1862 Antietam Campaign
Lee Invades Maryland
Fresh from the victory at the Second Battle of Manassas
General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River on September 1-6, 1862,
to bring the Civil War to Northern soil and to recruit sympathetic Marylanders. Union Gen. George B.
McClellan’s Army of the Potomac pursued Lee, who had detached Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s
force to capture the Union garrison at Harper's Ferry.
After the Federals pushed the remaining Confederates
out of the South Mountain gaps, Lee awaited Jack return near Sharpsburg and Antietam Creek.
On September 17, at the Battle of Antietam,
the two armies clashed in the bloodiest single day in
American history and suffered some 23,000 casualties. Lee soon retreated across the Potomac, ending his first invasion of the north.
Follow in the footsteps of Gens. Lee and
McClellan along Maryland Civil War Trail’s Antietam
Campaign: Lee Invades Maryland, a 90 mile tour
route that allows you to explore the stories of triumph and tragedy at more than 60 Civil War sites.
Please travel carefully as you enjoy the beauty and history along the trail.
Marker is on Loudoun Street SW, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
