Thearmy had been re-organized. It was not altogether the same army which had fought the battles of the Peninsula. The First corps, under the command of General Hooker, contained Doubleday's, Meade's, and Ricketts's divisions. Doubleday's troops were formerly under McDowell. They had been under fire at Cedar Mountain, and held the left at Groveton.
Meade commanded the Pennsylvania Reserves. McCall, their first commander, was a prisoner. Reynolds, who succeeded to the command, was in Pennsylvania organizing the militia. The Reserves had been in many of the battles,—Dranesville, Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mills, Glendale, Malvern, Groveton, and South Mountain.
Ricketts's troops were of McDowell's corps, formerly King's division. They too had been in the hottest of the fight at Groveton.
The Second corps was still in the hands of the veteran Sumner. Sedgwick, Richardson, and French were his division commanders.
Sedgwick and Richardson had been through the Peninsular campaign. They came up at Fair Oaks in a critical moment, and decided the day in that hard-fought battle. They had stood motionless through the long summer day at Savage Station,—a wall of adamant against Stonewall Jackson and Magruder. Richardson held thebridge at White-Oak Swamp, while Sedgwick with Hooker repulsed A. P. Hill at Glendale. French's troops had been under General Wool at Fortress Monroe and Norfolk. They had seen skirmishes, but had never been engaged in a great battle. French had one brigade of new troops, fresh from the home barracks, inexperienced in drill and discipline, and unacquainted with the indescribable realities of a great battle. It was a powerful corps.
The Sixth corps was commanded by Franklin, and was composed of Smith's and Slocum's divisions, old soldiers of the Peninsula. A portion of them were engaged in the battle of Williamsburg. Smith's division was in the fight at Fair Oaks; and Slocum crossed to the north bank of the Chickahominy, in season to save Fitz-John Porter from annihilation in the battle of Gaines's Mills. They held the rear at White-Oak Swamp, and had borne their share in the battle of Malvern.
The Fifth corps was commanded by Porter, and was composed of Sykes's division of Regulars and Morell's division; the same which had fought gloriously at Gaines's Mills, and Malvern, and reluctantly at Groveton.
The Ninth corps was commanded by Burnside. He had four divisions,—Wilcox's, Sturgis's, Rodman's, and Cox's.
Sturgis's and Rodman's troops were Burnside's own, which had a good record at Roanoke and Newbern. Wilcox's were of Sherman's army from Port Royal, and had seen some of the hardships of campaigning. They had been hurried up from the South, when it was discovered that Leecontemplated an invasion of the North. The Thirty-fifth Massachusetts in this corps had been but a few days in the service. How well they fought, we shall see hereafter.
The troops commanded by General Cox were of the Kanawha division,—Western Virginia and Ohio soldiers, who had seen service among the mountains.
The Twelfth corps, which had fought at Winchester and Cedar Mountain under Banks, was now commanded by General Mansfield. It contained but two divisions, Williams's and Greene's.
Couch commanded an independent division, the troops which had stemmed the tide at Seven Pines.
These corps composed the Army of the Potomac, which was organized into three grand divisions.
Burnside commanded the right wing, having his own,—the Ninth and First corps. General Cox commanded the Ninth after the death of Reno at South Mountain, and the appointment of Burnside to the command of the grand division.
The center was under the command of Sumner, and was composed of the Second and Twelfth corps,—his own and Mansfield's.
The left wing was commanded by Franklin, and was composed of the Fifth and Sixth corps.
General Lee's army was composed of the commands of Jackson, Longstreet, D. H. Hill, McLaw, and Walker.
An estimate of his forces in the battle of Antietam, obtained from prisoners, deserters, and spies, is ninety-seven thousand.
"It was fought for half a day with forty-fivethousand men on the Confederate side, and for the remaining half with no more than an aggregate of seventy thousand,"59writes a Southern historian, who estimates McClellan's force at a hundred and thirty thousand.
The ground which General Lee selected for a decisive trial of the strength of the two armies is near the village of Sharpsburg, between the Antietam and Potomac Rivers. It is a quiet little village at the junction of the Hagerstown turnpike, with the pike leading from Boonsboro' to Shepardstown. Hagerstown is twelve miles distant, due north; Shepardstown, three and a half miles, a little south of west, on the Potomac.
In former years, it was a lively place. There were always country teams and market wagons rumbling through the town, but now the innkeepers have few travelers to eat their bacon and eggs. The villagers meet at nightfall at the hotel, smoke their pipes, drink a glass of the landlord's ale, and tell the story of the great battle.
The Antietam is a rapid, crooked mill-stream. It rises north of Hagerstown, on the borders of Pennsylvania, runs toward the south, and empties into the Potomac, three miles south of Sharpsburg. Its banks are steep. In some places there are limestone ledges cropping out. At low water, it is fordable in many places, but when the clouds hang low upon the mountains and give out their showers, it roars, foams, tumbles like a cataract.
Three miles northwest of the town, the Potomac makes a great bend to the east, comes within a half mile of the Hagerstown pike, then bears south toward Shepardstown.
Across the Antietam, three miles from Sharpsburg, to the southeast, is the northern end of Elk Ridge,—a mountain running south to Harper's Ferry, forming the west wall of Pleasant Valley.
