Lee invades Maryland! Why Lee Invaded Maryland: Lee's greatest objective was that a victory in the Northcould possiblygain diplomatic recognition from Europe andbring England and France to the aid and assistanceof the South. Such a victory might cause the people of the North to question President Abraham Lincoln's leadership and force him to sue for peace.
Lee's invasion plan of Maryland Map |
Map of principal Civil War battles in Maryland |
Just one week after the Second Battle of Bull Run, General Robert E. Leedecided it was time to take the war into the North. By marching his victorious army into Maryland, Lee had several objectives.He wanted to maintain the momentum achieved with his stunning victory at Bull Run, which left the retreating Union army in chaos. By advancing into Maryland, Lee could relieve Virginia of enemy occupation. He knew the Union army would have to mirror his movements and take up defensive positions in front of Washington and Baltimore. Leehoped that bymarching into Maryland he couldrally the Border State for the Southern cause.He could perhaps influence the upcoming Congressional Elections and persuade more Democrats (who favored peace)tooutvote the Republican majority in the House and demand an end to the Civil War. Logistically,moving his army into the unharvested, virgin countryside of western Maryland would provide new food supplies for Lee's hungry soldiers, and the merchant stores in Frederick could resupply his troops with new clothing and shoes.September and October mark the key harvest months. Without Union armiesimpeding them, the Southern farmers could gather their harvests and subsequently feed Lee's armies during thewinter. On Thursday morning, September 4, 1862, the dirty, ragged Army of Northern Virginia splashed across the shallow fords of the Potomac River just north of Leesburg to the strains of "Maryland, My Maryland." By midmorning, Saturday, September 6, General "Stonewall" Jackson's advance force of 5,000 men marched down Market Street in Frederick and made camp on the north side of town. The remainder of Lee's 40,000-man army soon followed. Upon his arrival in town, Lee designed theProclamation to the People of Maryland, inviting them to side with the Southern movement. For the next several days Lee's troops, upon strict orders not to pillage, boughtall the food,shoes and clothing they could find at the stores. But soon it became obvious that the citizens of Frederick, though polite, had little sympathy for the Southern cause. So Lee comprised a new set of plans. He would divide his forces into four sections, sending Gen. Jackson with six divisions of 22,000 men to eliminate the 12,000-strong Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry to the southwest. The remaining three divisions of Lee's forces--18,000 men, under Gen. James Longstreet- would move northwest over the Catoctin and South Mountain ranges to Boonsboro and Hagerstown, a distance of 25 miles.
Why did Lee invade Maryland? |
State of Maryland Map |
Later, Jackson would rejoin Lee and Longstreet at Hagerstown. Then, using these mountain ranges to protect his right flank, Lee could move his combined Confederate forces northeast along the rail line to Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania and a key rail center for the Union. Early on Wednesday morning, September 10, Lee's forces began leaving Frederick to carry out their assignments. Three unforeseen events, however, would disrupt Lee's plans. General George McClellan would reorganize the Army of the Potomac in days, rather than weeks as Lee expected, and arrive in Frederick on Friday, September 12th. Second, the garrison at Harpers Ferry, rather than fleeing, was ordered to stand until reinforcements could arrive. Third, an official copy of Lee's Special Orders No. 191--wrapped around three cigars--would be found by a Union private in an abandoned Confederate campsite the next day. (Maryland Civil War History.)
When Lee learned that McClellan's army was moving westward from Frederick, he realized the perilof his divided forces. He rapidly sent troops to block the three main passes over South Mountain, providing sufficient time to concentrate the majority of his forces in a defensive position around Sharpsburg, six miles to the southwest of Boonsboro. Concurrently, McClellan's85,000 men gathered on the east bank of the Antietam Creek. And thus, late on September 16, the die was cast for the battle that would begin at sunrise the next morning; the battle that would become known as the bloodiest single-dayin America's history.
Sources: Official Records of theUnion and Confederate Armies; Antietam Battlefield Board; Antietam National Battlefield Park; National Park Service.
Recommended Reading: The
Approaching topics related to Lee's and McClellan's operations from a variety of perspectives, numerous contributors to this volume explore questions regarding military leadership, strategy, and tactics, the impact of the fighting on officers and soldiers in both armies, and the ways in which participants and people behind the lines interpreted and remembered the campaign. They also discuss the performance of untried military units and offer a look at how the United States Army used the Antietam battlefield as an outdoor classroom for its officers in the early twentieth century. Also available in paperback: The Antietam Campaign (Military Campaigns of the Civil War)
Battle Report Of Sharpsburg Campaign by General Robert E. Lee, CSA, Army of Northern Virginia: The Wartime Papers Of Robert E. Lee Battle of Antietam Maryland and Antietam Campaign, with Maps, by Civil War Preservation Trust General Robert E.Lee's Proclamation to the People of Maryland Maryland Civil War History Special Orders No. 191 Battle of Antietam : Eyewitness Accounts Battle of Antietam Medals of Honor Turning Points of the American Civil War Ten Bloodiest and Costliest Battles of the American Civil War
Recommended
Lee's army included the rich, poor and middle-class, according to the author, who contends that there was broad support for the war in all economic strata of Confederate society. He also challenges the myth that because Union forces outnumbered and materially outmatched the Confederates, the rebel cause was lost, and articulates Lee and his army's acumen and achievements in the face of this overwhelming opposition. This well-written work provides much food for thought for all Civil War buffs.
Editor's Pick: The
Editorial Reviews: Ted Alexander, Chief Historian, "The Ezra Carman manuscript is the definitive study of that bloody September day in 1862. By editing it Joseph Pierro has done a tremendous service to the field of Civil War studies. Indeed, this work is one of the most important Civil War publications to come out in decades." James M. McPherson, author of Crossroads of Freedom: "Many accounts of Civil War battles were written in the decades after the war by soldiers who had participated in them. None rivals in accuracy and thoroughness Ezra Carmen's study of the battles of Jeffry D. Wert, author of The Sword Of Lincoln: The Army of the "At last, after a century, Ezra A. Carman's The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 has received the attention it deserves. A Union veteran, Carman authored a remarkable primary study of the critical operations that ended along Antietam Creek. Editor Joseph Pierro has given students of the Civil War and American history a most welcome and long overdue book." Edwin C. Bearss, author of Fields of Honor: Pivotal Battles of the Civil War "My introduction to the Ezra A. Carman Papers at the Library of Congress and National Archives came in the spring of 1961. I was astounded and amazed by their depth and scope. The correspondence, troop movement maps, etc, along with Carman's unpublished manuscript on the Antietam Campaign constitutes then as now an invaluable legacy to the American people by Carman and the veterans of William C. Davis, author of Look Away! A History of the Confederate States of "Joseph Pierro brings into the open one of the great and largely unknown masterworks of Civil War history. Ezra Carman's work on
Recommended
The South, after a series of setbacks in the spring of 1862, had reversed the war's momentum during the summer, and was on the "brink of military victory" and about to achieve diplomatic recognition by European nations, most notably Recommended
As in the first edition, the essays are authoritative and concise, written by such leadingCivil War historians as James M. McPherson, Stephen W. Sears, Edwin C. Bearss, James I. Robinson, Jr., and Gary W. Gallager. The second edition also features 83 new four-color maps covering the most important battles. The Civil War Battlefield Guide is an essential reference for anyone interested in the Civil War.
Questions addressed on this page include: Why did General Robert E. Lee invade