Battle Of Antietam Essay

The Battle of Antietam was located in Sharpsburg, Maryland which was said to be one of the bloodiest days in American History due to the high number of casualties on both sides. People have also given the name of this historical battle ”Artillery Hell”. Due to the high number of deaths, the importance of rank structure during this battle was extremely important. Key personnel were directly in the mist of battle because of how fast the battle field was unfolding. The equipment used in this battle especially the artillery pieces are one of the main reasons this day was so bloody. The battle was a much needed union victory so that President Lincoln could distribute the Emancipation of Proclamation across the states.

The Most obvious result

Two people that stand out the most as having played a significant role in the Battle of Antietam are Major General George B. McClellan and General Robert E. Lee. Major General George B. McClellan was in charge of the Union while General Robert E. Lee led the Confederate invasion into the state of Maryland. Both of these important commanders had similar background having both graduated from West Point second in their class. McClellan overall had significantly less time in service with only eighteen years. General Lee had thirty three years’ time in service at this point. This made a major impact on the battle in regards to the numbers of casualties per side. General Lee had less with a 1:3 ratio. From a strategic point of view this battle was looked at as a Union victory for the simple fact that Lee had his men retreat. During this engagement many high ranking personnel were directly impacted resulting in numerous deaths on the officer side. Two Major Generals along with four Brigadier Generals were announced killed in action during the skirmish. The locations where these men were either injured or had lost their lives have been marked with a Mortuary Cannon. After Lee’s retreat, McClellan chose to no longer pursue the Confederate Army due to his high number of casualties. This single decision would result in his relief of command by President

Some of the most advanced and most common howitzers that you would have seen used in this battle were the M1857 12 pound light gun-howitzer, 3in Ordnance Rifle, and 20 pound Parrott Rifle. The M1857 12 pound was also known as the Napoleon as this famous gun was French-developed under Emperor Napoleon III in 1856(Downey, 1996). There were more of these pieces on the Campaign than any other type (Downey, 1996). The tube of this Howitzer was constructed of bronze and implemented a smooth bore. It weighed 2355 pounds and had a range of 1619 yards with a 12 pound round. The 3 in Ordinance Rifle was the second most common artillery piece and it was the most common rifled cannon in this particular battle. This piece was made of wrought iron by the Phoenix Iron Company in 1861. The new cast iron weighed in at 1720 pounds which was a considerable amount lighter than its brass predecessors. It was able to fire accurately out to 1830 yards due to its iron construction and rifled bore. The 20 pounder Parrott was the largest artillery piece in common service (Downey, 1996). It was constructed of cast iron and was known to be quite accurate as well, but it had a history of splitting open at the breech after firing for extended periods. This monster weighed in at 2925 pounds, was 7 feet long, and hurled a 20 pound projectile 1900