Unfurl Those Colors! You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. Unfurl Those Colors! McClellan, Sumner, and the Second Army Corps in the Antietam Campaign { Marion V. Armstrong Jr. The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. 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 You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. 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 You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. 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 You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. 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 You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press. 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. You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press.