The Antietam, below the Boonesboro' road, runs along the western base of the ridge. It is not more than four miles from the Antietam, opposite the head of the ridge, to the great bend in the Potomac, northwest of Sharpsburg. General Lee selected this narrow gate for his line of battle. It had many advantages. It was a short line. It could not be flanked. It was on commanding ground. General McClellan must attack in front. He must cross the Antietam, ascend the steep bank, over ground swept by hundreds of guns, and face a direct as well as a flanking fire. McClellan could not turn the right flank of the Rebels, because there the Antietam runs close to the base of Elk Ridge, then turns due west, and empties into the Potomac. He could not turn the left flank, for there the Rebel army leaned upon the Potomac.
The dotted line passing through Jackson's position is a narrow farm road, along which Jackson erected his defensive works.
Positions of the Two Armies.The diagram represents the general positions of the divisions as they came upon the field.1 Hooker's corps.2 Mansfield's corps.3 Sedgwick's division, Sumner's corps.4 French's " " "5 Richardson's " " "6 Franklin's corps.7 Porter's corps.8 Burnside's corps.9 McClellan's head-quarters.A. Jackson.B D. H. Hill.C Longstreet.D A. P. Hill.E Lee's head-quarters.The Battle Field of Antietam.
Positions of the Two Armies.
The diagram represents the general positions of the divisions as they came upon the field.
1 Hooker's corps.
2 Mansfield's corps.
3 Sedgwick's division, Sumner's corps.
4 French's " " "
5 Richardson's " " "
6 Franklin's corps.
7 Porter's corps.
8 Burnside's corps.
9 McClellan's head-quarters.
A. Jackson.
B D. H. Hill.
C Longstreet.
D A. P. Hill.
E Lee's head-quarters.
The Battle Field of Antietam.
Besides these protections to the flank, the line itself was very strong. There were hills, hollows, ravines, groves, ledges, fences, cornfields, orchards, stone-walls,—all of which are important in a great battle. Besides all of those natural defenses, General Lee threw up breastworks and rifle-pits to make his line as strong as possible. His line was on the ridge, between the Antietam and the Potomac.
There are three stone bridges across the Antietam near where the battle was fought. One of them will be known in history as the Burnside Bridge, for there the troops commanded by General Burnside forced back the Rebel right wing, and crossed the stream. It is on the road which leads from Sharpsburg to the little village of Roherville in Pleasant Valley.
A mile north, there is another at the crossing of the Boonesboro' and Sharpsburg turnpike. A half mile above, on the eastern bank, there is a large brick farm-house, where General McClellan had his head-quarters during the battle. Following the windings of the stream, we reach the upper bridge, on the road from Keedysville to Hagerstown. On the western bank are the farms of John Hoffman and D. Miller. There is a little cluster of houses called Smoketown.
Traveling directly west from Hoffman's one mile across the fields, we reach the Sharpsburg and Hagerstown pike, near the residence of Mr. Middlekauff. A quarter of a mile farther would carry us to the great bend of the Potomac. But turning south, and traveling the turnpike, wereach the farm-house of Mr. John Poffenberger,60a wooden building standing with its gable towards the turnpike. There are peach-trees in front, and a workshop, and a bee-bench.
There is a high ridge behind the house, crowned by Poffenberger's barn. Standing upon the ridge and looking west, we behold the turnpike at our feet, a mown field beyond, and fifty or sixty rods distant a cornfield, and a grove of oaks. That cornfield and those oaks is the ground occupied by Jackson's left wing.
A few rods south of Poffenberger's is the toll-gate. There a narrow lane runs west towards the Potomac. Another leads southwest, past an old house and barn, winding through the woods, and over the uneven ground where Jackson established his center. There is a grove of oaks between the toll-gate and the farm-house of Mr. J. Miller, a few rods further south. Mr. Miller had a large field in corn on the hillside east of his house at the time of the battle. Standing there upon the crest and looking east, we have a full view of the farm of John Hoffman. Here and on the ridge behind Poffenberger's, Jackson established his advanced line one half of a mile from his main line, west of the turnpike.
The cornfield was bordered on the east by a narrow strip of woodland, on the south by a newly mown field extending to the turnpike.
Walking across the smooth field to the turnpike again, we behold a small one-story brick building on the west side of the road, with an oak grove behind it. It has no tower or spire, but it is known as the Dunker Church. A road joins the turnpike in front of the church, coming in from the northeast from Hoffman's farm and the upper bridge across the Antietam.
This building is on elevated ground. It was the pivot on which the fortunes of the day swung to and fro, where hinged the destiny of the nation. There Jackson's right wing joined D. H. Hill's division. There, around the church, fifty thousand men met in deadly strife.
The land slopes towards the east. Rivulets spring from the hillside, and flow towards the Antietam. Seventy or eighty rods east of the church is the residence of Mr. Muma. There is a graveyard north of his dwelling, white headstones marking the burial-place. There is a farm-road leading past his house to Mr. Rulet's beyond. It winds along the hillside into the ravine by Mr. Rulet's. There are branch roads; one leading to Sharpsburg, one down the hill to the middle bridge across the Antietam. The farms of Mr. Muma, Mr. Rulet, and Dr. Piper are broken lands, hills, ravines, corn and wheat fields, orchards, pastures, and mowing-grounds. D. H. Hill occupied the high grounds on Mr. Muma's farm; Longstreet held Rulet's, Dr. Piper's, Sharpsburg, and the hills south of the town.
