and drive the defenders from the road. Despite the chance to decisively break Lee’s line, McClellan failed to exploit his opportunity. The South held the line. By 1:00 p.m., 5,300 men had become casualties without changing the overall strategic position. Burnside’s Bridge In the final engagement, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s 9th Corps assaulted the Southern right flank in an attempt to seize a bridge crossing. The bridge, which would be later remembered as Burnside’s Bridge, was guarded by the 2nd and 20th Georgia regiments. Despite overwhelming odds, less than 400 Georgians held the bridge against repeated brigade assaults. Burnside stubbornly wasted men and time attempting to seize a bridge where the water was less than waist deep. The Georgians held Burnside off long enough to prevent envelopment of the flank and allow A. P. Hill’s division to arrive with reinforcements. In the ranks of the 23rd Ohio, which participated in Burnside’s attack, were two future presidents: Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes and Sgt. William McKinley. Aftermath Sharpsburg ended in a stalemate despite 23,000 casualties, among them Corporal Mitchell who had found General Order 191 four days earlier. One out of every four Union Soldiers and one third of Confederate Soldiers were casualties. The armies held their positions
through September 18. That evening, Lee quietly slipped away. McClellan did not pursue Lee for more than two weeks. Lincoln, enraged, would remove McClellan from command in November 1862. McClellan was replaced by General Burnside, whose luxurious facial hair gave us the term “sideburns.” Despite the inconclusive nature of the battle, Sharpsburg was the closest thing to victory the Union army had achieved in months. Lincoln moved swiftly and announced the emancipation of slaves held in Confederate states. The Emancipation Proclamation had the desired effect. Britain and France remained neutral throughout the war. Sharpsburg remains an illuminating study of command, both in the effective design of the defense and the ineffective use of concentration and massed effects on the offensive. Though he outnumbered Lee two to one, McClellan committed his forces piecemeal, allowing Lee to shift reinforcements to meet him. Given the opportunity to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia, McClellan demurred, and the best hope of an early end to the war slipped south across the Potomac. While Lee was in retreat in the East, a Confederate Army was advancing in the West. The next article will examine the Kentucky Campaign and the decisive Battle of Perryville. September 2012 | 10