and avid civil war historian and

mapmaker, dr. bradley m godfried is the author of numerous books, including lee invades the north a comparison of the antietam and pennsylvania campaigns stopping history of the philadelphia brigade brigades of gettysburg occur on his own. a history of the new jersey brigade and the civil war and six previous service baity military atlas titles, first bull run, antietam fredericksburg. gettysburg bristow station mine run and the wilderness. his most current book, published earlier this year, is maps of the spotsylvania through cold harbor. so let's welcome dr. godfrey.

well, it's great to be here this evening. i have to tell you that i usually get up about 3:00 in the morning. so you can imagine i probably am ready for bed around this time. so if it looks like becoming a pumpkin, understand why i appreciate the the introduction. i guess i didn't include as much as i probably should have, but i am retired like i believe most of the others are this evening. this weekend i spent 40 years in higher education. my doctorate is actually not in history. it's in zoology and i started off as faculty member and then went on and actually went downward. would say i entered the dark of administration and retired as president of the college southern maryland. i'm currently in battlefield guide and a gettysburg town

guide, not a battlefield guide, and it's so to see all of my books sitting there. thank you for bringing them over my goal has always been to try to write a book. the maps of every campaign and in the eastern theater of the civil war. i'm getting closer so i can die pretty soon. it looks like. although my wife says no don't do it and. also, she also said, brad, you've got to bring this with you just in case i got to show you, but i'm retired now, so we're not going to worry about that unless you really want me to do it. colin a working guy. so he has he has to be wearing that thing. okay, i am going to be starting tonight talking about a battle that you know i'm very fond of as a as a battlefield guide and we're going to see how it these

crossings played. a major role in the shaping of this of this particular battle. now, how many of you have actually been to the battlefield at antietam? let me see some here. oh, well, i feel right at home. okay, good. you can help me so. i'm going to jump right into it. i can't really talk about the crossings until i put things in perspective. so you'll excuse me. i need to talk a little bit about the whys and some of the challenges. one of the books that i wrote that colin may have mentioned is lee invades north, a comparison of the two invasions. the maryland and the pennsylvania campaign. he had lot more on his plate. now lin was not a political general, like like mcclellan and some other generals, but were five good, really good reasons to invade the north. i'm going to go through them very quickly because we're going to have to spend most of her

time the fighting. england and france are very close to recognizing the south and lord palmerston, the prime minister of england, has said to jefferson, were ready to broker peace. but we need you to one more victory, preferably in the north boom. and lee is trying to into pennsylvania. he never makes it. this is september of 1862. and what happens in november a midterm election and who controls the senate? the house, the presidency, republicans and happens if lee gets into pennsylvania really badly whips the army. the potomac marches on philadelphia or harrisburg maybe you that might influence you, especially if you lost a son or a nephew. maybe they've a limb amputated. this is right after bull run. and that union army is pretty well beaten up and key is let's

let's let's that union army as as we can. but where is the union army now. it's hiding in the defenses of washington and the only way you're going to get it out marching toward yankee territory. yeah. maryland, almost seceded from the union and one of the things that that lee is explicit about is i'm going to get into maryland on my way to pennsylvania, i'm going to issue a proclamation for the citizens of maryland to join the confederacy and it's all about supplies with lee all about supplies. when you read about his logistical about how he's begging jefferson davis for supplies how his men are foraging for edible weeds, it really does break your heart. abraham lincoln has some goals as lee is invading the north. what's the last thing he wants them to happen?

attack? well, he's not interested in taking washington. he knows it's too strongly defended, but he definitely politically he cannot afford to let lee get into pennsylvania and he wants him back into virginia. and if you can mcclellan destroys army, but mcclellan's is not going to do that. lee's to fight it at sharpsburg and i can't get into all the why, but he really doesn't want to fight sharpsburg. he really wants to get into pennsylvania he's going to make a decision that's going to influence him, but he likes if he has to wait and he's waiting for stonewall jackson to get back from harpers, if he if he to wait, if he has to fight, is a good area for him to fight the area around antietam. one you've been there you know

there's a lot of high ground lee may not have a lot of men, but he has many can't. if you have about 250 cannon and he's going to put them on the high ground. he likes the road system. the road system that goes up hagerstown pike to pennsylvania eventually or if he has to retreat through sharpsburg to ford. that's right here at shepherdstown but probably most important he likes antietam right over there because he's got a little army and he can't defend that whole area. he knows that antietam creek is going to be a barrier to the yankees from attacking him and salem creek is an interesting place. most people seem to think that it just is around the area of sharpsburg actually, it's very, very extensive. it's 42 miles in length now. i live in pennsylvania right north of monarto and have a branch of the antietam right. it goes all the way by

hagerstown, waynesboro, hagerstown. eventually it empty into the potomac river, not very deep, only about three feet deep in some places. indian term, swiftly flowing water. and we're going to talk about these bridges. there are six that were that were built up to 1832. and then there a variety after we're mainly going to be concerned with the ones that were built around the time of the 1830s, 1820s. oak well i don't have to talk about this guy, right. we know venerable, but the thing that is so interesting to me about robert e lee in the army here, the army, the northern virginia is small. it is only about 36,000 men, half of what he's going to fight with it. and gettysburg and will if you have any questions we can talk about that. i got lots of slides so i'm just going to flip right through

