Texans died in record numbers on Sep. 17, 1862 at the Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg, bloodiest of the Civil War.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Gen. Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland six days after winning the rematch at Bull Run. His objectives, endorsed by President Jefferson Davis, were to bring the border state into the Confederacy and the enemy, whose morale was at an all-time low, to the bargaining table.
The Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac on Sep. 5, 1862 and bivouacked two days later at Frederick. Believing he was safe from attack, Lee sent Stonewall Jackson southeast to Harpers Ferry, James Longstreet northwest to Boonsboro and D.H. Hill to the rear to protect the wagon and artillery trains.
However, rather than let the Bull Run losers leisurely lick their wounds, Major General George B. McClellan quickly whipped the sad sacks into fighting shape. Showing rare resolve, he marched on Maryland with an army 90,000 strong.
Following a minor run-in on Sep. 12 with the Rebel rear guard, a Union private found three cigars at a vacant campsite. Wrapped around the stogies was a copy of Lee’s secret order splitting his forces, a chance discovery that caused “Little Mac” to rejoice, “Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home.”
But his usual caution canceled McClellan’s advantage. He jumped to the incorrect conclusion that Longstreet had returned, when in reality he did not arrive until the night of the 14th. While his opponent procrastinated, Lee regrouped near the town of Sharpsburg west of Antietam Creek.
At sunrise on the 17th, thirty thousand Grays faced twice as many Blues along a three-mile front. (Lee would utilize his 15,000 reserves, but miserly McClellan insisted upon saving a third of his troops for a rainy day.) An artillery overture preceded a charge by northern foot soldiers, whose ranks were rapidly thinned by southern sharpshooters.
At half past six, North Carolinians, Mississippians and Alabamans screaming at the top of their lungs rushed forward to meet the Union wave in a cornfield. Hot on their heels was the Texas Brigade made up of the First, Fourth and Fifth Texas regiments plus the 18th Georgia infantry and Wade Hampton’s South Carolina Legion.
Halfway through the sea of swaying stalks, the leading Dixie defenders came to a sudden and unexpected halt. The Fourth Texas regiment would have overrun the 11th Mississippi had not Lt. Col. B.F. Carter ordered everybody to hit the dirt. Lt. Col. W.H. Sellers directed the Fifth Texas to do the same, and both officers instructed their men to hold their fire pending positive identification of their targets.
Meanwhile, the First Texas, 18th Georgia and Hampton’s Legion raced through the clover below the cornfield. Shooting on the run, they drove the survivors of the Second and Sixth Wisconsin into the tall corn.
By seven o’clock, those Federals still alive had “scattered like quail.” Most units were in as bad or even worse shape than the 12th Massachusetts, which left 224 of its 325-man complement on the battlefield.
As the Confederate charge slowed to a crawl, Hampton’s Legion was surprised by a devastating volley. Brigadier General John Bell Hood sent the First Texas to the rescue, but Lt. Col. P.A. Work lost contact with his warriors as soon as they stepped into the corn.
On the opposite end of the field, a Union battery was primed for a point-blank barrage. When the last retreating Yankee scampered past, the four cannons roared in unison scoring a direct and deadly hit on the First Texas.
Fresh northern troops counterattacked in a reckless attempt to retake the cornfield. Battered but not beaten, the First Texas practically obliterated the Ninth Pennsylvania with a ferocious fusillade.
Although the Texans silenced the quartet of cannon which had done them such dire damage, they were under constant fire from three sides. The color bearer fell, and Work watched six comrades risk their lives for the beloved banner. The flag fluttered briefly over the corn before vanishing in the dense smoke, and a Massachusetts corporal later counted 13 dead Rebs within arm’s reach of the colors.
Lee thought long and hard about fighting a second round the next day but ultimately elected to withdraw much to the relief of his staff. As for McClellan, he was more than happy to let the Confederates make a clean and uncontested getaway.
When the bloodiest day of the Civil War was over, 12,410 Yankees and 11,172 Rebels were dead, wounded, captured or missing. The appalling 64 percent casualty rate for the Texas Brigade, double that of the Confederate contingent as a whole, was primarily the result of the record losses suffered by the First Texas.
Of the 226 Lone Star volunteers Lt. Col. Work led into the Maryland meat-grinder, only 40 emerged unscathed. The 82 percent casualty rate of the First Texas at Antietam/Sharpsburg was the highest of any regiment North or South in the entire war.
Did you ever get around to buying your signed copy of “Texas Boomtowns: A History of Blood and Oil”? Don’t put it off! Order today with a check for $28.80 to Bartee Haile, P.O. Box 152, Friendswood, TX 77549 or on-line at barteehaile.com
