Scott Hanko
Lower Bridge
Spanning Antietam Creek on the southern portion of the battlefield, the 12-foot-wide by 125-foot-long granite and limestone structure was known at the time as either the Rohrbach or Lower Bridge. It was here that 400 Georgians held the Union IX Corps at bay for several critical hours—hours that quite possibly altered the outcome of the battle. Having crossed the bridge the IX Corps, after yet another lengthy delay, finally seemed ready to turn the Army of Northern Virginia's right flank. This effort to get behind Lee's army and cut off the latter's line of retreat — a potential death blow — was, however, blunted by the opportune arrival of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's Division from Harper's Ferry.
Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, in nominal command of the Army of the Potomac's Right Wing during the battle, was charged with the overall responsibility of the operation. The controversy does not deal as much with Burnside's lackluster performance that day as it does the time at which he is supposed to have received his orders from the army's commanding general, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, "to carry the bridge, then to gain possession of the heights beyond."1 In his report dated September 30, 1862, Burnside stated that he received the order to begin his attack at 10 a.m.2 McClellan, in his official report written the following August, was emphatic that he had sent the order to Burnside at 8 a.m.—thereby implying that Burnside should have received it much earlier.3 That critical two-hour time span has been hotly debated ever since.
Some historians maintain that by claiming an order was issued at 8 a.m., McClellan had hoped to add to the five hours it supposedly had taken Burnside to launch his offensive.4 (After finally taking the bridge at about 1 p.m., the IX Corps came to an abrupt halt on the opposite side of the creek and did not begin its attack on "the heights beyond" until 3. The five hours in question are those spanning the period 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.). The theory is that, in doing so, McClellan was attempting to transfer the blame for the failure to defeat the Rebel army that day onto Burnside's shoulders. Some experts argue that the historical record settles the matter and that the order could not have reached Burnside any earlier than 10 a.m.5 In truth, the record overwhelmingly proves that the order which prompted Burnside to advance reached him closer to 9 a.m.—not 10 a.m., as he stated. Moreover, there is good reason to believe that McClellan's claim of having issued an 8 a.m. order might not be as far-fetched as some have argued.
The Historical Record
All parties agree on one point at least: At about 7 a.m. on the 17th, Burnside received an order from McClellan to advance the IX Corps to a ridge overlooking Antietam Creek and hold it there in readiness to make the assault. Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox, in temporary command of the IX Corps, attended to the disposition of the troops. Having completed these arrangements, Cox joined Burnside on a knoll northeast of the bridge. At this point, the accounts begin to differ.
What is known for certain is that Cox and Burnside stood on the knoll together until "an order" to advance arrived.8 In his September 23, 1862 report, Cox writes, "About 9 o'clock the order was received to cross the stream." More than 25 years later, in a Battles and Leaders article, Cox would change his mind, insisting, "Facts within my own recollection strongly sustain the view that the hour was 10 a.m."10 To help justify this radical modification of the facts, he added: "The judgment of the hour, 9 o'clock…was merely my impression from passing events, for I hastened at once to my own duties without thinking to look at my watch, while the cumulative evidence seems to prove conclusively that the time stated by Burnside, and by McClellan himself in his original report, is correct." Before examining McClellan's October 15, 1862 preliminary report – in which he, himself, stipulates a 10 a.m. receipt – the cumulative evidence should be considered.
Excluding McClellan's preliminary and official accounts, there are 31 battle reports in the Official Records discussing the attack on the bridge. Of these, however, only seven specify a time at which the IX Corps is supposed to have gone into action. As noted, Burnside wrote "at 10 o'clock" while Cox said "about 9 o'clock." Other IX Corps officers concurred with Cox. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Gerhardt, commanding the 46th New York Regiment, wrote "at 9 o'clock." Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero, commanding the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division, stated, "at about 9 o'clock."
