Antietam.CHARACTERS Confederate General Robert E. Lee Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall stone·wall v. stone·walled, stone·wall·ing, stone·walls v.intr. 1. Informal a. " Jackson Union General George B. McClellan For the 1960s commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, see . For the mayor of New York City, see . George Brinton McClellan (December 3 1826 – October 29 1885) was a major general during the American Civil War. Union General Joseph Hooker Union Captain Oliver Wendell Holmes Phillip Pry Elizabeth Pry William Roulette Margaret Roulette Clara Barton Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912), better known as Clara Barton, was a pioneer American teacher, nurse, and humanitarian. She has been described as having had an "indomitable spirit" and is best remembered for organizing the American Mary Galloway * Union soldier 1, 2 * Confederate soldier 1, 2 Narrators A-F Names in red are leading roles. Starred characters are fictitious. Introduction During the Civil War (1861-1865), the U.S. was bitterly divided between North and South. The South, or Confederacy Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union. , fought to preserve states' rights states' rights, in U.S. history, doctrine based on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. , slavery, and an agricultural way of life. The Northern states entered the war to save the Union and end slavery. More than 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War, the bloodiest clash in U.S. history. On September 4, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland. The South hoped a victory in Union territory would lead to diplomatic (political) recognition from Britain and France. President Abraham Lincoln ordered Union General George McClellan George McClellan may refer to either of the following:
During the American Civil War, the Battle of Antietam (or Battle of Sharpsburg) was fought on what is now Antietam National . What happened during the bloodiest battle of the AMERICAN CIVIL WAR American Civil War or Civil War or War Between the States (1861–65) Conflict between the U.S. federal government and 11 Southern states that fought to secede from the Union. ? SCENE 1 Union and Confederate camps near Antietam Creek Antietam Creek is a tributary of the Potomac River located in south central Pennsylvania and western Maryland in the United States, a region known as Hagerstown Valley. The creek became famous as a focal point of the Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War. , Sept. 16, 1862, 9:30 p.m. Narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. A: A light rain falls on the Union and Confederate soldiers stationed in areas surrounding Antietam Creek and the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. Officers order soldiers to speak in whispers. They also ban campfires so as not to tip off the enemy to their locations. Many soldiers dream of a safe return home. One Union officer writes a letter to his parents. Capt. Oliver Wendell Holmes (reading aloud as he writes): I don't write of serious matters, for you know all my last words Last words are a person's final words before death. For a list of well known last words, see or use the link at right. Last words may refer to:
Union soldier I: Don't forget to save some paper for yourself, Captain. Holmes: What do you mean? Union soldier I: Some of the men are pinning their names and hometowns on their uniforms. They say it'll make it easier to identify their bodies in case they die tomorrow. I think that'll only bring bad luck. Holmes: Anything that can bring added peace of mind is fine with me. Narrator A: The next day, Holmes will be shot in the neck while fighting near Dunker Church. But he will survive and become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice years later. Meanwhile, at a Confederate camp, two soldiers ponder the upcoming battle. Confederate soldier 1: How many Yanks are out there? Confederate soldier 2: I'd reckon the Yanks have twice the number of our troops. I wonder why General Lee ordered General Hill's men over to Harper's Ferry Noun 1. Harper's Ferry - a small town in northeastern West Virginia that was the site of a raid in 1859 by the abolitionist John Brown and his followers who captured an arsenal that was located there Harpers Ferry [then a part of Virginia]. We can use all the soldiers we can get. Soldier 1: I'll tell you what I can use. How about some boots The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. and a new uniform! I've been barefoot and ragged for months. How can we win this war if we don't even have the proper gear? Soldier 2: Keep your voice down! You'll give away our position. Do you have any more coffee grounds coffee grounds a term used to describe vomited blood. See hematemesis. ? Soldier 1: We can't build a campfire. Soldier 2: I know. I'm going to mix some grounds with sugar and eat them. We haven't had food in days. If I'm to die tomorrow, then at least I won't die hungry. SCENE 2 Miller's Cornfield, Sept. 17, 6 a.m. Narrator B: Union General Joseph Hooker and his men charge toward General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and the Confederates in a cornfield near Dunker Church. Gen. Stonewall Jackson: Don't fire until the Yankees are in range. Shoot low! Make every bullet count! Narrator B: Confederate rifles open fire. Screams from the dying and wounded fill the air. Waves of Union soldiers continue forward. Gen. Joseph Hooker: Charge, men! Major, aim those cannons at the cornfield yonder yon·der