Standing by the church and looking north, we see Poffenberger's house, three fourths of a mile distant; northeast we see Hoffman's farm, a mile and a half distant. Looking directly east over the house of Mr. Rulet, we behold the Antietam,one mile distant, with General McClellan's head-quarters on the hill beyond.
Southeast, a mile and a quarter distant, is the middle bridge on the Boonesboro' pike. Directly south, along the Hagerstown turnpike, is Sharpsburg. Lee's head-quarters are in a field west of the town. Two miles distant, at the base of Elk Ridge, is the lower bridge. There the banks of the river are high, sharp, and steep. Behind the church are limestone ledges; in the woods, strong natural defenses.
These are the main features of the field:—
Hoffman's farm.
Poffenberger's house, the ridge behind it, the woods, and cornfields west of it.
Miller's house, the cornfield east, the mown field south, the turnpike and the woods west.
The church, the field in front, the woods behind it.
Muma's farm, Rulet's house, the orchard around it, the farm-road, and cornfield west of it.
The lower bridge, and the hills on both sides of the stream.
At daylight on Monday morning, after the battle at South Mountain, General Richardson's division of the Second Corps moved down the mountain side through Boonesboro' to Keedysville. It was found that General Lee was massing his troops on the west bank of the Antietam, and planting his batteries on the hills north of Sharpsburg. General Richardson deployed his troops. Captain Tidball and Captain Pettit ran their batteries up on the hills near Porterstown, and commenced a cannonade which lasted till night.
General Hooker's, General Mansfield's, GeneralBurnside's, General Sumner's, and General Porter's troops arrived during the night.
On the morning of Tuesday, the 16th, General McClellan reconnoitered the position which Lee had chosen. The forenoon passed before the corps were in position to make an attack.
General McClellan's plan was to attack the enemy's left with Hooker's and Mansfield's corps, supported by Sumner's; and, as soon as matters looked favorably there, to move Burnside across the lower bridge, and attack Lee's right, south of Sharpsburg. If either of these flank movements were successful, then he would move upon the center with all the forces at his disposal.
About two o'clock in the afternoon, Hooker crossed the Antietam by the upper bridge and by the ford near Pray's Mill. The Rebel pickets were in the cornfields on Mr. Hoffman's farm, and their first line in the strip of woods east of Miller's cornfield. The Pennsylvania Reserves were in advance. There was a sharp skirmish and a brisk cannonade which lasted till dark. The Rebels were forced back. They retreated almost to Poffenberger's house. General Hooker advanced, planted his guns on the hill near Hoffman's, and threw out his pickets. His men lay down to sleep in the fields and amid the rustling corn.
Mansfield crossed during the night. He went up from the stream but a short distance, halting nearly a mile in rear of Hooker. Sumner's corps remained east of the stream, near Pray's Mill. Porter was posted on the east side near General McClellan's head-quarters, while Burnside passed down through Porterstown and came into position on the farm of Mr. Rohrbach at the base of Elk Ridge, near the lower bridge.
An auspicious hour had passed by never to return. Lee had only Longstreet, D. H. Hill, and two divisions of Jackson's corps on the ground on Tuesday, the 16th. Jackson arrived on the morning of the 16th, after a hard night-march from Harper's Ferry. His troops were exhausted. They were not in condition to fight on Tuesday; but by the delay of General McClellan they obtained rest and strength. McLaw's, Anderson's, Walker's, and A. P. Hill's divisions had not arrived even when the great contest began on the 17th.61
A portion of Lee's line on the morning of that day was weak and thin. Longstreet held the right, opposite Burnside; D. H. Hill was on Rulet's farm, Hood was at the Dunker Church, and Jackson northwest of it, in front of Poffenberger's house. Hood's men were exhausted; they had marched rapidly to reach the field, and had been sent to the front upon their arrival, to keep Hooker in check, as he moved through Hoffman's cornfields on the afternoon of the 16th. Lawton, commanding Ewell's old division in Jackson's corps, relieved him during the night. At daybreak the "Ragged Texans," as Hood's men were called by their comrades, were cooking their cakes and frying their pork in the fields south of the church. Lee's head-quarters were on a hill beyond Sharpsburg, so high that he could overlook a large portion of the field. He saw that McClellan intended to turn his left, and threw all his available troops towards the Dunker Church.
On the morning of the 17th a breeze from the south swept up the valley, rolling dark clouds upon the mountains. There was a light fog upon the Antietam. Long before daylight the word, which roused the men from sleep, passed along the lines of Hooker's divisions. Without a drum-beat or bugle-call the soldiers rose, shook the dewdrops from their locks, rolled their blankets, and ate their breakfast.
The pickets of the two armies were so near each other that each could hear the rustle of the corn as they paced to and fro amid the rows. Occasionally there was a shot. Once, in the night, there was a volley beyond the woods towards Muma's. General Hooker was asleep in a barn near Hoffman's. He sprang to his feet, stood by the door, and listened. "We have no troops in that direction. They are shooting at nothing," he said, and lay down once more.
