Civil War Sesquicentennial, Part One

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War or, as my friends in the South prefer to call it, the “War of Northern Aggression.” By whatever name, it was the bloodiest war in American history. There were more than 620,000 casualties (in a country with a total population of only 32 million) — more than all the wars we have been immersed in through present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

Recently I had the opportunity to tour the battlefields of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Gettysburg, nestled in the rolling hills and farmland of Pennsylvania. Walking the wide expanse of fields, climbing the hills, and traversing the countryside was a moving and inspiring experience I am honored to share with you.

Years of debate, rancor, and strong feelings, including fist fights and worse, among members of Congress, culminated in the election of Abraham Lincoln, the prairie lawyer from Illinois, to the Presidency of the United States in 1860. Lincoln’s platform did not mandate the abolition of slavery, but rather pledged to prevent it from being extended into new states and territories in the United States. Nevertheless, zealots on both sides of the issue pressed their positions and unrest continued to fester after Lincoln was sworn in.

Lawyers from both the North and South argued and debated the legality of slavery and laws implicated by its extension or abolition. But as tempers continued to flare and the threat of secession grew ever more intense, legal solutions and compromise yielded to strident battle calls of war.

First we shall consider the battle of Antietam, as it is called in the North, or Sharpsburg as Southerners refer to it.

Before the election Lincoln famously declared, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall. But I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.”

Lincoln’s counter-part, Jefferson Davis, who was to be sworn in as President of the Confederate States on February 18, 1861, stated in 1857, “In the next four years is . . . locked up the fate of the Union. If the issues are boldly and properly met my hope is that the Constitution will prevail; if the attempt is made to postpone them the next Presidential election will . . . bring us to the alternative of resistance to oppressive usurpation or the tame surrender of our birthright.”

With philosophical battle lines thus drawn, the country began to be divided on December 20, 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the United States. By March, 1861, six more states, outraged by Lincoln’s election to the Presidency and emboldened by South Carolina’s actions, also seceded: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

After the first shots of the Civil War were fired with the bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in April 1861, Lincoln’s call for volunteers and troops to put down the rebellion prompted Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina to secede, bringing the number of states in the new Confederacy to a total of eleven.

Much has been written about the war and the enormous impact it had on our Country. I do not pretend to cover so vast a field of controversy, but rather focus on two seminal battles that define the remarkable courage, human frailties, and incomprehensible carnage of this war, which was fought entirely on American soil. Brother against brother, father against son, cousin against cousin, and friend against friend.

Just as lawyers played a major role in the congressional and political arguments so, too, did they bring their strategy and tactics to the battlefields. Lincoln and several of his advisors were lawyers, as were many officers in both the Union and Confederate armies.

ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG, SEPTEMBER 17, 1862

Most people, including the politicians and generals, believed that the war would be short-lived. Victory would be claimed within a matter of months, both sides confident that their glorious cause would prevail and peace would return along with conquering heroic soldiers of both armies. But as is true with most wars, there was nothing short, fast, simple, glorious, or easy in this massive conflict of two armies. About a year and a half into the war, the easy victory anticipated by both sides was far from assured. Doubt and fear were the prevailing emotions.

In the midst of these difficult days, General Lee decided it was a time to take the war to the North. In September 1862, he marched his army of more than 40,000 troops out of war-torn Virginia, with different parts of the army marching across the Potomac River and into the relatively unsettled Maryland and Pennsylvania countryside. This foray into Union territory was designed to catch the Union army by surprise.

On September 13, 1862, a Union soldier found a copy of Lee’s “special order 191” which contained his basic plan of operations for the entire campaign — like getting your trial adversary’s outlines of direct and cross examination in advance. This “lost order,” as it came to be called, was wrapped around three cigars. It was rushed to Union General George McClellan, who realized that he had an opportunity to strike Lee’s divided forces.

But even with the significant advantage of having Lee’s strategic plans, McClellan did virtually nothing for sixteen critical hours, convinced as always (without any reliable evidence or accurate intelligence) that he was outnumbered by an army that was actually half the size of his.

