Battle of Antietam in the American Civil War

Battle of Antietam in the American Civil War The Battle of Antietam was fought September 17, 1862, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). In the wake of his stunning victory at the Second Battle of Manassas in late August 1862, General Robert E. Lee began moving north into Maryland with the goal of obtaining supplies and cutting the rail links to Washington. This move was endorsed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis who believed that a victory on Northern soil would increase the likelihood of recognition from Britain and France. Crossing the Potomac, Lee was slowly pursued by Major General George B. McClellan who had recently been reinstated to overall command of Union forces in the area. Armies Commanders Union Major General George B. McClellan87,000 men Confederate General Robert E. Lee45,000 men Battle of Antietam - Advancing to Contact Lees campaign was soon compromised when Union forces found a copy of Special Order 191 which laid out his movements and showed that his army was split into several smaller contingents. Written on September 9, a copy of the order was found at the Best Farm south of Frederick, MD by Corporal Barton W. Mitchell of the 27th Indiana Volunteers.   Addressed to Major General D.H. Hill, the document was wrapped around three cigars and caught Mitchells eye as it lay in the grass. Quickly passed up the Union chain of command and recognized as authentic, it soon arrived at McClellans headquarters.   Assessing the information, the Union commander commented, Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.   Despite the time-sensitive nature of the intelligence contained in Special Order 191, McClellan displayed his characteristic slowness and hesitated before acting on this critical information. While Confederate troops under Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson were capturing Harpers Ferry, McClellan pressed west and engaged Lees men in the passes through the mountains. In the resulting Battle of South Mountain on September 14, McClellans men attacked the out-numbered Confederate defenders at Foxs, Turners, and Cramptons Gaps.   Though the gaps were taken, fighting lasted through the day and bought time for Lee to order his army to reconcentrate at Sharpsburg. McClellans Plan Bringing his men together behind Antietam Creek, Lee was in a precarious position with the Potomac at his back and only Botelers Ford to the southwest at Shepherdstown as an escape route. On September 15, when the lead Union divisions were sighted, Lee only had 18,000 men at Sharpsburg. By that evening, much of the Union army had arrived. Though an immediate attack on September 16 likely would have overwhelmed the scrambling Lee, the ever-cautious McClellan, who believed Confederate forces to number around 100,000, did not begin probing the Confederate lines until late that afternoon. This delay allowed Lee to bring his army together, though some units were still en route. Based on the intelligence gathered on the 16th, McClellan decided to open the battle the next day by attacking from the north as this would allow his men to cross the creek at the undefended upper bridge. The assault was to be mounted by two corps with an additional two waiting in reserve. This attack would be supported by a diversionary attack by Major General Ambrose Burnsides IX Corps against the lower bridge south of Sharpsburg. Should the assaults proved successful, McClellan intended to attack with his reserves over the middle bridge against the Confederate center. Union intentions became clear on the evening of September 16, when Major General Joseph Hookers I Corps skirmished with Lees men in the East Woods north of town. As a result, Lee, who had placed Jacksons men on his left and Major General James Longstreets on the right, shifted troops to meet the anticipated threat (Map). The Fighting Begins in the North Around 5:30 AM on September 17, Hooker attacked down the Hagerstown Turnpike with the goal of capturing the Dunker Church, a small building on a plateau to the south. Encountering Jacksons men, brutal fighting began in the Miller Cornfield and the East Woods. A bloody stalemate ensued as the outnumbered Confederates held and mounted effective counterattacks. Adding Brigadier General Abner Doubledays division into the fight, Hookers troops began to push the enemy back. With Jacksons line near collapse, reinforcements arrived around 7:00 AM as Lee stripped his lines elsewhere of men. Counterattacking, they drove Hooker back and the Union troops