Five o'clock. It is hardly daylight, as the pickets, straining their sight, bringing their muskets to a level with their eyes, aim at the dusky forms stirring amid the corn-leaves, and renew the contest. There are bright flashes from the strip of woods, and from the ridge behind Poffenberger's. The first Rebel shell bursts in the Sixth Wisconsin, prostrating eight men. Hooker's guns, in the edge of the woods west of Hoffman's, are quick to respond.
Meade's division, composed of Seymour's, Magilton's, and Anderson's brigades, was in the center of Hooker's corps, and also in the advance.Doubleday was on the right, and Ricketts behind Meade.
The order was given to Meade to move on, and to Ricketts and Doubleday to keep within close supporting distance. The direction taken by Meade brought him through the strip of woods northeast of Miller's house. Lawton's division of Jackson's corps held the ground by Miller's house, with Ripley, of D. H. Hill's division, joining on the narrow road north of Muma's, a quarter of a mile in front of the church.
At this early hour, before any movement was made, Tuft, Langner, Von Kleizer, Weaver, Weed, and Benjamin, with twenty-pounder Parrott guns, planted on the hills east of the Antietam, between the center and lower bridges, opened upon Lee's lines, throwing shells and solid shot into Sharpsburg, and upon D. H. Hill on Rulet's farm. "It enfiladed my line, and was a damaging fire,"62says Stonewall Jackson, who brought up his batteries of heavy guns,—Prague's, Carpenter's, Raine's, Brokenbrough's, Caskie's, and Wooding's batteries.
Meade's men went cheerily to the work. They began at long range to give their volleys; they were in the hollow, northeast of Miller's. Lawton's troops looked down upon them from their shelter beneath the trees and behind the hills.
The Reserves began to drop beneath the galling fire. Hooker rode up to them upon a powerful white horse. The bullets flew past him, cutting down the corn, and bursting shells sprinkled him with earth; but he was calm amid it all, directingthe troops and holding them up to the work by his mighty will.
Nearer to the woods now, shorter the range, more deadly the fire. Ricketts came up on the left with Duryea's and Christian's brigades.
There were heavier volleys from the cornfield and open ground, fainter replies from the woods. It was an indication that Lawton was growing weaker.
"Forward!" It was an electric word. The Reserves, with Ricketts's two brigades, went up with a cheer into the woods, through into the open field, following the fleeing Rebels, who were streaming past Miller's, over the field in front of the church, into the woods behind it. The Reserves reached the middle of the field; but now from the woods into which Lawton had fled there were quick volleys of musketry and rapid cannon shots from Hayes's, and Trimble's, and Walker's, and Douglas's, and Starke's brigades of Jackson's division.
The Reserves stopped in the middle of the field. They gave a few volleys. The men dropped fast. Some of the wounded crawled, some hobbled away; others lay where they fell, motionless forever. The living turned and sought the shelter of the woods, from which they had driven the enemy.
The aspect of affairs suddenly changed. Jackson moved forward his whole line, not only across the field in front of the church, but extended farther north, towards Poffenberger's. "Send me your best brigade," was the message from Hooker to Ricketts. Hartsuff, of Ricketts's division, had not been engaged. A portion only of Doubleday's troops had been in. Hartsuff was on the hill behind Poffenberger. His troops, the Twelfth and Thirteenth Massachusetts, Ninth New York, and Eleventh Pennsylvania, went down the hill upon the run, south towards Miller's, past the retreating brigades, closing in like an iron gate between them and the exultant enemy. They came into line upon the crest of the hill, crowning it with their dark forms, and covering it with flame and smoke.
"I think they will hold it," said General Hooker, as he watched them presenting an unbroken front. Jackson pushed on his brigades, but they recoiled before the steady and destructive fire rolled out by Hartsuff, also by Gibbons, and Patrick, who were holding the ridge by Poffenberger's. Jackson's line melted away. "At this early hour," says Jackson, in his report, "General Starke was killed; Colonel Douglas, commanding Lawton's brigade, was killed; General Lawton, commanding a division, and Colonel Walker, commanding a brigade, were severely wounded. More than half of the brigades of Lawton and Hayes were killed or wounded; and more than a third of Trimble's; and all the regimental commanders in those brigades except two, were killed or wounded."63
Once more the Rebels retired to the woods behind the church. There was a lull in the storm. The shattered brigades of Jackson went to the rear, taking shelter behind the ledges. Hood, with his ragged Texans, came to the front by the church. Stuart, who was out on Jackson's left, towards the Potomac, came up with his artillery. Early's division also came to the front, all forming on the uneven ground west and northwest of the church in the woods; also Taliaferro's, Jones's, and Winder's brigades.
Hooker was quick to plant his batteries. Those of Doubleday's division galloped to the ridge northeast of Poffenberger's house. Gibbons's, Cooper's, Easton's, Gerrish's, Durell's, and Monroe's, were wheeled into position. Projectiles of every form cut the air. The oak-trees of the grove by Miller's were splintered and torn, the branches were wrenched from the trunks, and hurled to the earth.
Rebel shells tore through Poffenberger's house knocking out the gable, ripping up the roof, tossing boards and shingles into the air. The beehives in the yard were tumbled over, and the angry swarms went out, stinging friend and foe.