these quickly this talk about a lightning rod some people really think he's incompetent some people think he's he's great and other people think yeah he's okay but he's he's young he's ambitious. he's had a lot of a lot of jobs in. the union army. but he's a democrat and he doesn't. well, with lincoln and lincoln will anything if he can find a commander that will destroy army and capture richmond. and so he's willing to appoint a democrat, even though he did very poorly. you were at the peninsula today, right and the seven days of not so good his army we're not quite certain how big army is because there's different interpretation since we know that it's at least 6000. scott hardwicke just came out with a new volume. great on antietam. it's about thousand pages claims

that has about 72,000 watt, whichever it is he still greatly outnumbers lee is lee worried that lee's not worried about that. okay. very quickly, what what? so about this campaign is what usually happens after a major battle but it was what an army commander do we right rest regroup resupply write. that's not what linc lee's to be doing last battle in the second bull run campaign and i'm looking at john hennessy and i'm a little bit but but the last battle is that chantilly on september the first and he is not going to waste any time going up to leesburg some of the advancing will get there on the third start crossing on the

fourth and fifth and is going to be reaching frederick about the seventh and 8th of september air. there's no rest for the weary here. and he sees harpers ferry that is still manned and in his wildest dreams cannot believe that harpers ferry still has a garrison. there. because how many of you have been to ferry? probably about the same. and, you know, you cannot defend harpers ferry if the confederate get cannon up on maryland heights and loudon heights, etc., and dixon miles, the commander of the garrison, is almost begging henry halleck. general chief to allow him to withdraw. and henry halleck will not allow him and finally says, don't mcclellan will protect you if get into trouble. we know how that goes right. and lee will come up with nails

always breaking the rules. remember, you never divide army up, especially if it's a small army enemy territory. does that and special orders 191 does that. he's to divide his army into pieces and most of it, two thirds of it, he's going to be sending around make laws walker's division. the clause will have two divisions. jackson will have three divisions. it's going to surround harpers ferry. he's got lee has three other divisions. the hill is going to have one. longstreet will have, a couple of others. they're going to be hanging around. they go up to boonesborough and to hagerstown and. lee is saying, i'm not about dividing my army because mcclellan is it's going take them time to come out of washington martin. i'm going to plenty of time. jackson's going to capture harpers ferry by the 12th. now, when does the movement

start over south mountain, which is right over here? it starts actually on the 10th. and he is thinking, okay, by the 12th, harpers ferry is going to fall, come back together, go north, done. and scott probably go heading over to hanover and york county. anyway, that's the thinking the problem is mcclellan's not moving so slowly because got this cloud over his head, he's given a reprieve by lincoln to all again command the army, the potomac and he's going be moving faster. in fact, his advance units to get to frederick on the 12th and on the 13th, you all know happens to special orders. 191 somehow the there's a copy that is around monotonously battlefield and it makes its way up to mcclellan who now knows

that harpers ferry in jeopardy and he's going move for pretty quickly at that point on the 14th so he finds he gets it on the 13th. on the 14th, he is going to be engaged. lee's three divisions that are going to be trying to stop the union troops getting across south mountain to break the siege, harpers ferry to and to destroy each of the diverse pieces. and so you're going to quite a few fights. and if you haven't spent time on the harp on the south mountain battlefields, they're really, really neat because they're almost untouched. okay, i'm not going to get into that, but we're getting to what i'm supposed to be talking about, and that is the cross king's stonewall jackson. we'll have six divisions. is that will be approaching the

west. so they never do cross antietam creek. they're going to ford for the most at shepherdstown and march at least of them are going to march through through sharpsburg and apple will take a different route. you're going to have and i'm trying to see i can't really see that well but coming over this way to the middle bridge should be over this way right here. does that say bridge. thank you. you got to help me now leads three divisions that were fighting longstreet they were fighting at south on the 14th. they're marching night, 14th, 15th. and they are moving to cadyville lee and that's not such a great defensive area. he likes sharpsburg. he sees it in the distance and he's going to cross the middle bridge on the morning of the 15th. and those three divisions will take position right here around,

sharpsburg and then following them, mcclellan is going to let his men sleep the night of the 14th, 15th. but going to have the first, the second, the fifth and the 12th coming from the area of boonesborough. and they will form on the east of antietam creek and then from the south, you'll have from mooresville, the union and the ninth corps right. okay now have i put it in perspective well enough? now let's talk about troubled crossings. this is the middle bridge, the orndorff bridge. it's one of the oldest, 1824. they didn't build bridges very well. then apparent because these piers begin to sink and eventually what happens, there's literally a bulge in the middle of the bridge.

