of New Orleans ; and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment , which became the most famous Black unit after their valiant participation in the Battle of Fort Wagner . Their efforts helped to dispel
19764-399: The strength of depleted veteran units. Of these green troops, eighteen regiments, totaling about 15,000 to 16,000 men, accompanied McClellan's army for the march to Antietam. Several thousand more new recruits were added to existing units, so about a quarter of McClellan's army was inexperienced and poorly trained entering the battle. The II, IX, and XII Corps received more of these troops than
19926-499: The sunken road, and although they were driven back by a fierce charge of the 5th New Hampshire, this stemmed the collapse of the center. Reluctantly, Richardson ordered his division to fall back to north of the ridge facing the sunken road. His division lost about 1,000 men. Colonel Barlow was severely wounded, and Richardson mortally wounded. Winfield S. Hancock assumed division command. Although Hancock would have an excellent future reputation as an aggressive division and corps commander,
20088-555: The superior Union numbers began to tell, the Louisiana "Tiger" Brigade under Harry Hays entered the fray and forced the Union men back to the East Woods. The casualties received by the 12th Massachusetts Infantry, 67%, were the highest of any unit that day. The Tigers were beaten back eventually when the Federals deployed an artillery battery in the Cornfield. Point-blank fire slaughtered the Tigers, who lost 323 of their 500 men. While
20250-404: The terrible fighting in the West Woods and relayed an order for him to divert Confederate attention by attacking their center. French confronted D.H. Hill's division. Hill commanded about 2,500 men, less than half the number under French, and three of his five brigades had been torn up during the morning combat. This sector of Longstreet's line was theoretically the weakest. But Hill's men were in
20412-620: The third division; 11,862 men in the VI Corps proper with another 7,219 men in the IV Corps detachment; 12,241 in the IX Corps; 8,020 in the XII Corps; and 4,543 in the Cavalry Division. This force was supported by 293 cannons available for duty. General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was organized into two large infantry wings, commanded by Major Generals James Longstreet and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson . Longstreet's wing
20574-440: The time the fire was put out, the lab had been reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble . 78 workers, mostly young women, were killed. 54 bodies were unidentified, and were buried in a mass grave in the nearby Allegheny Cemetery . Among those killed were 15-year-old munitions assembler Catherine Burkhart, who lived at 184 38th Street , and 17-year-old Margaret Turney, who lived at 160 43rd Street . The most commonly held view of
20736-444: The town of Sharpsburg, Lee deployed his available forces behind Antietam Creek along a low ridge, starting on September 15. While it was an effective defensive position, it was not an impregnable one. The terrain provided excellent cover for infantrymen, with rail and stone fences, outcroppings of limestone , little hollows and swales . The creek to their front was only a minor barrier, ranging from 60 to 100 feet (18–30 m) in width, and
20898-479: The two-to-one advantage the Union enjoyed. It also allowed Lee to shift his defensive forces to meet each offensive. The battle opened at dawn (about 5:30 a.m.) on September 17 with an attack down the Hagerstown Turnpike by the Union I Corps under Joseph Hooker. Hooker's objective was the plateau on which sat the Dunker Church, a modest whitewashed building belonging to a congregation of German Baptist Brethren . Hooker had approximately 8,600 men, little more than
21060-500: The unexpected change of command sapped the momentum of the Federal advance. The carnage from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the sunken road gave it the name Bloody Lane , leaving about 5,600 casualties (Union 3,000, Confederate 2,600) along the 800-yard (700 m) road. And yet, a great opportunity presented itself. If this broken sector of the Confederate line were exploited, Lee's army would be divided in half and possibly defeated. There were ample forces available to do so. There
21222-525: The volunteer forces. volunteer field and company-grade officers could be commissioned by either the president or their respective governor. Company officers were also unique in that they were usually elected by members of their company. The political appointment and/or election of volunteer officers was part of a long-standing militia tradition and of a political patronage system common in the United States. While many of these officers were West Point graduates or had prior military experience, others had none, nor
21384-411: The volunteers, especially in regards to critical administrative and logistical matters, remained an important function of the regulars during the war. This was particularly the case with regular army artillery, as they were more widely dispersed than the infantry and cavalry (making them more visible to the olunteers) and were assigned to specific units to train their volunteer counterparts. In battle,
21546-404: The war and joined the army, reaching positions of authority. Brigadier General Edward Ferrero was the original commander of the 51st New York Regiment . He commanded both brigades and divisions in the eastern and western theaters of war and later commanded a division of the United States Colored Troops . Colonel Enrico Fardella, of the same and later of the 85th New York regiment, was made
21708-538: The witnesses. Alexander McBride, the Superintendent of the Lab, had repeatedly complained that the powder shipped by Dupont and Company was delivered in defective barrels with loose covers. Symington was suspicious that the "parties shipping powder may have used barrels more than once for the shipment of powder, as the barrels have been returned to them at their request." But in the end, the final word still belongs to
