The numerous ridges made excellent locations for cannon. Meanwhile, the infantry of both sides made easy targets as they marched across low-lying, open fields nearby. Posted on the ridgelines, the cannoneers devastated the soldiers in the swales below them. The landscape and the heavy reliance on artillery by both sides made Antietam one of the most significant artillery battles in the Civil War. The cannon used at Antietam were indicative of the principle cannon used by both the Union and Confederate artillery units during the Civil War.

For the North, the fight along Antietam Creek became known as the Battle of Antietam. In the South, it became known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. Of the nearly 70,000 Federal troops actually engaged in the battle, nearly 13,000 were killed, wounded, or missing; the approximately 35,000 Confederates engaged lost almost as many. Lee, however, had lost about one-third of his army; men that he could not easily replace.

Writing to his wife, McClellan said, "Those in whose judgment I rely tell me that I fought the battle splendidly and that is was a masterpiece of art." In truth, however, McClellan missed a series of opportunities. By failing to commit his forces to battle on September 15 and 16, McClellan squandered a chance to exploit his numerical superiority. On September 17, McClellan's piecemeal commitment of only a portion of his command during the battle – "in driblets," as General Sumner later described it – failed to deliver a knockout blow to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia. McClellan's decision not to renew the battle on September 18, with perhaps a greater opportunity of success than the previous day, as well as his failure to energetically pursue the Confederate army on September 19, allowed Lee to withdraw to the safety of the Virginia shore.

Although the Confederates had been forced out of Maryland, Lee's campaign had been a partial success. Jackson's capture of Harpers Ferry provided the Confederates with a large amount of supplies, including clothing, shoes, thousands of small arms and ammunition, and over seventy pieces of artillery. In addition, another major Federal offensive in Virginia had been delayed, albeit only briefly. In mid-December, Burnside, now commanding the Army of the Potomac, attempted to interpose his command between Lee and Richmond. The maneuver culminated in a Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

"Every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the [Confederates] slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before." Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker

"We were shooting them like sheep in a pen. If a bullet missed the mark at first it was liable to strike the further bank, angle back, and take them secondarily." Sergeant of the 61st New York 

(Picture of Confederate dead gathered for burial after the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer.)

Although Antietam was not the decisive Union victory for which Lincoln had hoped, it did give the president an opportunity to strike at the Confederacy politically, psychologically, and economically. Lee, furthermore, had lost about one-third of his army. On September 22, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that the Federal government would after January 1, 1863, consider slaves in any state in rebellion against the Federal government to be free. The proclamation had no immediate effect behind Confederate lines, nor did it free any slaves in states still in the Union. Nevertheless, Lincoln's proclamation would be the Federal government's first official step toward the abolition of slavery.

Shortly after the battle, McClellan wrote that Confederate dreams of invading Pennsylvania had dissipated forever. During the coming months, however, Lee would wait for another opportunity to cross his army north of the Potomac. The summer of 1863 would find the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac, the latter commanded by the recently promoted Maj. Gen. George Meade, confronting each other at the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Anderson resigned his U.S. Army commission on April 25, 1861, and returned home. The Governor of North Carolina, John Willis Ellis, appointed him as colonel of the 4th North Carolina Infantry on July 16. Anderson capably led his regiment at the Battle of Williamsburg in May 1862 and was rewarded a month later with a promotion to brigadier general on June 9. He was assigned command of a brigade in Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill's division, fighting at the Seven Days Battles and Malvern Hill, where he was wounded in the hand during the Confederate assault. While recovering, he was part of the defenses around Richmond, Virginia in July 1862, serving in the 4th Brigade of Maj. Gen. G.W. Smith's Division.

"While bravely discharging his duty in this part of the field, Gen. George B. Anderson, of North Carolina, received a wound that proved mortal. It is stated that he was the first officer in regular [US] army service at the time to resign his commission to join the Confederacy, and he served his new government with zeal, ability and devotion. He was a man of winning manners, warm heart, modest manliness and intense love of truth. No man in service had gained more steadily the admiration and respect of his own men and officers, and the confidence of his superior officers." Words of D. H. Hill, Jr., (son of Lt. Gen. D. H. Hill, Sr.) author of Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865.

Now, able to return to active duty, Anderson resumed his brigade command in time for the Maryland Campaign. He fought at the Battle of South Mountain before marching into the Cumberland Valley to Sharpsburg, Maryland, as the Army of Northern Virginia concentrated. During the subsequent Battle of Antietam, Anderson's veteran North Carolinians defended a portion of the Sunken Road (known as "Bloody Lane") against repeated Union attacks. A Minié ball struck Anderson near his ankle, injuring it badly. Anderson was transported to Shepherdstown and then by wagon up the Shenandoah Valley to Staunton, Virginia, to recuperate. He was eventually shipped by train to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he died following surgery to amputate the infected foot. Anderson is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Brig. Gen. Lawrence O'Brian Branch
Branch was born in Enfield, North Carolina in 1820. He graduated from Princeton in 1838, studied law and served in Congress from 1855 until 1861. Branch commanded a brigade attached to A.P. Hill's Division who made the grueling 17 mile march to the battlefield from Harpers Ferry on the day of the battle. Arriving on the south end of the battlefield, Branch and the other brigades of Hill's division helped turn back Burnside's attack at the end of the day. Like George Anderson, Branch was also buried in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In this brilliant close to a hard day's battle, North Carolina lost a gifted son in the death of General Branch. His commander, Gen. A. P. Hill, said of him: "The Confederacy has to mourn the loss of a gallant soldier and accomplished gentleman, who fell in this battle at the head of his brigade, Brig.-Gen. L. O'B. Branch, of North Carolina. He was my senior brigadier, and one to whom I could have intrusted the command of the division with all confidence." For a time in this campaign, he did command the division. General Branch had achieved high honors in civil life. These he had given up to serve his country manfully in the field, and he was rapidly working toward the highest rank when he fell, as soldiers love to die--at the head of a victorious command. Major Gordon, of the adjutant-general's office, says that on "the very day General Branch was killed, he had been appointed major-general, but that the government, hearing of his death, never issued his commission." Sutton says of his death: "No country had a truer son, or nobler champion, no principle a bolder defender than the noble and gallant soldier, Gen. Lawrence O'Brian Branch."    

Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson
This Vermonter was 46 years old when he led his division at Antietam. Another West Pointer, Richardson graduated from the Academy in 1841 and distinguished himself during the Mexican War. In 1855 he resigned his commission and moved to Michigan. Returning to service during the crisis of 1861, Richardson led a brigade during the First Battle of Bull Run and the Peninsula campaign. At Antietam he commanded a division in the II Corp that attacked the Sunken Road. Wounded by artillery while trying to bring up more guns, Maj. Gen. Richardson died on November 3, 1862.

He commanded several brigades in the Army of the Potomac and then the 1st Division of the II Corps during the Peninsula Campaign in mid-1862. He was involved in the fighting at the battles of Yorktown, Seven Pines, and the Seven Days. He was particularly distinguished in sharp fighting near the Chickahominy River. Following the campaign, he was promoted to major general on July 4, 1862. He led his troops during the Northern Virginia Campaign, fighting at the Second Battle of Bull Run, and again during the Maryland Campaign in September, when he was engaged at South Mountain.

Richardson's 1st Division played a key role during the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, attacking Confederate positions in the center of the Sunken Road in support of the 3rd Division of Maj. Gen. William H. French. After stubborn fighting, by 1:00 p.m., Richardson had gained control of the high ground in front of the apex of the defensive line, and his men enfiladed the remaining defenders in the road, which would gain the nickname "Bloody Lane" for the carnage. Richardson pushed forward beyond the road and was directing the fire of his artillery and organizing another attack when he was struck by a shell fragment. Carried to the rear, Richardson was treated at a field hospital. His wound was not considered life threatening, and he was given a room in McClellan's headquarters, the Pry House. President Abraham Lincoln paid his respects to the wounded Richardson during a visit to the battlefield in October. However, infection set in, and then pneumonia, which claimed the life of the popular general in early November. He was among six generals to be killed or mortally wounded at Antietam. His body was escorted to Detroit, Michigan. Large crowds lined the streets during his funeral procession to nearby Pontiac, where he was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Isaac P. Rodman
Born in Rhode Island, Rodman served in both houses of the state legislature before the war. Rodman's middle name was Peace and he was a Quaker. Imagine his dilemma when war broke out between his religion and service to his country. Rodman was a Captain at First Bull Run and a division commander here at Antietam. Crossing at Snavely's Ford on the far south end of the battlefield, Rodman led his men in the final assault, only to be turned back by the timely arrival of A.P. Hill and his men. Mortally wounded, this Quaker General would die on September 30, 1862, at age 40. Isaac Rodman is buried in the Rodman family cemetery, Peace Dale, Rhode Island.

Brig. Gen. William E. Starke
Born in Virginia, Starke was a successful cotton planter in New Orleans. He served as the Colonel of the 60th Virginia, then was promoted to Brigadier on August 6, 1862. When Brig. Gen. John R. Jones was stunned by an artillery shell and left the field, Starke took command of the Stonewall Division. The onslaught of the Union I Corps' attack early in the morning began to drive his men back. Starke would lead a counterattack, only to be wounded three times, he died within the hour. His body was returned to Richmond where he was buried in Hollywood Cemetery next to his son who had been killed two months earlier. A mortuary cannon on the Antietam Battlefield marks the approximate place where Starke was shot the third time, west of the Hagerstown Turnpike in the West Woods area. It was dedicated in October 1897.

Col. Bradley T. Johnson, in his official report on the Second Battle of Manassas, wrote concerning the death of Starke:

“I cannot forbear doing but scant justice to a gallant soldier now no more. It was my fortune during the two days of battle, during which he commanded the division, to be thrown constantly in contact with Brigadier-General Starke. The buoyant dash with which he led his brigade into the most withering fire on Friday, though then in command of the division; the force he showed in the handling of this command; the coolness and judgment which distinguished him in action, made him to me a marked man, and I regretted his early death as a great loss to the army and the cause.”

Fellow Confederate officer Clement A. Evans later wrote, "His name deserves lasting remembrance in association with the Stonewall division."

Wounded at Antietam
September 17, 1862

(President Lincoln and General George B. McClellan in the general’s tent at Antietam, Maryland, on 3 October 1862. This rare photograph is from the original negative of left half. Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer.)

(President Lincoln and General George B. McClellan in the general’s tent at Antietam, Maryland, on 3 October 1862. This photograph is from the original negative of right half. Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882, photographer.)