were forced to cede the Cornfield and West Woods. Badly bloodied, Hooker called for aid from Major General Joseph K. Mansfields XII Corps. Advancing in columns of companies, XII Corps was hammered by Confederate artillery during their approach and Mansfield was mortally wounded by a sniper. With Brigadier General Alpheus Williams in command, XII Corps renewed the assault. While one division was halted by enemy fire, Brigadier General George S. Greenes men were able to break through and reach the Dunker Church (Map). While Greenes men came under heavy fire from the West Woods, Hooker was wounded as he tried to rally men to exploit the success. With no support arriving, Greene was forced to pull back. In an effort to force the situation above Sharpsburg, Major General Edwin V. Sumner was directed to contribute two divisions from his II Corps to the fight. Advancing with Major General John Sedgwicks division, Sumner lost contact with Brigadier General William Frenchs division before leading a rash attack into the West Woods. Quickly taken under fire on three sides, Sedgwicks men were forced to retreat (Map). Attacks in the Center By mid-day, fighting in the north quieted as Union forces held the East Woods and the Confederates the West Woods. Having lost Sumner, French spotted elements of Major General D.H. Hills division to the south. Though only numbering 2,500 men and tired from fighting earlier in the day, they were in a strong position along a sunken road. Around 9:30 AM, French began a series of three brigade-sized attacks on Hill. These failed in succession as Hills troops held. Sensing danger, Lee committed his final reserve division, led by Major General Richard H. Anderson, to the fight. A fourth Union assault saw the famed Irish Brigade storm forward with its green flags flying and Father William Corby shouting words of conditional absolution.   The stalemate was finally broken when elements of Brigadier General John C. Caldwells brigade succeeded in turning the Confederate right. Taking a knoll that overlooked the road, Union soldiers were able to fire down the Confederate lines and force the defenders to retreat. A brief Union pursuit was halted by Confederate counterattacks. As the scene quieted around 1:00 PM, a great gap had been opened in Lees lines. McClellan, believing that Lee had over 100,000 men, repeatedly refused to commit the over 25,000 men he had in reserve to exploiting the breakthrough despite the fact that Major General William Franklins VI Corps was in position. As a result, the opportunity was lost (Map). Blundering in the South In the south, Burnside, angered by command rearrangements, did not begin moving until around 10:30 AM. As a result, many of the Confederate troops that had originally been facing him were withdrawn to block the other Union attacks. Tasked with crossing the Antietam to support Hookers actions, Burnside was in position to cut off Lees retreat route to Botelers Ford. Ignoring the fact that the creek was fordable at several points, he focused on taking Rohrbachs Bridge while dispatching additional troops downstream to Snavelys Ford (Map) Defended by 400 men and two artillery batteries atop a bluff on the western shore, the bridge became Burnsides fixation as repeated attempts to storm it failed. Finally taken around 1:00 PM, the bridge became a bottleneck which slowed Burnside advance for two hours. The repeated delays permitted Lee to shift troops south to meet the threat. They were supported by the arrival of Major General A.P. Hills division from Harpers Ferry. Attacking Burnside, they shattered his flank. Though possessing greater numbers, Burnside lost his nerve and fell back to the bridge. By 5:30 PM, the fighting had ended. Aftermath of the Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest single day in American military history. Union losses numbered 2,108 killed, 9,540 wounded, and 753 captured/missing while the Confederates suffered 1,546 killed, 7,752 wounded, and 1,018 captured/missing. The next day Lee prepared for another Union attack, but McClellan, still believing he was out-numbered did nothing. Eager to escape, Lee crossed the Potomac back into Virginia. A strategic victory, Antietam allowed President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation  which freed slaves in Confederate territory. Remaining idle at Antietam until late October, despite requests from the War Department to pursue Lee, McClellan was removed command on November 5 and replaced by Burnside two days later. Selected Sources CWSAC Battle Summaries: AntietamAntietam on the Web