21870-452: The wives or other female relatives of the soldiers themselves who saw to their personal needs and (if time allowed) looked to the well-being of other soldiers. A somewhat more formal role for some camp followers was that of vivandière . Originally a female sutler , the role of vivandière expanded to include other responsibilities, including on the battlefield. Armed for their own protection, they brought water to thirsty soldiers, carried
22032-508: Was Michigan , which designated Fort Wayne as a training center for both officers and NCOs. As the war progressed NCOs gained valuable experience and even drastic disciplinary measures such as execution by firing squad were carried out when deemed necessary. The promotion of soldiers to NCOs (and NCOs to officers) was also increasingly based on battlefield performance, although each state maintained their own standards for when and where promotions could be granted. Southerners who were against
22194-430: Was a reserve of 3,500 cavalry and the 10,300 infantrymen of General Porter's V Corps, waiting near the middle bridge, a mile away. The VI Corps, under Major General William B. Franklin, had just arrived with 12,000 men. The Rebels, under Manning, had made a second assault on the high ground to the left (held by Greene) overlooking the road that temporarily around noon, but Smith's Division of VI Corps recaptured it. Franklin
22356-418: Was also inexperienced, having taken command only two days before. Although he was a veteran of 40 years' service, he had never led large numbers of soldiers in combat. Concerned that his men would bolt under fire, he marched them in a formation that was known as "column of companies, closed in mass," a bunched-up formation in which a regiment was arrayed ten ranks deep instead of the normal two. As his men entered
22518-604: Was also subjected to heavy fire but managed to beat back a counterattack by the Alabama Brigade of Robert Rodes. The third, under Brigadier General Nathan Kimball, included three veteran regiments, but they also fell to fire from the sunken road. French's division suffered 1,750 casualties (of his 5,700 men) in under an hour. Reinforcements were arriving on both sides, and by 10:30 a.m. Robert E. Lee sent his final reserve division—some 3,400 men under Major General Richard H. Anderson—to bolster Hill's line and extend it to
22680-457: Was authorized a number of aides-de-camp as their personal staff and a general staff . The general staff included representatives of the other combat arms, such as a chief of artillery and chief of cavalry (the infantry being typically represented by the commanding officer) and representatives of the staff bureaus and offices. The staff department officers typically assigned to an army or military department included an assistant adjutant general,
22842-425: Was bounded by 39th Street, 40th Street, and Penn Avenue , and bisected by Butler Street , which was and still is the main thoroughfare of Lawrenceville. The arsenal served as a supply and manufacturing center for the troops in the west . Its peak years came during the Civil War, especially when the manufacture of paper cartridges for rifles became a high priority. Civilian employment at the arsenal increased from
23004-512: Was commanded by Brigadier General Joseph K. F. Mansfield , who took command only two days before the battle. McClellan's army also contained a cavalry division commanded by Brigadier General Alfred Pleasonton . A 2023 study by the historian D. Scott Hartwig estimates that McClellan had 72,199 men available for combat on September 17, with roughly 14,000 more arriving as reinforcements. Hartwig places I Corps strength at 9,582; II Corps strength at 16,475; V Corps strength at 9,476 with another 7,000 in
23166-475: Was composed of numerous organizations, which were generally organized geographically. Each of these armies was usually commanded by a major general . Typically, the Department or District commander also had field command of the army of the same name, but some conflicts within the ranks occurred when this was not true, particularly when an army crossed a geographic boundary. The commanding officer of an army
23328-460: Was converted into Arsenal Park, which was dedicated on the Fourth of July , 1907. Arsenal Middle School was built at the west end of the park in 1932. The western half of the arsenal remained in use through World War I but eventually became obsolete. It was sold to the H. J. Heinz Company in 1926 and subsequently used for various industrial and commercial purposes. The arsenal's former main gate
23490-486: Was dedicated on May 27, 1928, replacing an earlier marble shaft placed shortly after the explosion which had become illegible by the 1920s. The monument lists the names of all 78 people killed in the blast along with a dedicatory text transcribed from the original monument. Work at the Arsenal continued, and a new lab was constructed by the following year. After the war, the Allegheny Arsenal served primarily as
23652-401: Was demolished in 1947 to make more room for delivery trucks, though it remained as a pile of rubble until the site was cleared for a new supermarket in 1961. Most of the western half of the arsenal site is now occupied by the Arsenal 201 condominium complex. Construction crews working on the condominiums uncovered caches of Civil-War-era cannonballs in 2017 and again in 2020. Today the site of
23814-452: Was established on March 17, 1862. The board consisted of Ethan A. Hitchcock , the chairman, with Department of War bureau chiefs Lorenzo Thomas (Adjutant General), Montgomery C. Meigs (Quartermaster General), Joseph G. Totten (Chief of Engineers), James W. Ripley (Chief of Ordnance), and Joseph P. Taylor (Commissary General). Reporting directly to the Secretary of War were the bureau chiefs or heads of staff departments which made up
23976-487: Was fordable in places and crossed by three stone bridges each a mile (1.5 km) apart. It was also a precarious position because the Confederate rear was blocked by the Potomac River and only a single crossing point, Boteler's Ford at Shepherdstown , was nearby should retreat be necessary. (The ford at Williamsport, Maryland , was 10 miles (16 km) northwest from Sharpsburg and had been used by Jackson in his march to Harpers Ferry. The disposition of Union forces during