adv. In or at that indicated place: the house over yonder. adj. Being at an indicated distance, usually within sight: "Yonder hills," he said, pointing. . I see the glint of Rebel bayonets among the stalks. Narrator B: Cannon blasts send dirt, corn, and mangled bodies skyward sky·ward adv. & adj. At or toward the sky. sky  wards adv. as Jackson's troops suffer heavy losses. Union forces overrun a key area near the church. But a sudden charge of Confederate reinforcements stops Hooker's advance. Gen. Jackson: Those cowardly Yanks are retreating! Narrator B: After three hours of fighting, 10,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lie dead or wounded. Neither side gains control of the church. SCENE 3 The Pry house, Sept. 17, 8:15 a.m. Narrator C: Union General George McClellan seizes Phillip Pry's property and sets up his headquarters in the family's brick farmhouse. Phillip Pry: Elizabeth, calm down. We're in the middle of a war! Elizabeth Pry (angrily):That General will have a fiercer war with me. Our parlor chairs are in his rent! Phillip: You worry about chairs! What about my ruined crops? Narrator C: Outside the Pry home, a wounded General Hooker arrives in a horse-drawn ambulance. Gen. McClellan: What happened? Gen. Hooker: Shot in the foot, sir. Nothing serious. McClellan: OK, go get treated. Narrator C: McClellan orders the Pry family to flee. All but Phillip evacuate. The Pry house is then used as a hospital, with more than 8,000 Union troops camped in the fields. SCENE 4 Sunken Road Not to be confused with sunken lane. A sunken road is a type of obstacle found on the cross-country course of an eventing competition. It is a combination type fence involving banks and rails. , Sept. 17, 11:45 a.m. Narrator D: The battle shifts to a road near the Roulette farm. Over the years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time road has been worn down by wagons and rain. William and Margaret Roulette and their children watch the fighting from the cellar of their house. William Roulette: Margaret, let's block the door with these pickle barrels. Margaret Roulette: Those cannons have shattered my nerves. I hope well be safe here. Narrator D: Confederate soldiers barge into the cellar to hide. William: Children, run for cover! Margaret: Oh mercy, they'll kill us all! Narrator D: The Roulettes are unharmed, but the fighting intensifies. Rebel forces beat back four Union attacks. Suddenly, a stray cannonball levels a nearby shack. William: They've ruined my bee farm! Margaret: Oh dear, those bees are now stinging the poor Union soldiers. William: Darn those Rebels! They tore down our fences. I must get out there. Narrator D: William emerges and cheers the Union troops. William: That's it, boys! Drive those Rebels out of here! Narrator D: By 1 p.m., Union forces break through the Confederate line. The dead and wounded are lying in the trenches. The two sides suffer a total of 5,600 casualties on what will become known as "Bloody Lane." SCENE 5 On the battlefield, Sept. 17, 2:30 p.m. Narrator E: After driving her carriage all night from Washington, D.C., Clara Barton, a former Patent Office clerk, arrives at the battlefield. She quickly goes to work nursing wounded soldiers. Supplies are limited, with surgeons using cornhusks to dress wounds. Amid the gunfire and artillery explosions, Barton cradles a fallen Union soldier. Clara Barton: Here, take this water. Union soldier 2: Thank you, nurse. Narrator E: Barton feels a slight quiver. Looking down she sees that a bullet has pierced her sleeve. The soldier slumps in her arms. The bullet that narrowly missed Barton has struck and killed him. She moves on to the next wounded soldier. Clara: Let me bandage your neck. That looks like a serious puncture. Narrator E: Barton soon realizes that she is treating a woman. Clara: What is this foolishness? Mary Galloway: Forgive my false appearance. I'm searching for my husband, Harry Barnard. Clara: How did you get here? Mary: Harry and I live nearby. After his unit was called here, I put on this uniform and followed him. Please let me continue my search. Clara: No, I will not permit such recklessness. Rest here. Narrator E: Barton works without sleep for three days, comforting the wounded and assisting Army surgeons. Because of her bravery and kindness, she will become known as "The Angel of the Battlefield." SCENE 6 Lee's field headquarters west of Sharpsburg, Sept. 17, 4:30 p.m. Narrator F: After hours Adv. 1. after hours - not during regular hours; "he often worked after hours" of fighting, Union General Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator. and his men cross Rohrbach Bridge near Sharpsburg. The attack threatens to cut off the only escape route for Confederate troops. Gen. Robert E. Lee: Our army is being destroyed. If McClellan releases his reserves, we'll be doomed. Narrator F: Lee turns away and notices a trail of dust approaching Sharpsburg from the west. Lee: Who are those men? (Looking through his telescope) Why those are Confederate flags! It must be General Hill from Harper's Ferry! He has 5,000 men with him. Fortune has saved us to fight another day. Narrator F: Hill's division has marched 17 miles in eight hours. The Confederates push Burnside's men back to the banks of the Antietam. General McClellan, fearful of another surprise attack, never releases his reserve unit. He allows the Confederates to retreat. AFTERWORD The battle proved to be the bloodiest in U.S. history. More than 23,000 soldiers were killed or wounded, with neither side achieving a military