and this bridge will actually be torn down because it's going to be condemned. why? what major flood occurs during? the late 1880s. remember johnstown flood. so you get lots of water coming down. antietam, but also you're having 40 days of rain in maryland as well. it's going to weaken this bridge to the point where it's going to be replaced. and i'll you it. but this is the bridge that leaves three divisions will be crossing the morning of the 15th hood's division and dawn jones is division and the hills division will be crossing the morning and heading toward sharpsburg and this is what it looks like today. doesn't look very sexy, does it i mean, those bridges are beautiful. those stone bridges. there's two still intact that

we'll talk. it's a regular old highway because again, was condemned after those big floods this would be what the union troops are seeing if they were here. now looking toward this is, the newcomer farm, his barn and, it would be moving. they'd be looking that way this is the what liesman be seeing, looking at the union troops out this way. okay. all right. so mcclellan's getting a lot of intelligence, much more than lee is, because he's got he's got a signal station up on south mountain, and he can those guys can see what's going on in the valley below. and he sends a report the 15th at 1240. exactly says there's a line of battle somewhere between dean antietam creek and this side, the east side of shore of of the

of the town, sharpsburg estimates. now we're only looking at about three confederate divisions at this point. but they stretch they about a mile and a half and the interesting thing they got 92 cannons in position. that's a for mcclellan but long trains are moving into virginia so what you think what's your recommendation you're thinking that may lee is retreating and mcclellan would be thrilled if he doesn't have to fight turns out it's not the case as we'll see so lee is going to make stand at antietam. and you know when you think about it, talk about audacious talk about three, 6000 men versus almost double and maybe even more. and if he gets pushed back across, back toward the potomac

river, guess what? there are no forts or bridges where he's going to be pushed to and he could be destroyed. but lee, that's the furthest thing from his mind. and so he's going to fight it. antietam, despite fact that he's got a little army, but 60% of his men have been in three or more battles. most of these guys have in at least one battle. mcclellan with a larger army at least 20%, almost thousand, about 17,000 or so have never fired a rifle before. in fact, they're going to teach most of them how to load their rifles the morning of the battle. can you imagine that? and going into battle, not knowing and you know, it's not easy loading a civil war musket, but this some of the perspectives this is john sea ropes is a union historian one of the boldest most hazardous

decisions and it was bold and it was hazardous. porter alexander, who's a major artillery officer who will continue to grow and during the civil war, could be one of the greatest military blunders that lee ever. but here's what find so interesting. only three divisions. guns are in position across us from the middle bridge on the morning of the 15th. and mcclellan is is gathering his army on the opposite side, east side and and lee does not think three divisions we're talking under 12,000 guys. lee doesn't think he's going attack and he doesn't think he's going to attack even the 16th. on the 16th, some of stonewall jackson's men are going to start getting into position. but he is taking major risk by

stopping here and not ending the invasion. all right. this is from mcclellan's report. you may be aware of it, but we need to understand what his plan is of attack. he's going to begin the attacking lee's left flank. and then he says if things look favorable, they're favorably there, he's going to move the corps of burnside, the ninth corps, to attack lee's right flank. and then he says if either of these flank movements is successful, he's going to advance troops along the center. you never attack the center unless you weaken the flanks. and so and i apologize, this isn't a great map but basically what he's saying is the initial attack early the morning from the north attacking lee's left flank, then a little bit later

on burnside is going to be attacking lee's right flank. and then again, if conditions are right, he's going to attack straight down lee's center. and i think i gave you one of these. it simply shows you different fights that went on early in the morning. hooker mansfield are going to be attacking flank. you're going to have franklin doesn't do much this the sixth corps sumner is to come in part of his part of his corps is going to be destroyed he's going to be also the sunken and then burnside at about 10:00 will be attacking across the lower. okay so you are mcclellan and now you want to you're listening to lincoln drive lee back across the potomac river. all of your troops are on the

east side. lee's on the west side of antietam creek. somebody has got to come over right. who's going to be joseph hooker and first corps? and why is it so odd? somebody know how many weeks joe hooker has been in command of the first corps. he's never been a corps commander before this second bull run. john you know who you know this better at all of us. he commands the division at second bull run. why? he's only been in command of a corps. first corps for two weeks. but he is going to lead the attack. he's going to cross and creek. he has three divisions. you know, guy on the left, who's that guy? the middle who did not invent baseball. all right. who's guy over on the right? that's james ricketts. bad lee wounded at first. bull run remembers stonewalled brigade overruns, his battery

almost dies. so are they going to come across the upper bridge? why? because it's not defended. mcleod lane knows that lee does not have troops over the upper bridge. why he doesn't have men to defend the upper bridge. and so that's where he's going to send him across. and this is a period photograph and. this is a current photograph. and it's interesting. i don't know how many of you actually have seen the upper neat place. you can actually drive over it. it's still intact. it's still carrying cars and, people. this would be from the union side marching over. they're going to they're going to cross on the 16th, the day before battle at about 2:00 in the afternoon. and it's undefended.