Hooker had crossed the turnpike, and was a few hundred feet beyond the toll-house. Hartsuff was wounded and carried from the field. The Reserves, broken and exhausted, were in the rear, too much shattered to be relied on in an emergency. Ricketts's brigades, which had met D. H. Hill, had fallen back. Hartsuff's, Gibbons's, and Patrick's alone were in front.
It was nearly eight o'clock, and Hooker's troops thus far had borne the whole of the contest unaided. They had driven Jackson from his front line, had assaulted his second, had received, like a stalwart knight of the olden time, unflinchingly the heavy blow which the Rebel commander had given.
Hooker rode forward and reconnoitered.
"That is the key to the position," he said, pointing toward the church.
"Tell Mansfield to send up a division," was the order sent to this venerable officer, who was slowly advancing from Hoffman's farm.
Williams's division went up into the strip of woods east of the cornfield, Crawford's brigade on the right, and Gordon's on the left.
"Tell Doubleday to hold them on the right. Don't let them turn our flank," was the word sent up to Doubleday, who was quietly watching the Rebels from the cornfield west of Poffenberger's.
There were signs of an advance of Jackson's line.
"Keep them well stirred up," was the message to the artillerymen. The thirty-six guns planted on the ridge reopened.
"I cannot advance, but I can hold my ground," said Ricketts.
While Crawford and Gordon were forming, General Mansfield was mortally wounded and borne to the rear, and the command of the corps devolved on General Williams. Green's division came up and formed on the right of Williams's, now commanded by Gordon, reaching south nearly to Muma's house. King's, Cothran's and Hampton's batteries, belonging to the Twelfth Corps, opened a rapid fire. The One Hundred and Twenty-third Pennsylvania was pushed across the turnpike into the woods west of Miller's, near the toll-gate.
While making these dispositions General Hooker dismounted and walked to the extreme front. There was a constant fire of musketry from the woods. He passed through it all, returned to his horse, and once more was in the saddle. Hewas in range of the Rebels. There was a heavy volley. A bullet entered his foot, inflicting a painful wound. Three men fell near him on the instant. But he issued his orders with coolness and deliberation. "Tell Crawford and Gordon to carry those woods and hold them," he said to his aide as he rode slowly to the rear. He tried to keep in the saddle, but fainted. "You must leave the field and have your wound attended to," said the surgeon. It was with great reluctance that he rode to the rear; but Sumner at that moment was going up with his superb corps, the Second, which had never quailed before the enemy.
Williams formed his line, his own division on the right, and Green's on the left.
Patrick and Gibbons were moved down to the turnpike. The troops were enthusiastic. They had driven the enemy, had captured battle-flags and prisoners.
Gordon and Crawford advanced over the mown field, across the turnpike, into the woods, and poured in their fire. Jackson replied. The woods were all aflame. From every tree, and knoll, and ledge, and hillock, there were volleys of musketry, and flashes of artillery.
It was a terrible fire. Gordon and Crawford were close upon the Rebel lines, behind the ledges and the breastwork which they had thrown up. They almost broke through. A little more power, the support of another brigade, the pushing in of another division at this moment, and Jackson would have been forced from his stronghold; and if driven from that position he must fight in the smooth fields beyond, or be folded back upon the center and right, with the door half opened forHooker to march upon Shepardstown and cut off the retreat.
It is nearly nine o'clock when Gordon and Crawford stand within three hundred feet of the Rebel line, in the woods northwest of the church. They face west. They fight Grigsby, Stafford, and Stuart of Jackson's corps.
It is a critical moment with Jackson. The Yankees must be repulsed or all is lost. Early's and Hood's divisions are behind the church.
Early moves north, sweeping past the church. He strikes Crawford's flank and rear, and forces him back. Green hastens up to sustain Crawford, and is also driven across the turnpike into the field nearly to the strip of woods west of it.
Sedgwick's division of Sumner's corps has been coming into line in Miller's cornfield. If it had been earlier on the ground it would have been of infinite value. It is a noble division, led by an able commander.
General Sumner himself is there, gray-haired, sober, vigilant, watchful. He examines the ground and the positions of the enemy.
Sedgwick forms his division in three lines. Dana in front, Gorman in the second, and Howard in the third line. They pass in front of Mansfield's troops towards the church.
Jackson has been hurrying up reinforcements. The troops which have been on the march from Harper's Ferry are brought in.
"By this time," says Jackson, "the expected reinforcements, consisting of Semmes's, and Anderson's, and a part of Barksdale's, of McLaw's division, arrived, and the whole, including Grigsby's command, now united, charged upon the enemy, checking his advance, then driving him back with great slaughter."64
Jackson's line unites with D. H. Hill's in the field between the church and Muma's house. Muma's is east of the church. Sedgwick is northeast of it. As Sedgwick approaches the church, Jackson swings up his right wing from the field by Muma's. Sedgwick's second and third lines are close upon the first. The solid shot which the Rebel batteries fire cut through all the lines. The bullets which miss the men in Dana's brigade take effect in Gorman's, and those which pass Gorman strike down Howard's men.
