Crossroads of Freedom: AntietamOxford University Press, 2002 M09 12 - 224 páginas The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in American history, with more than 6,000 soldiers killed--four times the number lost on D-Day, and twice the number killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks. In Crossroads of Freedom, America's most eminent Civil War historian, James M. McPherson, paints a masterful account of this pivotal battle, the events that led up to it, and its aftermath. As McPherson shows, by September 1862 the survival of the United States was in doubt. The Union had suffered a string of defeats, and Robert E. Lee's army was in Maryland, poised to threaten Washington. The British government was openly talking of recognizing the Confederacy and brokering a peace between North and South. Northern armies and voters were demoralized. And Lincoln had shelved his proposed edict of emancipation months before, waiting for a victory that had not come--that some thought would never come. Both Confederate and Union troops knew the war was at a crossroads, that they were marching toward a decisive battle. It came along the ridges and in the woods and cornfields between Antietam Creek and the Potomac River. Valor, misjudgment, and astonishing coincidence all played a role in the outcome. McPherson vividly describes a day of savage fighting in locales that became forever famous--The Cornfield, the Dunkard Church, the West Woods, and Bloody Lane. Lee's battered army escaped to fight another day, but Antietam was a critical victory for the Union. It restored morale in the North and kept Lincoln's party in control of Congress. It crushed Confederate hopes of British intervention. And it freed Lincoln to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation, which instantly changed the character of the war. McPherson brilliantly weaves these strands of diplomatic, political, and military history into a compact, swift-moving narrative that shows why America's bloodiest day is, indeed, a turning point in our history. |
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Página 4
... mile long or more. . . . Down in the corn field I saw a man with a hole in his belly about as big as a hat and about a quart of dark-looking maggots working away.”3 The most concentrated carnage took place in a sunken farm road in the ...
... mile long or more. . . . Down in the corn field I saw a man with a hole in his belly about as big as a hat and about a quart of dark-looking maggots working away.”3 The most concentrated carnage took place in a sunken farm road in the ...
Página 5
... miles in length, and nearly half a mile in width, the ground is strewn with . . . hats, caps, clothing, canteens, knapsacks, shells and shot.” Scattered around were “long mounds of earth, where, underneath, five thousand men, wrapped in ...
... miles in length, and nearly half a mile in width, the ground is strewn with . . . hats, caps, clothing, canteens, knapsacks, shells and shot.” Scattered around were “long mounds of earth, where, underneath, five thousand men, wrapped in ...
Página 11
... miles that constituted its national territory. To “win” the war that began with Confederate seizure of Fort Sumter, the South needed only to defend what it already possessed by repelling enemy invasions and wearing out the will of the ...
... miles that constituted its national territory. To “win” the war that began with Confederate seizure of Fort Sumter, the South needed only to defend what it already possessed by repelling enemy invasions and wearing out the will of the ...
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... miles from Washington, the honeymoon came to an end. McClellan's failings began to manifest themselves. He was a perfectionist in a profession where nothing could ever be perfect. His army was perpetually almost ready to move, but could ...
... miles from Washington, the honeymoon came to an end. McClellan's failings began to manifest themselves. He was a perfectionist in a profession where nothing could ever be perfect. His army was perpetually almost ready to move, but could ...
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... miles apart just south of the Kentucky–Tennessee border. Grasping the strategic importance of these forts, Grant planned a joint army–navy task force to capture them and open the rivers to Union gunboats. These new vessels were ...
... miles apart just south of the Kentucky–Tennessee border. Grasping the strategic importance of these forts, Grant planned a joint army–navy task force to capture them and open the rivers to Union gunboats. These new vessels were ...
Contenido
3 | |
11 | |
JuneJuly 1862 | 41 |
3 The Federals Got a Very Complete Smashing AugustSeptember 1862 | 73 |
4 Showdown at Sharpsburg | 97 |
5 The Beginning of the End | 133 |
NOTES | 157 |
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY | 185 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 191 |
INDEX | 193 |
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action Adams American Antietam army attack August battle Battlefield believed Britain British called Campaign cause cavalry Charles Civil Civil War commander Confederacy Confederate Congress Corps defeat defend Democrats Diary Dispatch division emancipation enemy entry fall fight fire force Foreign fought Francis freedom George Halleck Harpers Ferry Henry Hill hope issue Jackson James John Jones July June Kentucky later Lee’s Letters Library Lincoln lines look March Maryland Mason McClellan miles military months move never newspapers night North Northern notes officers orders Pope position Potomac president Proclamation quoted rebels recognition regiments reported Republicans retreat Richmond River Robert Second Secretary seemed Sept September Sharpsburg slavery slaves soldiers South Southern success took troops turn Union United victory Virginia vols Washington weeks whole wife World wounded wrote York