but they're not only that bridge. that's why i changed it to just below upper bridge is price for it. and you will have a double day's division splashing across price for it while the other two divisions are going to cross at the upper bridge. now, does lee know this is happening? yeah, he's got cavalry there. he's got scouts there. but not strong enough to try to stop full union corps of about 10,000 men. now, one of the questions i always get, well, we're looking at antietam creek and we're looking at the lower bridge as well. why don't people just why don't the soldiers just stroll across on either side, the antietam of the lower bridge? you've all stood there right? because it's not affordable now, the worst thing if you're if you a colonel or any officer, what's the worst thing that can happen to your enlisted men while

they're crossing a. they fall and their powder gets wet? and guess what? they're worthless unless they use the bayonet. and so some of the characteristic cuts have to be fairly shallow under the water. it has be fairly stable, a big problem is those banks, if they're too steep, the guys could just fall backward into water and there can't be the really strong currents. there's some other characteristics, but these are the main ones and all of those are found with price for it. okay, now i apologize. i borrowed this from the internet. i'm not publishing it, but it's the only place i found where. there is a illustration of doubleday's division at price. you can see how dramatic it is.

but what's going to happen is here. come, here comes doubleday crossing at price. fort meade is leading ricketts division. these two divisions are crossing the upper bridge. they sweep to the west and made it and hooker actually will see some high ground to the south and mead is going to send a brigade under seymour truman south to occupy it. oops and you're and that's why you're going have some fighting the evening before but that's not really a crossing he's already crossed okay i want you to imagine you joe hooker and you are sweeping west with men you've crossed the upper bridge and mcclellan is riding with

you. how do you feel? you feel good. you're going to lead the attack against left flank. we think he he says to mcclellan, going to eat me up. he actually uses that term. they're going to eat me up because intelligence reports, poor as they are, does not have lee with 36,000 men has them. with 110 to 5000 men. so who's the only corps on the west of antietam creek? first corps, 10,000 men. if he needs support. where's the rest of? mcclellan's army, east. are they going to be able to help him pretty quickly? no. they're going to eat him up. so what do you do if you're mcclellan? say not to worry, joe. i'm going to send over reinforcements and the reinforce will be the 12th corps. i'll see you in the afternoon.

they're crossing around midnight. and you need to understand that early on, after dark, these guys go to sleep, don't know they're going to be crossing. they haven't gotten orders to cross. and i'm just going to show some quotes of how difficult the men of the first corps didn't talk much about antietam creek. it was a big it wasn't a big deal. but to these it was a big deal because. they can't even see their hands in front of their faces. it's raining. there's no and the worst thing is what is what is a mansfield trying to do what is major role to support hooker now if you're a hooker, what would you if you know 8500 guys are coming to support you would send a guide wouldn't you. i'd send a he never sent a guide and these guys have idea where they're going but you can see how difficult it was if.

you're a soldier and you're groggy, were sleeping, you're coming across. you have no idea where you're going. and mansfield doesn't even know where he's going and where are they going to finally stop about a mile behind where they should have been, way in the rear by the half men in line farms. i should mention that this is this is this is jackson. show you jackson. this is his front right here. he's. 1 to 3 lines. he's got reserves. he's got some other troops, although they're not under him. they're under long street. and you can see all of. the rest of the union army is on the west these side of antietam creek. so there's jackson. i can't not put up jackson right now. do you know all these guys j.r. jones commands? the stonewall division and alexander lawton and you all

him, right? john doe hood. and so they will all command divisions. that will be on lee's left flank and. i'm not going to get into the fight in the cornfield because again this is crossing's so in order for troops to get in position troops mean union troops they've got to cross. and how do they cross upper bridge prior ford come across and on the morning of the battle they're in position and ready to attack the cornfield will change hands. i say five times some say six times as more and more reinforcements are fed into the battle. but ultimately, at least the left flank will be crushed and the union troops will, especially the 12th corps greens division will take dunker. the second corps is also going to be crossing and we have the

oldest member general in the union army, this guy edwin sumner, what's his nickname for bull sumner? why they call him bull sumner. anybody yeah. mexican war bull. it bounces off his head. bull sumner some would say he's rash some would say he never rose to to core command, as he should have. he has three divisions. this is a big this is a big this is about 15,000 men. two of the divisions are veterans sedgwick's division and israel richardson's division are veterans. french is division is a hodgepodge. that was just created just a couple of days before the. composed of one brigade that's veteran and another that is brand new and a third that were garrison troops. they know how to fire the rifles

but they've never been in battle. now if you are well, let me just set this up first. this guy, sumner is anxious to get involved in the fight, and he is going to almost beg mcclellan, send me on the 16th and mcclellan says, nope, nope, you're in reserve. get ready sometime after daybreak on the on the. i'll send you over. so what does do? he gets his up at 2:00 in the morning, ready to go and he's going to ride over to mcclellan's, where mcclellan is sleeping. some say the pri farm is headquarters. it really wasn't. but he's spending the night there, 16, 17. and imagine sumner's pacing back and forth and forth. he really wants to go into