Has globalization transformed the pattern of global poverty and Essay

Has globalization transformed the pattern of global poverty and inequality In what ways - Essay Example Based on the assumption that comparative advantage of nations can offer countries an advantage over others, open markets and liberal trade can result into improved trade as well as capital flows and thus help improve the poverty and achieve economic prosperity. It is generally argued that Globalisation can reduce poverty if nations follow the open liberal policies and focus upon achieving sustained level of trade with developed countries. However, considering the inherent differences between developed as well as developing countries, it is also suggested that whether the distribution of flows generated as a result of Globalisation is fair or not. Inequality is also considered as another important issue regarding Globalisation (Moseley and Gray, 2008). This paper will argue and discuss as to whether Globalisation has actually resulted into transformation of poverty patterns and inequality and if yes, in what ways it achieved both the ends. Globalisation, Poverty and Inequality Globali sation is a relatively diverse term as it not only suggests an integration of ideas, products and economic flows but also signifies an integration of the culture also. ... Globalisation essentially suggests that poor as well as rich countries can actually trade with each other as poor or developing countries are considered as abundant in raw materials as well as cheap labor. Large global organizations, due to their sheer size as well as the improved communication and transportation infrastructure, can actually establish their manufacturing facilities in developing countries and subsequently transport back the finished goods to their own parent countries for subsequent sale. The overall economic logic is based upon the assumption that developing countries not only have the cheap and abundant raw materials but also have the cheap labor. Combining this two, it is assumed that it becomes relatively more cost effective for the global organizations to actually trade with poor countries (Goldin and Reinert, 2007). Poor countries on the other hand allow developed countries to enter into their countries with the assumption that such trade will generate employme nt, improve the level of skills of their workforce and will also result into transfer of technology to them. Apparently, Globalisation promises an equal access to the market for everyone, improve capital flows and ensure development and transfer of technology however, the actual results may suggest a widespread economic divergence between the developed as well as developing countries since the Globalisation forces started to dominate the economic policy making in countries (Kaplinsky, 2005). The overall evidence regarding the impact of Globalisation on poverty as well as inequality is relatively diverse in nature. There are two important cases in point which suggest that

Restoring Toyotas Reputation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Restoring Toyotas Reputation - Essay Example The blow based on reputation was very damaging (Costea 2010). The first thing Toyota should have done is to clarify any point that the consumer needed to know more about the problem that had caused the recalling of cars. Toyota actually did this right as good management would do. They came up with a way to confront the criticism put forward and to respond to any questions and points that needed clarification to the consumer. Their strategy to handle all the inquisitions was through social media using Social Digs, Twitter and Facebook (Toyota 2009). The next step would be to immediately identify where they had gone wrong during the production that affected the quality of the final product. Somewhere along the line of production an error must have occurred to cause the problem that would come to affect the quality and thus damage the reputation of Toyota (Ohnsman and Kitamura 2010). After performing this review and identifying where the production had gone wrong, they should have mende d that loophole. The better way of dealing with this was for the management to change the system of reviewing quality in cars. This would build some confidence and form assurance of a proper method of evaluating quality to the consumers who have become distrustful of the current method of checking for quality. If the management changes the evaluation system and makes this public, they will reassure the public of good quality and in turn revive their reputation (Anon, 2010). The Toyota management should also try to make policies that consider the customer’s point of view in their implementation. They should not make cars with the quality that they feel they need to be producing, but they should make cars with the quality standards that their customers need in a car, making the production be all about what the customer needs. There was a lot of speculation on the cause of the acceleration in the Toyota cars. Some of the critics even cited a ridiculous claim such as electric fau lts in the cars (Kaufman 2010). The management should thus have fit the Toyota cars with an event data recorder that would record all the data a car outputs, and thus the cause of the problem would have been quickly identified, hence avoiding speculation from critics that would be more damaging to the product. The company should also have set up regional technical offices to help evaluate the cars needed to recall. In 2009, they had to recall entire shipments of cars. There was no evaluation on the status of the car regionally, which led to massive recalling. Analysis at a regional level would have reduced the number of cars being taken back to the company greatly by solving some of the technical issues regionally. The Toyota has raised its reputation since the 2009 crisis, and it was rated at number 74 as of 2012 (Davis 2012). Coming up with a new managerial structure that is set to achieve proper marketing of the product will see them get their competitive edge back and rise to th e level they were before. One such structure is the organisation of the TNGA planning division that will see the company realise the Toyota Global Vision (Toyota 2013). To sustain Toyota’s competitive advantage, they have come up with a Kaizen approach in lean production. The Kaizen approach involves continual development and implementation of new better changes in its method of production. It brings in team effort and the opinion of each team player is considered and evaluated on the improvement in the production system. This system has great improvement in the

