How to Throw Away a Civil War Battle

When Americans Pay in Blood for the Mistakes of its Leaders

Nov 10, 2009

The battle at Antietam Creek Maryland was one of the unncessary and costliest blunders in our nation's history.

“Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I am willing to go home!” These words were spoken by Union Army Commander George B. McClellan in September 1862 near Antietam Creek Maryland. A couple of Federal troops had recently discovered this paper at an abandoned Confederate campsite wrapped around three cigars.

Union Commander George McClellan is Handed a Gift From God

The document in question was Special Order 191, a copy of the Confederate battle plan, providing the Union General with the current disposition of the entire Rebel army (Garrison, 134). Making the situation even more advantageous for George McClellan, the already outnumbered Confederate army had split itself into five disjointed pieces. Hence, a swift blow against each isolated section would have torn the Rebel Army apart. Yet if the reader has studied nearly any textbook on McClellan, “swift action” was hardly a quality the Federal Commander was known for. His innate sluggishness was primarily based on his gross overestimations of his opponent‘s strength. Yet his own forces more often than not outnumbered the enemy by a ratio of two or more to one.

Preservation of the Union is Almost Within President Abraham Lincoln’s Grasp

This occasion was no exception to that rule, as total Federal Strength going into the battle was 75000, versus a Rebel Strength of 38000. Yet McClellan had estimated Lee’s strength to be 120,000, over three times the size of what it actually was (Dickson, 158 - 9). Nevertheless, McClellan chose to delay his initial attack for 24 hours and allowed his troops to rest before striking the next morning, even though the key to victory was dependent on speed (Cornwell, 350). Meanwhile, word got back to Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee about the lost order, and he quickly made preparations to reunite his army to contain the emerging Federal threat (Foote, 676).

Americans Pay for Others Mistakes with Their Lives

The following morning, three separate blood-baths erupted in succession. The first engagement began early in a cornfield near a site called Dunker Church, north of Sharpsburg (Confederate left). Troops clashed in a series of piecemeal tug-of-war struggles that would yield no decisive victory for either side. The fighting then shifted southeast, opening up along a sunken road northeast of Sharpsburg (Confederate center). Here, Federal troops advancing to reinforce their brethren at the cornfield stumbled upon Rebels dug in along the road. Those troops mercilessly gunned down the advancing Federals at “point-blank range,” but the Rebels were horribly outnumbered. For this reason, the Federals would eventually gain the road (Dickson, 159). The battle then shifted southward. Advancing Federal forces tried to cross a narrow stone bridge (Confederate right), southeast of Sharpsburg. This would prove fatal to many of those troops: “to the 550 Confederates sitting on the hills above the bridge, it was a sharpshooter’s paradise” (Dickson, 160). However, the Federals had overwhelming numbers, and were able to cross.

Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee’s Increasingly Desperate Situation

Throughout all of these engagements, the situation was extremely desperate for the horribly outnumbered Rebel Army: “Lee all this time had been stripping his right of troops in order to strengthen his hard-pressed left and center. By noon, he was down to an irreducible skeleton force; so that presently, when he learned [General]Hill had lost the sunken road and was calling in desperation for reinforcements, he had none to send him”(Foote, 696). Thus, McClellan was still in a solid position to deliver a knockout punch he needed, in spite of his previous foul-up of having delayed his initial attack. But the punch never came: “The Confederate Center [was] broken, but the attack […] stalled. McClellan [ordered] no more reinforcements to go forward - he [was] thinking about saving his army when he [was] on the edge of total victory” (Dickson, 159). Adding insult to injury, it was also known that McClellan very much had substantial reinforcements to achieve the victory he wanted, which had not even been engaged at all that day (Cornwell, 350).

McClellan Snatches Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

The next day, McClellan chose not to attack Lee, and allowed Lee to slip away and back into Virginia. The end result was one of the costliest blunders in American Military history; 23,000 dead on both sides. Abraham Lincoln had enough of the Federal commander, and McClellan would be permanently relieved of command (Cornwell 350). Civil War Tales sums the battle up with this chapter heading: “Rebel Error and Federal Fear Blended to Yield the Deadliest Day Ever.”

It is unknown how order 191 got lost (Cornwell, 350). But it is well known that this foul up in combination with the larger blunder on McClellan’s lack of confidence heavily contributed to the disaster. Today, many people complain about when poor leadership causes all to suffer. That truth is evident throughout American History as it is today.

Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative: Fort Sumter to Perryville. 1958, Random House Inc.

Garrison, Webb. Civil War Tales: Unusual, Interesting Stories of the Turbulent Era When Americans Waged War on Americans. 1988 Rutlege Hill Press.

The copyright of the article How to Throw Away a Civil War Battle in Military History is owned by David Musser. Permission to republish How to Throw Away a Civil War Battle in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.