Unfurl Those Colors: McClellan, Sumner, and the Second Army Corps in the Antietam Campaign

397 Pages·2008·3.56 MB·English

by  Marion V Armstrong

Unfurl Those Colors!
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Unfurl Those Colors!
McClellan, Sumner, and the Second Army
Corps in the Antietam Campaign
{
Marion V. Armstrong Jr.
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa
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Copyright © 2008
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designer: Michele Myatt Quinn
Typeface: ACaslon
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information
Sciences- Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress C ataloging- in- Publication Data
Armstrong, Marion V., 1947–
Unfurl those colors! : McClellan, Sumner, and the Second
Army Corps in the Antietam campaign / Marion V. Armstrong, Jr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8173-1600-6 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-8173-8005-2 (electronic)
1. Antietam, Battle of, Md., 1862. 2. United States. Army of the
Potomac. Corps, 2nd. 3. Sumner, Edwin V. (Edwin Vose), 1797–
1863—Military leadership. 4. McClellan, George Brinton, 1826–
1885—Military leadership. I. Title.
E474.65.A76 2008
973.7′336—dc22
2007032092
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Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Prelude 5
2 Corps d’Armée 29
3 The Second Army Corps 55
4 Preparing for a New Campaign, 6 to 8 September 1862 71
5 Campaigning in Maryland, 9 to 13 September 1862 87
6 In Pursuit of the Enemy, 14 to 15 September 1862 117
7 Preparation for Battle, 16 September 1862 145
8 The West Woods 165
9 The Sunken Road 207
10 Afternoon, 17 September 1862 251
11 Concluding the Campaign 291
Notes 315
Selected Bibliography 351
Index 365
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Illustrations
Figures
1. The Infantry Regiment 35
2. Field Artillery Battery, Order in Battery 42
3. Field Artillery Battery, Order in Column and Order in Line 43
4. Organization of the Second Army Corps, 6 September 1862 58
5. Organization of the Second Army Corps, 9 September 1862 78
6. Organization of the Second Army Corps, 16 September 1862 150
7. Formation of Sedgwick’s Division 170
Maps
1. Eastern Theater of Operations, 1861–1862 13
2. Positions of Army Corps as Directed by McClellan,
6 September 1862 27
3. Positions of the Army of the Potomac, Evening, 8 September 1862 88
4. Positions of the Army of the Potomac, Evening, 9 September 1862 93
5. Positions of the Army of the Potomac, Evening, 10 September 1862 96
6. Positions of the Army of the Potomac, Evening, 11 September 1862 100
7. Positions of the Army of the Potomac, Evening, 12 September 1862 104
8. Positions of the Army of the Potomac, Evening, 13 September 1862 106
9. Positions of the Army of the Potomac, Evening, 14 September 1862 123
10. Positions near Sharpsburg, Evening, 15 September 1862 140
11. Positions near Sharpsburg, M id- Morning, 16 September 1862 152
12. Positions near Sharpsburg, Evening, 16 September 1862 157
13. Positions near Sharpsburg, 7:00 a.m., 17 September 1862 168
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viii Illustrations
14. Situation on the Federal Right, 8:45 a.m., 17 September 1862 174
15. Situation on the Federal Right, 9:00 a.m., 17 September 1862 183
16. Situation in the West Woods, 9:30 a.m., 17 September 1862 186
17. Withdrawal of Sedgwick’s Division from the West Woods, 9:45 a.m.,
17 September 1862 190
18. French Moves against the Sunken Road, 9:30 a.m.,
17 September 1862 211
19. French Moves Kimball against the Sunken Road, 9:45 a.m.,
17 September 1862 217
20. Meagher’s Attempted Charge against the Sunken Road, 10:30 a.m.,
17 September 1862 225
21. The Confederate Withdrawal from the Sunken Road, 11:30 a.m.,
17 September 1862 230
22. The Advance of Caldwell’s Brigade, 11:45 a.m., 17 September 1862 234
23. Brooke Reinforces Caldwell, 12:00 Noon, 17 September 1862 237
24. Confederate Attack toward Roulette Farm, 12:15 p.m.,
17 September 1862 238
25. The Acme of Richardson’s Advance, 12:30 p.m., 17 September 1862 244
26. Situation on the Federal Right, 11:00 a.m., 17 September 1862 253
27. Situation on the Federal Right, 12:00 Noon, 17 September 1862 258
28. Situation on the Federal Right, 12:15 p.m., 17 September 1862 263
29. Situation on the Federal Right, 1:00 p.m., 17 September 1862 267
30. Positions near Sharpsburg, 3:30 p.m., 17 September 1862 274
31. Consolidated Position at the Sunken Road, 17 September 1862 279
32. Positions near Sharpsburg, 5:30 p.m., 17 September 1862 284
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Acknowledgments
Every historian builds on the work of those historians who have come before.
First and foremost, therefore, I would like to acknowledge my debt to all of those
historians who have researched and written about the Civil War, the Antietam
Campaign in particular. It does not matter that my reconstruction and interpre-
tation of events may differ from theirs, or that this study, which is based largely
on primary sources, might be considered as shedding new light upon the cam-
paign, the Battle of Antietam, and its participants. None of that would be pos-
sible without the work of the historians who taught me about the campaign in
the fi rst place.
In particular, though, I would like to acknowledge the special contribu-
tion made to this work by Dr. Robert Hunt, at Middle Tennessee State Univer-
sity, whose many reviews of the work in progress have served to strengthen it.
Thanks also to Paul Chiles and Ted Alexander at Antietam National Battlefi eld,
Dr. Joseph Harsh at George Mason University, and Dr. Tom Clemens at Hagers-
town Community College, whose many hours of debate and pleasant conversa-
tion about the Battle of Antietam never ceased to be an inspiration for me.
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