battle. finally, a little bit after 7:00, he orders to cross antietam creek and now he's going to cross with two divisions. which division would you have in the front would? you have your veteran division or would have your new division that, you know, it's kind of a hodgepodge according to military science, better according to the according to military science. i don't disagree with you. they would put their rookies up first. you think about the ukraine and the wagner group where they have where they get guys out of jail, where they put them right, the front. yes. well that's not what he does. he's going to put sedgwick up in front because he's expecting a battle and he wants his best troops there. i mean, you can't blame them for that. but here's the problem. they're going to cross over at pride for a and where would be

if you are sumner and. you have three divisions coming up and they're going to be coming over the east woods, which are right over here. in fact, here they come. this sedgwick's division, they're going to come in three lines like this, and then they're going to deploy action. where would you be? what would you if you're a corps commander, would you ride with sedgwick's division. they're as they're moving west. or would you stay in the east woods, wait for french's division and. then later on richardson's division to come in and place them correctly. you know what? i'm where i'm going. this he should stayed in these woods, but he doesn't. he's going to ride within sedgwick's division with general toward the west woods and is

going to be a catastrophic problem. because what happens then is here is one line, two lines, three lines of sedgwick's division. they have crossed that price. ford, they're moving. these are veterans. do you think sedgwick is going to allow his men to take off their shoes? socks? no, they're needed. they're needed desperately. and so they're going to wait across price ford why don't you want to wear your shoes and socks when you when you get into when you cross a stream you get right you don't want blisters but it is so desperate that they going to move quickly. and what happens, i think most of us know they go the way across. they cross sacred stamp like into the west woods and they will be attacked by mcclure, lafayette mclaws is division that's just come in from harpers

ferry also walkers will also be engaged right now. whereas sedgwick and i sedgwick is going to be wounded sumner is going to be right in the middle of of this mess. but here comes french. french cannot keep up with sedgwick. why? because they're rookies. they don't. their marching abilities are not as great as the veterans, so they're going to fall behind. there's going to be a big gap and guess what? their officers allow to do? take their shoes and socks. that's going to take some time because. on the opposite side, you're going to have to put them back. right. and the time that french's division gets to these woods, they can't they don't know where the heck sedgwick is. but they're supposed to be following sedgwick. what might have happened if was in the lead?

sedgwick probably have been right behind him. veterans probably would have been complaining how slow these rookies are, but nevertheless, they would have been to provide support and happens is french doesn't quite know where to go? he hears some fighting going on here, but he can't see anybody. but he sees confederates down here and he says, that's where i'm so. rather than providing support for sedgwick, who's getting pretty decimated, he's going to lose 40% of his men in 20 minutes. 2200 men killed, wounded, missing in a matter of minutes without support because french is going south and if sedgwick was if, sumner was there. where do you think would have sent them? probably follow along, get moving quick and help your comrades. okay, so we've talked about the upper crossings.

we've about tri ford, we've talked about the the upper bridge, we talked about the second corps. we've talked about the first corps. we've talked the 12th corps. let's now dip down into the lower bridge. we could and this is going to a little bit later on in the morning, remember, we're going to start off according to mcclellan. we're going to start off attacking lee's left flank, and then we're going to attack his right flank. and it is going to be the ninth corps under ambrose. now, there's some confusion here. and even today some historians wonder really what going on. he's a wing commander, as was sumner. and when he became a wing commander, he makes jesse commander the sixth of the ninth corps. but jesse reno's going to be killed and fox gap. so this man who's actually more of a politician than anything

else jacob grant cox will command the ninth corps. it's big not as big as the 12th as a second corps, but bigger than most of the others. you can see almost 13,000 men, four divisions, relatively new to the army they've been fighting in north carolina, but had fought at fox as gap as anyone been to the foxes get battlefield it's a great battlefield it's it hasn't changed much except for the trees obviously trees growing, but you can still see the same for the same fields, the same stone walls are there. they have not been rebuilt really. neat. but what happens is a controversy? they this the ninth corps will at foxes gap on the 14th remember they're trying to get over south mountain they're going to encounter confederates

trying to stop them on that at foxes gap or at the south mountain. but they're eventually by nightfall, they eventually are to drive most of the confederates away. reinforcements come up, but nightfall is going to put an end to the fighting fighting. and then controversy occurs. and the controversy is. mcclellan is going to allow the men to sleep. they fought all and they fought all day. and fox is gap, not the other corps. and they're tired. and what do they let them do? they let them sleep. what is lee due to his. there's three divisions. they're marching all night to boonesborough and across antietam, but they're going to let them sleep wrong with that. but here's the problem first thing in the morning, this guy burnside, supposed to get his men up and march him toward boonesborough on the opposite. on the other side of south

mountain and behind him is going to be coming six george, six division and the fifth corps and imagine you're george sykes and you get up the top of south mountain and foxes gap and you see all these guys from the ninth corps sleeping all along the road. how do you feel? you're not real happy and and. going to come back to that one. wait a minute where is this? okay, there it is. i just want to set the scene then. we'll talk more about it. it is very unusual for a general rule, you know, lots of generals will get upset and not happy with their commanders, with their subordinates, but it's very unusual that they put it in writing. but he was so angry with burnside allowing, his men to sleep in to almost toward noon

