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Historian's Article for September 2006

General Joseph Mansfield

Battle of Antietam – September 17, 1862

by Alan M. Robinson, P.M., Historian

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, used with permission.

 144 years ago this month, General Robert E. Lee led 40,000 of his men onto Northern soil at Sharpsburg, Maryland.  The Confederate Army was met there by the 87,000-man Federal Army of the Potomac under the command of General George B. McClellan.  History records the resulting Battle of Antietam as the first major Civil War engagement on Northern soil; it also identifies the date – September 17, 1862, as the bloodiest single day battle in American history.

Fresh off a great victory at Manassas, Virginia, Gen. Lee moved his Army north into Maryland.  Gen. McClellan closely followed the Confederate movements.   As a result of great fortune, Gen. McClellan was able to learn of Gen. Lee’s plans when he got his hands on a copy of the Confederate Battle Plans and Gen. Lee’s General Order No. 191. 

By September 12, Gen. Lee was at the passes of South Mountain.  He attempted to block Gen. McClellan’s advance at Turner's, Fox's, and Crampton's Gaps, but because he was shorthanded, having dispatched troops under General “Stonewall” Jackson to capture Harpers Ferry, he could only hold the Northern army back temporarily.  On September 15, Gen. McClellan broke through and by afternoon on that day, both armies had established battle lines west and east of Antietam Creek

On the morning of September 16, Gen. Jackson returned to Sharpsburg having secured the largest surrender of Federal troops in the Civil War at Harpers Ferry.  Gen. Lee, now with his full compliment of men in position, prepared for battle.

Early in the morning on September 17, the Battle of Antietam began.  Union Army troops under General Joseph Hooker attacked with artillery against Gen. Jackson’s position.  Gen. Hooker’s men made great advances even though they too were under great fire and suffered many casualties.  Within the hour, Gen. Jackson received reinforcements and drove back Gen. Hooker.  Around 8:00 am, Union General Joseph Mansfield and his men counterattacked, and by 9:00 am, the North had regained the upper hand on Gen. Jackson.

Later in the morning, some of Gen. Mansfield’s men were surrounded and General John Sedgwick came to the rescue.  Confederate troops struck Sedgwick's men on both flanks, inflicting huge casualties

During the battle so far, Union troops were advancing in column formation.  To help reduce the number of casualties from the incoming artillery, the Officers ordered their men to deploy into open battle lines.  Gen. Mansfield countermanded those orders, insisting that the men stay in column.  It seems that he was concerned that outside of the immediate control of their Officers, the men would break and run.  Gen. Mansfield’s order turned out to be correct and it improved the force that descended on the Confederate lines.

Gen. Mansfield led the troops on his left flank and returned to the rear to bring up more troops.  When he reached the battle line he saw soldiers from the 10th Maine Infantry firing into the woods.  Assuming that men from Hooker's corps were in the woods, he rode down the regimental line to tell them to cease fire.  The soldiers convinced Gen. Mansfield that Confederate soldiers were indeed firing on them from the woods.  Convinced, he pulled back and just then his horse was hit by enemy fire.  Shortly after, he also took a bullet to the stomach.  Although badly wounded, he was able to dismount and lead his horse to the rear before he collapsed.  He was taken to a field hospital at the George Line farm, where he died the next morning.

At 1:00 pm, the Federals crossed the Burnside Bridge over the Antietam Creek and after a couple hours of reforming their lines, continued to advance against the Confederacy.  By late afternoon they had driven Gen. Lee back to Sharpsburg and threatened to cut off his line of retreat.  At about 4:00 pm, Confederate General Hill who had finished the job at Harpers Ferry arrived on the battlefield and immediately entered the fight.  With his fresh troops, the Union Army was pushed back to the bridge at Antietam Creek.  With the onset of darkness, the Battle of Antietam was over.  The next day Gen. Lee began withdrawing his army across the Potomac River

As I mentioned before, this was a bloody battle.  More men were killed or wounded at Antietam on September 17, 1862, than on any other single day of the Civil War!  Federal losses were 12,410, Confederate losses 10,700.

So, who won the battle?  Actually, neither side gained a decisive victory although Gen. Lee's failure to carry the war effort effectively into the North caused Great Britain to postpone recognition of the Confederate government.  The battle gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which, on January 1, 1863, declared free all slaves in States still in rebellion against the United States.  The Battle of Antietam was a turning point that changed the entire course of the Civil War and sealed the fate of the Confederacy.  That’s pretty important, wouldn’t you say?

So, how is this related to our Lodge?  Well, do you remember General Mansfield from the battlefield? Joseph Mansfield was born in New Haven, Connecticut on December 22, 1803.  He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated 2^nd in his Class in 1822.  He was a career Army Officer and civil engineer.  He fought in the Mexican-American War and later served as Inspector General of the U.S. Army.  Two days before the Battle of Antietam, with 40 years of experience behind him, he was placed in charge of the 12^th Corp of the Army of the Potomac.  He had long white hair and a thick white beard and was quite vigorous for a man of his years. His Officers didn’t particularly care for him but his men liked him and showed him great respect.  As you now know, he took a bullet to the stomach during the Battle of Antietam and died of his wounds the next day on September 18, 1862.  He is buried in Indian Hill Cemetery, Middleton, Connecticut.

Brother Joseph King Fenno Mansfield, hero of one of the most important battles in American History, was raised in St. John’s Lodge, No. 1, in Portsmouth on August 23, 1836.