What are the key causes and effects of world population growth Essay

What are the key causes and effects of world population growth - Essay Example Today World Population is equal to 7.289 billion people. This is a significant increase compared to the years 10Â  000Â  BC (when population was estimated to be in the range of 1-10 million people) and 1Â  AD (when population was estimated to be in the range of 170-400 million people). The main checkpoint years of population growth for the past 2Â  000 years are: 1804 (population reached 1 billion people), 1927 (2 billion), 1960 (3 billion), 1974 (4 billion), 1987 (5 billion), 1999 (6 billion), 2012 (7 billion) (Current World Population 2015, World Population. Historical Estimates of World Population 2013, Population growth (annual %)) n.d.). The average growing rate of population is almost 1.15% per year, the highest rate of 2-2.2% was observed in 1960s. 60% of population live in Asia, 15.5% - in Africa, 10.4% - in Europe, 8.6% - in Latin America and Caribbean islands, 5% - in Northern America, 0.5% - in Oceania (Current World Population 2015). Population growth is caused by different factors. One of the first and most significant factors is decrease of death rates, which is accompanied with increase of birth rates (Overpopulation n.d.). According to (Current World Population 2015) todays ratio of deaths and births is approximately 1:2.4. Ability of people to take care of themselves and provide themselves and their children with food and nutrients led to constant increase of population. Improved medical treatment and facilities contribute to decrease of death rates and thus to increase of the world population. Medical research and improvements made new medicine and treatment available to population, decreased the number of epidemics due to created vaccines, made some of the fatal in the past diseases easily cured today (Overpopulation n.d.). Another cause of world population growth, which is related to medical research, but should be examined separately from improved medical treatment, is advances in sterility, fertility and

Government is Best which Governs Least :: essays papers

Government is Best which Governs Least I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe--"That government is best which governs not at all"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which the will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure. This American government--what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves. But it is not the less necessary for this; for the people must have some complicated machinery or other, and hear its din, to satisfy that idea of government which they have. Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed upon, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage. It is excellent, we must all allow. Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way. For government is an expedient, by which men would fain succeed in letting one another alone; and, as has been said, when it is most expedient, the governed are most let alone by it.

Persian Society: 1673-1677 Essay

Jean Chardin was a well-educated son of a French jeweler. Chardin was a well-known European traveler of Persia in 17th century who produced substantial literature on Persian society. In his book Travel to Persia, Chardin describes the Persians as those who spend their money without care as soon they get it with no thought spared to their future needs. As soon as they lay their hands on some money, they either buy slaves, hire wives, set up a well-equipped carriage, furnish a house extravagantly and/or dress sumptuously (185). The Persians are characterized as kind, generous, and helpful to strangers, abhor fighting and worship Gods name. They are vigilant about the education of their children, they send their children twice a day to school and after school they keep them involved in their business and profession. They keep eunuchs to monitor their children strictly, not allowing them to go out on streets and to meet the relatives only with a eunuch serving as chaperone. At the age of sixteen, they marry their children off and do not allow them travel before they turn twenty (188-189). Chardin further elaborates that Persian men visit young women if their wives are over thirty and their wives, if they become pregnant early, get their fetus’ aborted because of fear of waning interest of their husbands. This situation did result in a decrease in their population. They are very civilized people but their behavior also encompasses negative characteristics too such as use of coarse and vulgar language, cheating, lying and frequently breaking promises (129-130). According to Chardin, â€Å"They are not to be trusted in service, nor in all other engagements† (187). Thus Chardin has depicted the conflicting character of Persian society in his book by stating that, â€Å"Whoever sees them only passing by, or in a visit, will always give them the best character in the world, but he that deals with them and pries into their affairs will find that there is little honesty in them† (188).

Analysis and Reaction of Red Leaves Falling - 1089 Words

**The story tells us on how we should take action and not be paralyzed on our fears. (#2,5,7,13) Ruby’s character is still in the process of developing self-confidence and recognizing talents and interest, that is why school is important to her. Her trying to take an exam despite her mother insisting on taking care of her siblings is a sign of taking a stand on what she believes and being competent, even if it means rebelling (in her mother’s eyes). She aims to do good both at home and in school and if she do it well, praises will be given which will help boost her confidence and develop a feeling of competence if otherwise will result to doubt and feelings of inferiority. Ruby has 4 other siblings, Dawn being the second child, followed by the 2 boys, and Bunso, who was the sick one. Ruby as a first born child act as a surrogate for her parents. 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