of the fifth teeth that he has. his aide write this in writing part of the official records. would you want to get something like this in your records? no he's going to do this on the 16th of on the 17th, on the morning of the battle, burnside is going to direct his aide to respond and you can read that. but basically it's saying, you know, sorry, he didn't intend to disobey your orders and he is ready to obey them now. but that is that's that cloud is hanging over general burnside. all right, let's go back now. here's the problem. the middle bridge undefended the, upper bridge undefended, the lower bridge that the ninth corps has to cross to get to

lee's right flank, defend it. so this is the lower bridge, rohrbach bridge. now, we call it the burnside. a little bit later on, it was built in 1836, 20 $300 got more expensive expensive. the difference at the top of the bluff and you've all been there most of you have been there you know that position and what a wonderful position to have confederate troops down at these troops trying to cross creek remember burnside had about how about 13,000 men there georgia boys up here there's only about 4 to 500 of them. that's they needed to stop them in their tracks because of just a wonderful, wonderful defensive position there from robert

toombs brigade under the direct command of rock benning benning. and here they are. so you can see here's the lower bridge and the 20th georgia, the second georgia, you've got a skirmish, you've got the 50th georgia that got beaten up almost at fox's gap three days before. there's only about 100 guys there. but they defending this area right over here. as you can see. look at lee's right flank. it's these should be smaller. there's only about 2000 men at best. maybe 2500 men in lee's right. lee is in danger this is an artist's representation. you can see the bridge. you can see where the union troops would be. you did not have these troops in one line. they were in various lines, up and down that slope.

but for those of you who have been there, what i like to show when i give a tour is right in this area is quarry. i know how many of you have seen the quarry when they are building this bridge in 1836. do you want to be schlepping rocks from miles away? of course not. they're going to take them from the side of this hill and it makes this beautiful depression. and you can imagine all these georgia boys, maybe 30, 40 of them lying on this depression with their guns propped up on the side, firing at the union troops on the other side. it was a very strong position. all right. now i can get rid of that stuff. okay. so here it is. now the morning of the battle, burnside does not have very many artillery pieces, but he what he has is going to open fire on the dunker church early in the and

and mcclellan will send him orders at 7:00 in the morning. get ready get ready to take that bridge. now is taking the bridge. his major function is is that his major objective now? his major objective is attacking lee's right flank but he's got to take the bridge first before he can do that. at 910, mcclellan will issue orders. it's going to take a little time to get to burnside gets there about 10:00, open the attack and burns will immediately now mcclellan after is going to try to make burnside a scapegoat and say ah say he didn't attack fast as he should have. he did as soon as he received those orders, he's going to immediately respond there it. do you want to do you want to go over that bridge about 12 feet wide, about 125 feet long, under

enemy. i would want to know, jacob cox, you can see virtually impregnable to, a direct attack over the bridge. but guess what burnside's going to do essentially is going to have direct attacks over the bridge downstream. there's a four, though farmers have told him him being mcclellan and burnside that further there's a ford and burnside sides and mcclellan's engineers will be tasked to find it. so 10:00 in the morning, the first attack is actually now kind of a half hearted attack because burnside's to unleash one regiment against theower bridge and that is the 11th connecticut's now why is it unusual one it's going to take than a regiment to take that

bridge one number two and if anybody knows about colonel henry kingsbury, he's an orphan before the when he was younger and is his legal guardian ambrose burnside would you send your or your your guard your your your ward against that bridge that you know is basically impregnable. but he does. and the kingsbury will attack on the right side of the bridge from their point view. captain john garrison will take half of the regiment and attack on the other side. kingsbury and his men are going to get beaten up pretty good by confederate artillery that are on the heights as. well, as these georgia sharpshooters and kingsbury is going to be mortally wounded and burnside will be inconsolable but this guy is kind of interesting he's going to jump

in the water and talisman follow me most of them will not he's going to be mortally wounded while he's crossing he will be able to cross the opposite side and he lives there dying and calling to his men, come help me. help me. and little bearers will try to cross antietam creek. and what do you think the confederates do? nothing. they allow these stretcher to cross. pick up griswold's body who's dying and take it across. take his body across antietam creek. there's not a lot of humanity in battle. this is one where there was. okay, the first, that was the first attack. but soon after george brigade, ohio brigade of three, ohio

regiments is going to attack when you think about a disorganized, confused attack, a good example would be this one right here, because he's got three regiments. the 11th ohio is going to split only half what attacked the bridge. the 28th is intentionally and half half of them will will support the cannon over here a battery. simon's battery, the other half are supposed to be going down and attacking bridge with the 11th ohio, but they get lost and theyort of find them their way over the north of, the actual bridge and the third. sixth never attacks at all. so talk about a disorganized attack and crook didn't even know where the bridge was nor what his was. he thinks that sturgis sturgis brigade was attacking first. actually, sturgis is going to be

attacking after him. so there's great confusion here. and the bottom is the first major attack on the bridge has failed. but there's hope. the hope is isaac rodman finding snavely ford crossing coming around the confederates and driving them from hill. you have nagel's brigade attacking next after kirk and talk about now it's confused you're going to have the second maryland you're going to have the sixth north carolina. they're going to come through the field. they're going to enter the road. they're going to be running, literally running this way, i should say, jogging this way on this rohrbach road and they're going to try or i should say when it's this way. sorry and trying to force their way across the bridge.