On September 15, 1862, Lee and his 18,000 troops took up positions along a three-mile ridge just east of the Town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. In front there was a small creek called Antietam, which McClellan and his 95,000 soldiers began to cross. Once again McClellan hesitated and waited two more days to draw up battle plans — precious time which enabled General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to join Lee and double his force.

With the troops in place and battle lines drawn, the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg began at dawn on September 17, 1862. The armies of Generals Hooker, Mansfield, and Sumner were the main attacking forces, but the battle plan was not well coordinated.

From the first light of dawn until about 10 o’clock in the morning, fierce battles raged across corn fields and woods. There was much confusion with soldiers from both sides running in all different directions. “[W]hen bullets are cracking skulls like eggshells, the consuming passion . . . is to get out of the way,” Union Private David L. Thomson of the 9th New York Regiment proclaimed with compelling logic.

I walked the battlefields just a few weeks ago almost exactly 149 years later. I was amazed at the huge expanse of wide and open fields. What were described as ridges are basically relatively modest elevations, but are just high enough to provide those who occupy them with a distinct advantage in firing down upon their adversaries.

In another part of the 24-acre field there is a sunken trench which allowed Union troops to remain essentially invisible to the advancing Confederates. Walking through the corn field, there is absolutely no indication of any trench or ditch ahead. It appears to be level ground with good visibility. The Union soldiers remained crouched down in the trench until they could see the legs of the advancing Confederates, at which point they rose and shot at point-blank range. Those Confederates still standing began firing back at similar distance. Both sides suffered huge casualties in just thirty minutes. Heavy fighting continued throughout the day until late afternoon, when the Confederates began to fall back.

But Union troops had also suffered enormous casualties and were in no condition to pursue their advantage. The dead and seriously injured were strewn all over the fields, on the roadways and woods, causing an observer to write, “They were lying in rows like the ties of a railroad, in heaps like chord wood mingled with the splintered and shattered fence rails. Words are inadequate to portray the scene.”

Of the more than 100,000 soldiers who fought in the Battle of Antietam, about 23,000 were killed, wounded, or missing in this one-day battle. A total of 4,776 Union soldiers are buried in the Antietam National Cemetery. The Confederate dead were removed and buried in locations in Maryland and what is now West Virginia. So horrifying was the number of dead that those troops who survived lost all their spirit and drive to fight on. Private Thompson further observed, “Before the sunlight faded, I walked over the narrow field. All around were the Confederate dead, clad in butternut. As I looked down on the poor pinched faces all enmity died out. There was no ‘secession’ in those rigid forms nor in those fixed eyes staring at the sky. Clearly, it was not their war.”

Many historical figures of note were involved in the Battle of Antietam, including a young Massachusetts Captain who survived a shot through the neck and went on to enjoy a long, successful life and career. Later a famous U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., continued to fight in the famous war and in 1864 issued a stern command to a civilian who was standing on a ridge near a battlefield as an observer. Holmes yelled at him, “Get down, you fool!” The civilian who wisely followed this command was none other than Abraham Lincoln.

Confederate General John B. Gordon of the 6th Alabama was a true hero at Antietam. Despite being shot five times, he insisted on staying with his men, which he did until a shot through the cheek brought him down. He survived his wounds to fight on through the end of the war and went on to become Governor of Georgia and a U.S. Senator.

Another historical figure who emerged in Antietam, Clara Barton, became famous as “The Angel of the Battlefield” and the founder of the American Red Cross. Nurse Barton, who worked in the Patent Office in Washington, had no training in medicine or nursing, but was so overwhelmed by the suffering she saw among the troops, that she went out to the battlefields to assist them. While holding up the head of a badly wounded Union solider to give him water from a canteen, she was shot from behind, the bullet passing through the folds of cloth on her dress, killing the soldier whose head she was cradling.

Following this punishing battle, Lee retreated, and both sides regrouped. Back in Virginia, Lee’s armies survived the winter and went on to win some impressive victories at Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg in 1863. The stage was set for the Battle of Gettysburg, the most decisive battle of the Civil War.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Sharon Bonhage

    I grew up not far from Gettysburg. It truly was the darkest and brightest days of our young nation. The NY Times has been running a great running feature on the Civil War all year long. This blog post was excellent as well — can’t wait for part 2!

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