Term Papers on The Summer Of 1862

Term Paper Title	The Summer Of 1862
# of Words	1852
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	7.41

The Summer of 1862

A whitewashed Dunker church without a steeple, a forty-acre field of corn that swayed , head-high and green, in September sun, an eroded country lane that rambled along a hillside behind a weathered snake-rail fence, and an arched stone bridge that crossed a lazy, copper brown little creek.

The description of this place sounds peaceful, but it was the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, the Battle at Antietam Creek. In this battle, which took place on September 17, 1862, 25,000 men lost their lives or were wounded, making it one of the most dreadful battles in our history.

     Things had not been going well for the Unioin cause in the summer of 1862. First, the great drive to capture Richmond, in which General George McClellen led the Army of the Potomac, had failed in the famous Seven Days Battles.  In this battle Robert E. Lee, outnumbered and seemingly doomed to defeat, sent McClellen into a state of confusion and led him to the James River, resulting in a Confederate victory.

     Second, there was the threat of European intervention on the side of the Confederacy.  France, Britain, and England volunteered their services.  England said they would step in and bring the American war to an end, which meant independence for the South.  They were waiting only for Lee's invasion of the North.  If the South continued to out-smart the North, Britain would send troops.

     Lincoln responded to this threat of European intervention by restoring McClellen to a command position, even though some of his important cabinet members disagreed.  With the reinstatement of McClellan, all Lincoln could do was wait for the battle to begin.  If Lee could be beaten, the European countries would not come in on the side of the Confederacy. Lincoln wanted to issue his Emancipation Proclamation, stating that all slaves in the seceding states were free.  However, he could not issue it.  His Secretary of State said that in light of Confederate victories, it would look like a desperate attempt to escape defeat at the hands of the South.  He could not issue the Proclamation until the North won a battle.

     At this point, the outcome of the war appeared to favor the South.  During the first two weeks of September, the rival armies looked for an opportunity to attack each other.  Lee moved west of South Mountain, a long stretch opposite the Blue Mountains, which ran fifty miles northwest from the Potomac River.  He then went through Western Maryland up into Pennsylvania.  There was a Union post at Harper's Ferry which was held by 12,000 troops, and Lee decided that this invasion would go better if the post were overtaken.  Lee divided his forces and sent one-half of his army under Thomas Jackson to capture Harper's Ferry.  This strategy worked just as Lee thought it would.  Jackson surrounded Harper's Ferry before the Union soldiers knew what was happening.

On September 17, 1862, the Confederate troops arrived at Antietam. Their plan was to surprise McClellan's army. However, a copy of Lee's orders was dropped and two Union soldiers found them.  The orders were rushed to General McClellan who realized that Lee had his army split in two and that his troops were closer to Lee's forces than what was thought.  McClellan was a capable general, but he acted slowly.  Lee's plans relied heavily on this fact.  He thought he could capture Harper's Ferry and get his army back together before McClellan would find them.  However, with the captured plans, McClellan ordered his army to break through the South Mountain passes and engage Lee's army.  However, he didn't move fast enough to save Harper's Ferry, and Jackson took 12,000 prisoners and a good deal of supplies that were desperately needed for the Confederate army.

     The Confederate Army was optimistic, despite its small numbers.  They had not yet lost a battle and they believed that they would win this one.  Lee positioned his men on high ground just north of Sharpsburg on September 16th while McClellan assembled his army on the opposite hill on the far side ...

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