Dana's brigade was close upon the enemy. The hot blasts from the Rebel artillery, and the sheets of flame from the infantry, scorched and withered the line. The volleys given in return were exceedingly destructive. But Gorman's and Howard's men stood with ordered arms, chafing under the terrible fire, without being able to give a reply. They were so close upon Dana that they could do nothing. Fifteen minutes has passed. Dana's brigade is lost from sight. By stooping, and laying my eyes near the ground, I can see the dusky forms of the men through the drifting cloud. They are holding their position.
But the troops which Jackson has been swinging up on his right, which have been hidden from Sedgwick and Sumner, suddenly appear. They seem to rise from the ground as they comeover the ridge of land in the field between the church and Muma's house. They move northeast to gain Sedgwick's rear.
"Change front!" is the quick, imperative order from Sumner to Howard. The third line under Howard has been facing southwest. The regiments break rank, move out in files, and form once more, facing southeast.
There is confusion. Some men think it an order to retreat, and move towards Miller's cornfield. The Rebel line advances in beautiful order. Howard is beset by three times his number of men. Gorman is attacked on his left. The Rebels pour a volley into the backs of his men. The whole force is outflanked.
A retreat is ordered, and the regiments fall back through Miller's cornfield to the woods.
The Rebels are strong and exultant. They cheer and scream and swing their caps. They think that they have won a victory. They press on to regain the woods from which they were driven in the morning.
"Form behind the batteries," shouts Sumner, riding along the lines. The troops are not panic-stricken. They are cool and deliberate.
Tompkins, Kirby, Bartlett, and Owen are ready with their howitzers. "Give them canister!" is the order.
The batteries are posted along the ridge, in the cornfield. The limbers and caissons are a few rods down the slope. The horses nibble the corn, they prick up their ears a little when a shot screams past, but are so accustomed to the firing that they do not mind it much.
Gorman, Dana, and lastly Howard, who hasstood like a protecting wall, gain the rear of the batteries, and the field is open for them.
The Rebels advance. The batteries open. The discharges are rapid. No troops can live under such a fire. In five minutes it is decided that they cannot force the Union troops from the cornfield, nor from the woods east of it. They retreat once more to the church and to the ravine by Muma's.
Sedgwick has been engaged a half hour, but his loss has been great.
The Fifteenth Massachusetts was in Gorman's brigade,—the regiment which fought so nobly at Poolesville.
Twenty-four officers and five hundred and eighty-two men marched towards the church, but in twenty minutes three hundred and forty-three were killed and wounded. Other regiments suffered as much.
Jackson's loss was as severe as Sedgwick's.
General Hood, in his official report, says: "Here I witnessed the most terrible clash of arms by far that has occurred during the war."65
"A little world of artillery was turned loose upon us," says the chaplain of the Fourth Texas.66
Sedgwick's Attack.The diagram gives the position of the troops on this part of the field at the time of Sedgwick's attack.1 Dana's Brigade.2 Gorman's Brigade.3 Howard's, after change of front.4 Green's and Williams's Divisions.5 Ricketts's Division.6 Meade's Division.7 Doubleday's Division.8 Position reached by Green and Williams.9 Union batteries in Miller's cornfield.J Jackson's head-quarters.L Ledges with breastworks.M Miller's.P Poffenberger's.T Toll House.R Rebels attacking Sedgwick's flank.The road running north from the church in the Hagerstown turnpike. That running northeast from the church leads to Hoffman's farm. The narrow way in the woods where Jackson established his head-quarters, is a farm-road.
Sedgwick's Attack.
The diagram gives the position of the troops on this part of the field at the time of Sedgwick's attack.
1 Dana's Brigade.
2 Gorman's Brigade.
3 Howard's, after change of front.
4 Green's and Williams's Divisions.
5 Ricketts's Division.
6 Meade's Division.
7 Doubleday's Division.
8 Position reached by Green and Williams.
9 Union batteries in Miller's cornfield.
J Jackson's head-quarters.
L Ledges with breastworks.
M Miller's.
P Poffenberger's.
T Toll House.
R Rebels attacking Sedgwick's flank.
The road running north from the church in the Hagerstown turnpike. That running northeast from the church leads to Hoffman's farm. The narrow way in the woods where Jackson established his head-quarters, is a farm-road.
In Dana's line is the Nineteenth Massachusetts. It fought at Fair Oaks, Savage Station, White-Oak Swamp, Glendale, and Malvern. Its ranks have been sadly thinned. A great many brave men have fallen, but those who survive emulate the deeds of their comrades. They remember one who fell in front of Richmond,—a descendant of aglorious Revolutionary sire, the patriot Putnam, relative of the young officer,—Lieutenant Putnam, who fell mortally wounded at Ball's Bluff. He was born where the old General played in his childhood, before he became a rifle-ranger fighting the Indians in the dark forest bordering Lake Champlain. They could not forget Robert Winthrop Putnam, the frail and feeble boy. He was but sixteen years old when the flag was insulted at Sumter. His whole soul was on fire. He resolved to enlist. The surgeons would not accept him, he was so weak and slender. Again and again he tried to become a soldier, but was as often rejected.
The fire of patriotism burned within his breast. He slept in the room which his great ancestor had occupied in his youth. He sat by the window through the moonlit nights, and carved a wooden sword, thus feeding the consuming flame. On one side he cut this motto:—
"Not to be drawn without Justice;Not to be sheathed without Honor."
"Not to be drawn without Justice;Not to be sheathed without Honor."
