Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam /ænˈtiːtəm/, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South, fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of dead, wounded, and missing at 22,717.

After pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee into Maryland, Union Army Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan launched attacks against Lee's army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Miller's Cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church. Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. In the afternoon, Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside's corps entered the action, capturing a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and advancing against the Confederate right. At a crucial moment, Confederate Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack, driving back Burnside and ending the battle. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, while removing his battered army south of the Potomac River.

Antietam (disambiguation)

Antietam /ænˈtiːtəm/ may refer to:

Places

Battle of Antietam, a major American Civil War battle

Antietam National Battlefield, an American national park
Maryland Campaign, also known as the Antietam Campaign, an American Civil War invasion

Antietam National Battlefield, an American national park

Maryland Campaign, also known as the Antietam Campaign, an American Civil War invasion

Antietam Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River in Pennsylvania and Maryland; source name for the battle

Antietam, Maryland, an unincorporated community four miles south of the battlefield

Antietam Iron Furnace Site and Antietam Village, listed on the NRHP in Maryland

Antietam Iron Furnace Site and Antietam Village, listed on the NRHP in Maryland

Antietam Hall, listed on the NRHP in Maryland

Antietam Creek (Schuylkill River), a tributary of the Schuylkill River

Antietam Lake, a reservoir in Berks County

Other

Antietam (band), US indie rock band

USS Antietam, three US Navy ships

Battleground 5: Antietam, a strategy computer game

USS Antietam (CG-54)

USS Antietam (CG-54) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy. Antietam was named for the site of the 1862 Battle of Antietam, Maryland, between Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee and Union forces under Major General George McClellan, during the American Civil War. She was built by the Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi and commissioned on 6 June 1987. USS Antietam earned the 2007 and 2008 Battle Efficiency awards, also known as the Battle E award, for the USS John C. Stennis Strike Group.

Construction

The USS Antietam was laid down by the Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation at Pascagoula, Mississippi on 15 November 1984, launched on 14 February 1986, and commissioned on 6 June 1987 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Capability

With her guided missiles and rapid-fire guns, she is capable of facing and defeating threats in the air, on the sea, on the shore, and beneath the sea. She also carries two Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS helicopters, capable of multiple missions, but primarily equipped for anti-submarine warfare [ASW].