this is a quote from one of the soldiers in the sixth new hampshire fixed bayonets double quick now opening in the fence which is going to be a bottleneck. and what do you think the confederates are going to do with this bottleneck? what they're going to slaughter these men. and you can see the first hundred men who pass through the at least 9/10, a little exaggerate it, were either killed or wounded. the attack is going to fail the second attack and now is edward, 4 hours attack. anybody know what edward frere used to do before the. no, he's a west pointer, right? he's a he's a part dance instructor at west point. and he will be told by sturgis, send the twin 51st over there

are the 51st new york and the 51st pennsylvania. they've got support. infantry support is to be firing at the confederates, the hill. they brought up some additional artillery fire trying to decimate these georgia boys and you all know the story, although i don't know if this story is really true. you know about the story, about the alcohol. have you heard the story? so i tell you the story about the alcohol. okay. so here's four at the top of that hill. there's a hill right over here. woops, sorry. okay there's a hill right here. you see right there in this area. yeah. there. i got to get stronger glasses froze up there saying man are you going to take that bridge and what is this backed.

yeah we're going to take it right. no we're not taking that bridge. and he's shocked. he says. well, why not? because you took our whiskey ration away. now, whether were drunk, they disobeyed order. we don't know. and we don't have the story. true not, he says. wait a minute, he says. what if i restore your ration? in fact, what if give you as much as i can afford? we take the bridge. yeah, we'll take the bridge. they come running down the hill and the confetti fire from the georgia boys is still. remember they've been fighting since before o'clock, about 10:00 in the morning, a little bit after 10:00. it is now. 1230, closer to quarter of one or so. and they get stuck. they pennsylvania boys are going to be stuck behind the stone wall right here. the new yorkers going to be stuck right over here. they know they can't go back

because they get shot in the back and they know they can't go forward and just going to stay right there. so they take cover along the creek. co-owner robert potter, who commands the the new york boys, that the 51st new york is watching what's going on on the hill. and he says, you know, he says oh i think we can take that hill he goes over to see john hart ramp to the commander of the pennsylvania the 51st pennsylvania says i think we can that bridge what do you say and what does heart ramp say with his men behind a nice sturdy stone wall, nice protected knock yourself out. and so potter goes back. he says, men, get up. we're taking that bridge.

well here is bening's, part of bening's. and what he's telling you is that they brought, the union troops who brought up artillery that are inflating their line, they're also extending lines further beyond each of their flanks, getting very nervous. and where's rodman in all of this, isaac rodman, remember, supposed to be finding the ford. well, that ford that the engineers thought was a ford was not a ford. it would not support a crossing. and they will rodman's men before they know it's not a ford. we'll moving toward that supposed ford at 1030 they realize it's a ford because the are too steep they're going to have to march downstream in order to find the the real ford

that's ford and eventually they find it at just before one. and here they are crossing. as the 20 as the 51st and 51st. new york, pennsylvania. but these guys are dangerous because they're going to flank they're going to come across, they're going to surround potentially and the whole confederate defensive line collapses. so this is the fighting that's going on at the lower bridge. it's 3 hours that 28th ohio. they couldn't attack did find another crossing spot and not major compared to the cornfield or some of the other areas. look at this. i mean, this is impressive. the number of men in position to attack lee is very right flank and who comes just in the nick of time. a.p. hill.

right. okay. finally, hopefully the hook is not going to come out yet. i'm going to be around all weekend. so if you have questions, if not a whole lot of time for questions you can ask me in the future. but this is really neat, though. this is also controversial. remember the middle bridge was very important because that's where lee is is sending his three divisions on morning of the 15th. and that's how they're coming into the sharpsburg area beyond high ground. you can't see it is cemetery hill. that's where he's going to spend much of the time of the battle. and it bristles us. i mean, there are lots and lots of confederate guns there and in the morning, mcclellan order. pleasanton, alfred, commander of the artillery excuse me, the cavalry. thank you. so it's pumpkin time.