Upon the other side, giving vent to his pent-up soul, were these words:—
"Death to Traitors!"
He brooded upon his disappointment by day and dreamed of it at night. He made one more effort. No questions were asked; he was accepted, and became a soldier. He was intelligent, manly, courageous, and temperate. His drink was cold water. Calmly and deliberately he bade farewell to his aged parents and his young sister and brother, turned from thedearscenes of home and childhood, hallowed by ever fragrant memories, buckled on his knapsack, and took his place in the ranks. When mortally wounded he refused to leave the field, but cheered his comrades in the fight. In his last letter, written to his sister, dated on the eve of battle, he wrote:—
"I left home to help defend a Constitution that was second to none in the world, a flag which every nation on earth respected; and if I am to die, I shall be happy to die in the service of my country."
The boy-soldier was gone from the ranks, but his spirit was there, an all-animating presence.
When the battle began in the morning, I was at Hagerstown. It was ten miles to the field, but though so far, the cannonade seemed very near. It rolled along the valley and rumbled among the mountains. The people left their breakfasts, and climbed the hills and steeples to behold the battle-cloud. The women were pale, and stood with tearful eyes, forgetting their household cares.
A ride directly down the Sharpsburg pike would have taken me to the rear of Lee's army. It would be a new and interesting experience to witness the fight from that side. I started down the pike, my horse upon the gallop. A mile out of town I met a farmer.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To see the battle."
"You will run right into the Rebels if you keep on."
"That is what I want to do. I want to see the battle from their side."
"Let me advise you not to go. I was in their clutches yesterday. They threatened to take me to Richmond. They stole my horse and my money, and I am glad enough to get clear. Let me advise you again not to go. You had better go down to Boonesboro', and see the battle from our side."
It was good advice, and I was soon upon the Boonesboro' road.
I came across a Rebel soldier lying at the foot of an oak-tree. He was weak with sickness, worn down by long marches, and had dropped from the ranks. He belonged to Longstreet's corps. He was too weak to speak. His breathing was short and quick and faint. His cheeks were hollow, his eyes sunken. Two kind-hearted farmers came and took him into a house.
"I am sorry I came up here to fight you," he whispered. He had lain beneath the oak a day and a night, waiting death, expecting no help or mercy from any one. The unexpected kindness filled his eyes with tears.
Striking off from the turnpike I galloped across the fields, through woods, over hills and hollows, reached the Antietam, crossed it by a ford, and ascended the hill to Hoffman's farm.
Sedgwick and Williams were fighting to hold their ground. It was a terrific fire. There were heavy surges, like breakers upon the sea-beaches, like angry thunder in the clouds,—ripples, rolls, waves, crashes! It was not like the voice of many waters, for that is deep, solemn, sweet, peaceful; the symbol of the song of the redeemed ones, which will ascend forever before the throne of God, when all war shall have ceased.
It was a fearful contest in front of Sumner. Miller's cornfield was all aflame. The woods by the church smoked like a furnace. Hooker's cannon were silent, cooling their brazen lips after the morning's fever; but the men stood beside the guns, looking eagerly into the forest beyond the turnpike, watching for the first sign of advance from the Rebels.
All the houses and barns near Hoffman's were taken for hospitals. There were thousands of wounded. Long lines of ambulances were coming down from the field. The surgeons were at work. It was not a pleasant sight to see so many torn, mangled arms, legs, heads; men with their eyes shot out, their arms off at the shoulders, their legs broken and crushed by cannon shot. But they were patient, cheerful, and hopeful. The nurses and attendants made them comfortable beds of straw upon the ground. The agents of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions gave them coffee and crackers. Many a noble hero said, "I thank you! God bless you!"
In the hollow between Poffenberger's and Hoffman's were the Pennsylvania Reserves, what was left of them. Once they were fifteen thousand; now, a remnant. They were sad, but not disheartened. "We have had a terrible fight," said one. "Yes, and we thrashed the Rebels. Joe Hooker knows how to do it," another said. "We are badly cut up, though. We can't lose many more, because there ar'n't many more to lose," said the first.
"I am sorry Hooker is wounded. We had licked the Rebels fairly when he left the field. I guess they won't put us in again to-day; wehave done our share; but if they do, we are ready," said the others.
The shells and solid shot from the Rebel batteries in the woods north of the church were dropping around us.
"See there! see it tear the ground!" one shouted, and pointed towards the spot where a solid shot was throwing up the earth. "The man who owns that land is getting his plowing done for nothing," said another.
"Ha! ha! ha!"
Another shot struck near a soldier, and covered him with earth. "Fire away! you can't do that again, I'll bet," he said, as he brushed the dirt from his clothes.
"Stand by the guns!" was the quick, imperative order. The men sprang to their feet. Those who were at the spring, in the hollow of the field, filling their canteens, came to the lines upon the run.
"What's up?" asked an officer. "The Rebels are massing in front, and it looks as though they were going to attack."
"Gibbons's brigade is across the turnpike; he will hold them, I reckon," said another officer.
I rode up on the hill in rear of Poffenberger's. Captain Gibbons was in front of his battery, looking across the turnpike into the woods.
"It is a little risky for you to be on horseback. Do you see that fence over there?"
"Yes."