victory. But McClellan was considered the winner since Lee failed to con quer Northern territory. After the battle, Britain and France decided not to support the Confederacy. The Union victory also enabled President Lincoln to issue a Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation, in U.S. history, the executive order abolishing slavery in the Confederate States of America. Desire for Such a Proclamation . He declared that all slaves would be free in the Confederate states as of January 1, 1863. Phillip Pry never recovered financially from the battle. The Roulette family also suffered heavy losses, and more than 700 soldiers were buried in their backyard. As for Clara Barton, she went on to found the American Red Cross American Red Cross: see Red Cross. . CIVIL WAR TIME LINE December 1860 Weeks after Abraham Lincoln's election as the 16th U.S. President, South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. secedes from the Union in protest. Other Southern states will follow South Carolina's example. February 1861 South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. form the Confederate States of America Confederate States of America: see Confederacy. Confederate States of America or Confederacy Government of the 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union in 1860–61 until its defeat in the American Civil War in 1865. . April 12, 1862 Confederate forces attack Fort Sumter, a U.S. post in Charleston, South Carolina, beginning the Civil War. August 29-30, 1862 Gen, Robert E. Lee leads Southern troops to victory at the Second Baffle of Bull Run. September 22, 1862 After the Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (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 , President Lincoln issues a Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation that declares black slaves in Confederate states free by January 1, 1863, July 1-3, 1863 The Battle of Gettysburg Noun 1. Battle of Gettysburg - a battle of the American Civil War (1863); the defeat of Robert E. Lee's invading Confederate Army was a major victory for the Union Gettysburg ends in defeat for the Southern side, The Confederates suffer heavy losses, and Gen. Lee will never again have the troop strength to launch a major attack. April 9, 1865 Gen. Lee (right) surrenders his Confederate Army to Gen. Grant at the Appomattox Court House Appomattox Court House Former town, southern central Virginia, U.S., site of the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War. in Virginia, The war ends. Five days later, President Lincoln is assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. . write it! Imagine you are a soldier who survived Antietam. In a letter home, describe the battle and tell whether you think the war is justified. Think About it How were local families affected by the Battle of Antietam? LESSON PLANS OBJECTIVE Students should understand * The Battle of Antietam took place near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September,17, 1862, and was the bloodiest single-day military battle in American history. TEACHING STRATEGY Ask students to list the reasons why the North and South fought the Civil War. Have student compare both lists and discuss each side's rationale. BACKGROUND Historians argue that the Emancipation Proclamation had little immediate practical effect. The act primarily served as a symbol of Lincoln's commitment to end slavery once the war ended. THINKING SKILLS MAKING CONNECTIONS: How did the Battle of Antietam disrupt the lives of the civilian population near Sharpsburg? (Some of the fighting took place on the properties of several residents. Philip Pry's home was seized by Union troops, and his family was forced to evacuate. William Roulette's farm became a graveyard for more than 700 soldiers.) NOTING DETAILS: What did Mary Galloway and Clara Barton do during the battle? (Mary Galloway posed as a Union soldier while looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. her husband. She suffered a wound to her neck and was treated by Clara Barton, who had volunteered as a nurse.) ACTIVITY TURNING POINT: The Battle of Antietam is considered a key turning point of the Civil War. For this exercise, divide students into two groups, one representing the Union forces at Antietam, the other the Confederates. Have each group identify its primary goals in the battle, and trace the fate of its soldiers during the fighting. Then have the groups answer these questions: Which side best achieved its goals? What might the long-term consequences of this battle have been if the other side had won? STANDARDS SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8 * Time, continuity, and change:. How Union forces stopped the Confederate invasion of the North at the Baffle of Antietam in September 1862. * People, places, and the environment How the Battle of Antietam disrupted the lives of the residents of Sharpsburg, Maryland. RESOURCES * Ernst, Kathleen, Too Afraid to Cry: Maryland Civilians in the Antietam Campaign (Stackpole Books, 1999). Grades 5-8. * Dolan, Edward, American Civil War (MiUbrook Press, 1997). Grades 5-8. WEB SITES * U.S. Civil War The U.S. Civil War, also called the War between the States, was waged from April 1861 until April 1865. The war was precipitated by the secession of eleven Southern states during 1860 and 1861 and their formation of the Confederate States of America under President Jefferson Davis. www.pbs.org/civilwar * The Battle of Antietam www.nps.gov/anti/home.htm |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion