Invasion or Liberation? Lee’s Advance into Maryland

1. Invasion or Liberation? Lee’s Advance into Maryland

2. Primary Source # 1

3. Primary Source # 2

4. Primary Source Comparison Primary Source # 1 Primary Source # 2

5. Lee’s Military Strategy: Why invade Maryland? • Lee considered a move into the Border state of Maryland a matter of necessity. • He would attempt to accomplish three military goals in Maryland. • Feed the army • Find recruits • Draw the Union army away from Washington, DC. Union army withdraws to Washington after the loss at Second Manassas. Confederates use the mountains as a shield and move north. Image Credit: John Meyer, Neuste Karte von Maryland, 1851, Maryland State Archives.

6. Lee’s troops enter Maryland “The dirtiest men I ever saw…a most ragged, lean, and hungry set of wolves.” Leighton Parks, of Frederick, quoted in Century Magazine, 1904. “A dirtier, filthier, more unsavory set of human beings never strolled through town…faces looked as if they had not been acquainted with water for weeks: hair, shaggy and unkempt…But these were the chivalry – the deliverers of Maryland from Lincoln’s oppressive yoke.” Dr. Lewis H. Steiner 1 Photo credit: “The Rebel Army Crossing the Fords of the Potomac, Harper’s Weekly Magazine, Maryland Historical Society

7. Not a warm reception… • When Lee’s army arrived, some greeted the thirsty soldiers with water, others waved Union flags. • Few men from Frederick joined the ranks of Lee’s army. 2 Photo credit: Historical Society of Frederick County

8. The arrival of the Union troops… • “…flags were displayed upon all houses.” Harper’s Weekly Magazine, 1862 “General McClellan with his staff rode through, and was received on all sides with the most unlimited expressions of delight…matrons held their babes towards him as their deliverer from the rule of a foreign army, and fair young ladies rushed to meet him on the streets, some even throwing their arms around his horse’s neck.” Dr. Lewis H. Steiner, September 13, 1862 3 Image Credit: Harper’s Weekly October 2, 1862, Maryland Historical Society

9. Special Order No. 191 – Lee’s Lost Orders 4 • Orders were found at an abandoned Confederate campsite near Frederick. • Orders detailed Lee’s plans for dividing his army. • This gave McClellan, the Union army an advantage. • McClellan did not act quickly on the information, and Lee was allowed to regroup his army in nearby South Mountain, MD.

10. The Battle of South Mountain • McClellan’s Union army attacked Confederate forces at Turner’s Gap – a outnumbered Confederate force managed to hold off Union troops. • Despite outnumbering Confederate troops, the Union army did not renew the fight and the Confederate army relocated to the high ground nearby Antietam Creek. • McClellan waited 2 days before renewing the attack near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. 5

11. The Battle of Antietam “The crying of the wounded for water, the shrieks of the dying, mingled with the screeching of the shells, made up a scene so truly appalling and horrible that I hoped to God, the I might never witness such another.” James H. Rigby, Battery A, 1st Maryland Light Artillery, September 19, 1862 • Early in the morning of September 17th, 1862, Confederate artillery exploded into the advancing Union lines. • Across the cornfield, Stonewall Jacksons Corps advanced into Union cannon fire. The Union army retreated into the woods, both sides suffering large casualties. • Confederates took position along a farm road and held off Union advancement until the Union army was able to fire lengthwise down the road, Confederates retreated. • Action sparked again near a stone bridge over Antietam Creek held by 1 Georgia regiment. • Union lines finally pushed through and overpowered the Confederates, but quickly retreated when Confederate reinforcements arrived.

12. The Aftermath of War… • September 19th, Lee retreated across the Potomac River into Virginia. • Leaving the task of burying the dead to the people of the town of Sharpsburg and the Union army. • In this image, a man looks upon the grave of a buried Union soldier and the Confederate soldier is left unburied – indicating victory for the Union army. 6

13. Was Lee successful? • Did Lee accomplish the goals that he set for his advance through Maryland? • Using your primary source evidence, respond in paragraph form, offer your opinion of Lee’s success or failure.