"Well, the Rebel skirmishers are there, and we are in easy range. If you want to get a sight of them, you had better dismount, tie your horse, and creep down under the shelter of this fence."
The cannon balls were thick upon the ground, and there were pools of blood where the artillery horses had fallen.
"This was a warm place an hour ago, and may be again; for I see that the Rebels are up to something over there."
I look as he directs, and see a column of troops moving through the woods. They are in sight but a moment. I walk along the line, past Gibbons's, Cooper's, Easton's, Durrell's, Muma's, and Gerrish's batteries, to Poffenberger's barn. Gerrish's battery is very near the building. The gunners are tired with their morning's work, and are sound asleep under the wheat-stacks, undisturbed by the roar a half-mile distant, where Sedgwick is at it, or by the shot and shells which scream past them.
Dead and wounded men are lying in Poffenberger's door-yard. The ground is stained with blood. Two noble white horses are there, one with his head smashed, the other with his neck torn,—both killed by the same shot. There are dead men in the turnpike. Gibbons's brigade is behind the stone wall. The toll-house is riddled with bullets. There are flattened pieces of lead among the stones. The trees are scarred. There are fragments of shells. The ground is strown with knapsacks, guns, belts, canteens, and articles dropped in the fight.
"I guess you are about near enough. This is the front line," says a soldier.
I think so, too, for the bullets are singing over our heads and past us. I go up through the woods, south of Poffenberger's, to Miller's cornfield. The contest has lost some of its fury. TheRebels have been repulsed, and both sides are taking breath.
Mansfield's corps is in the woods, east of Miller's. Sedgwick's division is in the cornfield, behind the batteries of Cothran, Woodruff, Mathews, and Thompson. The batteries are pouring a constant stream of shells into the woods beyond the church.
The Union loss has been very heavy,—Hooker, Sedgwick, Dana, Hartsuff, wounded, and Mansfield killed. Meade commands Hooker's corps, and Howard, with his one arm, commands Sedgwick's division. He lost his right arm at Fair Oaks, but he is in the saddle again. The Rebel dead are thick around the church, and in the field in front of it, and along the turnpike, mingled with those who had fallen from the Union ranks. Five times the tide of battle has swept over the ground during the morning. The officers point out the exact spot where they stood. They tell what happened.
"We stood out there, in the center of the field," says an officer of the Tenth Maine. "We came up just as Ricketts was giving way. The Rebels were outflanking him, and his troops were streaming through the cornfield. The Rebels were pushing north towards Miller's. Our line of march was towards the west, which brought us partly in rear of their line. Those dead men which you see out there belonged to the Twentieth Georgia. They were on the right of the Rebel line. We gave them a volley right into their backs. They didn't know what to make of it at first. They looked round, saw that we were in their rear, then they cut for the woods. It forced back the whole Rebel line. Just then Corporal Viele, of companyK, of our regiment, and a corporal of the Second Massachusetts, dashed after them, and captured the Colonel of the Twentieth Georgia, and a lieutenant."
"And Lieutenant-Colonel Dwight, of the Second Massachusetts, captured a battle-flag," says a soldier of that regiment, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "He brought it in under a shower of bullets, waving it over his head. He got clear back to the lines, and then was wounded, they say mortally."
There was a lull in the battle after the terrible fight around the church.
General French's division, of Sumner's corps, followed Sedgwick across the Antietam. The division, after crossing the stream, turned to the left, marching through the fields towards the house of Mr. Muma. Richardson, as soon as he crossed the bridge, filed to the left, moved along the bank of the river, crossed a little brook which springs from the hillside near Rulet's, encountered Hill's skirmishers, drove them up the ravine, and formed his line under cover of a hill.
French is in the ravine. Half of his division is north of the brook, the other half south. He has Weber's, Kimball's, and Morris's brigades. He forms his brigades, as Sedgwick did his, in three lines,—Weber in front, Morris in the second, and Kimball in the third line.
Morris's men have never been under fire. They are new troops. They have heard the roar of battle through the morning, and now, as they advanceacross the fields, the Rebel batteries on the hills all around Rulet's house open upon them, gun after gun, battery after battery. The hillside grows white. A silver cloud floats down the ravine. They are so near that it infolds them. There are flashes, jets of smoke, iron bolts in the air above, also tearing up the ground or cutting through the ranks; they feel the breath of the shot, the puff of air in their faces, and hear the terrifying shriek. A comrade leaps into the air, spins round, or falls like a log to theground. They behold a torn and mangled body. They saw not the shot which wounded him. It is a terrible experience, yet they bear the trial firmly. They drop upon the ground while the lines are forming, and the shells do them little damage.
Hill has his front line in the ravine by Muma's. The Rebel soldiers have an excellent opportunity to fill their canteens from the cool water bubbling up from his spring-house. The sharpshooters are in Muma's chambers, firing from the windows at French's troops as they advance over the field east of the house. There is a graveyard east of the house, and the skirmishers lie behind the graves, their muskets resting upon the white headstones.
French's division joins Sedgwick's; it faces southwest, while Richardson's faces west. French arrives while Sedgwick is having the great struggle in front of the church. Kirby's, Bartlett's, and Owen's batteries of Sedgwick's division are on the hillside east of Miller's field, raking the Rebel lines.