24138-451: Was further differentiation between line officers, who were members of the artillery, cavalry or infantry branches, and staff officers, who were part of the various departments and bureaus of the War Department. All line officers outranked staff officers except in cases pertaining to their staff assignment, in which they received their orders from their respective department chiefs. Regular general officers outranked volunteer general officers of
24300-423: Was in the rear, behind a haystack), and finally the tide turned. Anderson's Confederate division had been little help to the defenders after General Anderson was wounded early in the fighting. Other key leaders were lost as well, including George B. Anderson (no relation; Anderson's successor, Colonel Charles C. Tew of the 2nd North Carolina, was killed minutes after assuming command) and Colonel John B. Gordon of
24462-425: Was largely passive during preparations for the battle. The IX Corps had a clumsy command structure - Burnside had earlier commanded one wing of the Union army, composed of the I and IX Corps. Despite the I Corps being detached from Burnside's control, he still acted as if he were a wing commander. Orders for the IX Corps went to Burnside, who then passed them on directly to Jacob Cox. Cox had assumed temporary command of
24624-454: Was lost. The action moved to the southern end of the battlefield. McClellan's plan called for Major General Ambrose Burnside and the IX Corps to conduct a diversionary attack in support of Hooker's I Corps, hoping to draw Confederate attention away from the intended main attack in the north. However, Burnside was instructed to wait for explicit orders before launching his attack, and those orders did not reach him until 10 a.m. Burnside
24786-452: Was military leadership a primary consideration in such appointments. Such a policy inevitably resulted in the promotion of inept officers over more able commanders. As the war dragged on and casualties mounted, governors reacted to their constituents' complaints and instead began to issue commissions on the basis of battlefield rather than political competence. Officers tended to suffer a higher percentage of battle wounds on account of either
24948-499: Was not enforced as strictly as in the regular army, and while some NCOs brought with them prior battlefield experience (whether from the Mexican–American War or foreign military service) many at the start of the war were as equally ignorant as their officers in military matters. Training for these NCOs took place during off-duty hours and often involved lessons based on manuals such as Hardee's Tactics . One notable exception
25110-527: Was numerically larger than Jackson's. This arrangement was due to Confederate law not allowing the creation of corps. Longstreet's wing contained five divisions, led by major generals Lafayette McLaws and Richard H. Anderson and brigadier generals David Rumph Jones , John G. Walker , and John Bell Hood . Jackson's wing contained four divisions, commanded by major generals Daniel Harvey (D.H.) Hill and Ambrose Powell (A.P.) Hill , and brigadier generals Alexander R. Lawton and John R. Jones . Lee also had
25272-402: Was offered a major general's commission in the U.S. Army through the letter from Secretary of State William H. Seward to H. S. Sanford , the U.S. Minister at Brussels , July 17, 1861. Colonel Luigi Palma di Cesnola , a former Italian and British soldier and veteran of the Crimean War , commanded the 4th New York Cavalry and would rise to become one of the highest ranking Italian officer in
25434-415: Was ordered at 7:20 a.m. to send two divisions into battle. Sedgwick's division of 5,400 men was the first to ford the Antietam, and they entered the East Woods with the intention of turning left and forcing the Confederates south into the assault of Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps. But the plan went awry. They became separated from William H. French's division, and at 9 a.m. Sumner, who was accompanying
25596-628: Was over in order to join the Confederate States Army; though few are believed to have done so, their total number is unknown. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln exercised supreme command and control over the army in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces . Below him was the Secretary of War , who oversaw the administration of the army, and the general-in-chief , who directed
25758-460: Was poorly supplied, was operating in enemy territory away from its logistical lines, and was poorer armed. Ammunition supply was made more difficult due to units being armed with mixed types of weapons, and many Confederate soldiers were still armed with smoothbore weapons of shorter range. Many of the cannons issued to the Confederate artillery were obsolete, while the Union had modern guns. The Confederates had about 246 cannon at Antietam, although
25920-405: Was ready to exploit this breakthrough, but Sumner, the senior corps commander, ordered him not to advance. Franklin appealed to McClellan, who left his headquarters in the rear to hear both arguments but backed Sumner's decision, ordering Franklin and Hancock to hold their positions. McClellan never lost this ground for the remainder of the battle and eventually had amassed 44 guns on it. Later in
26082-506: Was simply not considered. Eventually though their opponents recognized their existence, and while female spies caught in the act were not typically executed like their male colleagues, they still faced the threat of lengthy prison sentences. For self-evident reasons many of these activities were kept secret and any documentation (if it existed) was often destroyed. As such the identity of many of these women will never be known. Of those who became famous for their espionage work during or after
26244-414: Was taken out of action for several months by a wound. Sumner has been condemned by most historians for his "reckless" attack, his lack of coordination with the I and XII Corps headquarters, losing control of French's division when he accompanied Sedgwick's, failing to perform adequate reconnaissance prior to launching his attack, and selecting the unusual battle formation that was so effectively flanked by
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