to take some horse artillery across the middle bridge and take position on these hills to blast the confederates are on cemetery hill creating all kinds of havoc in other parts of the field. this is at a time where french's is attacking the sunken road and is about ready to take the lower bridge. so we're talking earlier in the morning probably about that at 10:00 or so. and on the other side right here at this time have two divisions of the fifth corps under fitzjohn porter. they could be they could they could some damage. well, what happens is mcclellan is quite certain he wants to that attack remember, if you're successful on the left if i'm successful on the right, i'm going to an attack down the

middle. he's worried about an x ambition of weakness. in other words, if it looks like he doesn't have much men here, if it looks like they're going to be pushed back, lee, just say, huh? and launch a major member. lee has 125,000 men, right. to launch a major attack along boonsboro pike and cut the union army in half. that's what he's really worried about. but he's going to send over some troops, some cavalry battalions. he's going to send over the 12th u.s. infantry. lee, as you can see, does not have very many men here. garnett he's got shank evans in this area. not a whole lot. but here's what he's going to do, is sykes, general sykes, who commands a division. george sykes the division of of the second of the fifth corps, will send some of his regular

regiments and they're going to advance at about 330. there's quite a few of them, about 1600 led by this man hiram dreyer. this is important. these are the orders support, the batteries and dislodge the enemy from certain haystacks in the field when the right of the road now dry air is not interested that he's not up he's up against 1600 versus maybe 540 or so and. he will begin to advance. he disobeys orders and is getting closer driving the confederates back towards cemetery hill confederates are bringing up they're not war it's not working they're pushed back further and further air is asking reinforcements. sykes who was never interested, never thought this should happened anyway, he says, wait minute. you have exceeded your orders.

what are his orders? haystacks, you know. drive sharpshooters away. don't take them even. try to take cemetery hill. and finally draw, sykes says. are you exceeded your orders retreat. many have said. this was a major blunder on part of mcclellan and fitzjohn. pleasanton, who has this cavalry these cavalry units here will request additional support because mcclellan because burnside is now attacking. now, this never happened, supposedly. and there's lot of negativity toward why did people why did certain officers dislike the lincoln administration dislike. fitzjohn porter because he was good friends. george mcclellan and he is tarred because of that.

remember general, i command the last reserve of the the army, the potomac. that was the excuse given. the fifth corps did not cross at the middle bridge. well, it's much more nuanced than that. let's look at porter's our report. he says later in the afternoon, i a report a request from pleasanton to send a division in to support those. because burnside and sumner were driving the enemy perfect timing to send troops against lee's center. but between the dispatching and receiving of that call, the tide had battle changed. burnside as his attack had faltered, as had sumner. the army was at a stand these are his own words, by the way. i had not the force asked for could not risk the safety of artillery and the center of the

line by diminishing my small. he didn't have he believed only 4000 men then in front line and unsupported. there also protecting all the wagons in the area. mcclellan is also to try to defend pitt's fitzjohn porter. the bottom line was you had two divisions here. two of the brigades were sent, another brigade was sent south. there's not a whole lot of fifth corps in the region anyway. it's an opportunity that's lost whatever reason. so finally. okay, fine. the hook hasn't come out yet. finally, the middle crossing. i put that because that's the crossing that lee is going to use to get his three divisions into position on the morning of the 15th and again you're going to have union regulars and of

course, artillery batteries and and cavalrymen come over and you're going to have some skirmishing occurring in the center of line, the upper crossing, you know, confederates are going to cross there. but the first, second, sixth and 12th union corps will be using those crossings to engage lee's left flank. and then finally the lower crossings only area where there's actual combat occurring and later to facility date, the attack on the confederate. i have 6 minutes i think, don't i i? okay. does anyone have any questions for? me i know it's getting late. you've had a long and i'm going to be around all weekend, if any. if you have any questions, any that come to mind at this point. yes. oh, okay. hold on one second.

we've got a microphone coming to you. great. thank you, jerry. if mcclellan had lee's orders so he knew the men were and knew how many? many. and he didn't know. how many yet, though? that's why would you think? it would be a hundred. over a hundred. okay. he never over a hundred thousand before, right? okay. good question. first of all, in special orders, 191 mcclellan will get them when date, the 13th. when are they issued. when the ninth and times change, you know. so he's saying, is it still in effect? one number two talks about mcclellan talks, not mcclellan mclaws. dhl talks about units, but he has no idea how many are in each of these units. but more importantly think about where all of the war has been occurring in the eastern theater up to this point in virginia,

not pinkerton was not great, but he was a spy network in marion, in virginia. that was better than what he had in. maryland, he had nothing in maryland. and so what is mcclellan depending on for his information, he's right. his cavalry, which is for the most part, incompetent because mcclellan believe in cavalry, doing much in terms of fighting. he believed dispersing them by. but pleasanton and cavalry are actually using deserters confederate deserters he's using runaway slaves and he's using civilians so if you're if you're sitting on your porch and lee has 100 guys marching by, you might think it's a because you're not trained so and even

governor carton governor of pennsylvania was his own spies he's saying 150,000. and it's true mcclellan always over estimated always. and the question is did he really believe there are 125? i think he believed he was outnumbered. maybe he didn't. it was 125,000, but i don't think he realized lee had a small army, 36,000. and there's a good reason why lee is outnumbered by his only 36,000. and we can talk about that. if anyone has a question about that. but great question. thank you. any questions you might have at this point? i know, i stand between you and your bed. and i, i'm sensing about that. well, thank you very much for your attentiveness. appreciate it.