The Confederates across the creek also noted the time. Captain Abner McC. Lewis commanded a company in the 2nd Georgia, one of the regiments from Toombs' Brigade that defended the bridge, and said the Union attack began "at 9 o'clock."His temporary brigade commander, Colonel Henry L. Benning, placed it, "at about nine o'clock." Brigadier General Robert Toombs, temporarily in command of a division, said, "At between 9 and 10 o'clock."18 Although Toombs' reckoning may not be as definitive as the preceding six, one cannot help but notice that he does not say between 10 and 11 o'clock.
Only one of these reports—Burnside's—points to a 10 o'clock jump-off. All the others fix it at or about 9 a.m. There are no other reports extant in the Official Records that even remotely support Burnside's claim. If anything there are several that, with some reasoning, help to further establish a 9 a.m. advance.
It is difficult to understand why Burnside arbitrarily specified 10 a.m. without consulting with Cox, whose report so drastically conflicted with his own. Surely, such a major discrepancy should have warranted some form of discussion between the two commanders.
Cox eventually became convinced that Burnside "…believed he knew the time at which the order came to him upon the hilltop…[and that] his accuracy in giving the hour was greater than my own."21 Had Cox carefully sifted through the Official Records, he would have realized that his original report was corroborated by no less than five other reports—Union and Confederate—and refuted by none except Burnside's. This single aspect should be conclusive in proving that it could not possibly have been 10 a.m. when the IX Corps made its initial advance on the Rohrbach bridge but rather, at closer to 9 a.m.
As for the matter surrounding McClellan's preliminary report, it was while recounting the battle that he wrote "Burnside's corps…was entrusted with the difficult task of carrying the bridge…and assaulting the enemy's right, the order having been communicated [delivered] to him at 10 o'clock a.m." As far as Cox was concerned, "This exact agreement with General Burnside would ordinarily be conclusive in itself."
A key question remains, however: Where did McClellan get such a precise notion of an occurrence that had taken place two miles distant from his headquarters? Typically, a commander prepared his own report, particularly a preliminary report, based in large part on those of his subordinates. It would stand to reason that McClellan, while gleaning information from what must have been a multitude of reports, inadvertently accepted Burnside's incorrectly stated time. How else could he have been privy to such an obscure detail as the time that Burnside received an order? McClellan either completely missed or did not see fit to correct the misinformation
Antietam Battlefield-Sharpsburg Md.
Lower Bridge
Spanning Antietam Creek on the southern portion of the battlefield, the 12-foot-wide by 125-foot-long granite and limestone structure was known at the time as either the Rohrbach or Lower Bridge. It was here that 400 Georgians held the Union IX Corps at bay for several critical hours—hours that quite possibly altered the outcome of the battle. Having crossed the bridge the IX Corps, after yet another lengthy delay, finally seemed ready to turn the Army of Northern Virginia's right flank. This effort to get behind Lee's army and cut off the latter's line of retreat — a potential death blow — was, however, blunted by the opportune arrival of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's Division from Harper's Ferry.
Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, in nominal command of the Army of the Potomac's Right Wing during the battle, was charged with the overall responsibility of the operation. The controversy does not deal as much with Burnside's lackluster performance that day as it does the time at which he is supposed to have received his orders from the army's commanding general, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, "to carry the bridge, then to gain possession of the heights beyond."1 In his report dated September 30, 1862, Burnside stated that he received the order to begin his attack at 10 a.m.2 McClellan, in his official report written the following August, was emphatic that he had sent the order to Burnside at 8 a.m.—thereby implying that Burnside should have received it much earlier.3 That critical two-hour time span has been hotly debated ever since.
Some historians maintain that by claiming an order was issued at 8 a.m., McClellan had hoped to add to the five hours it supposedly had taken Burnside to launch his offensive.4 (After finally taking the bridge at about 1 p.m., the IX Corps came to an abrupt halt on the opposite side of the creek and did not begin its attack on "the heights beyond" until 3. The five hours in question are those spanning the period 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.). The theory is that, in doing so, McClellan was attempting to transfer the blame for the failure to defeat the Rebel army that day onto Burnside's shoulders. Some experts argue that the historical record settles the matter and that the order could not have reached Burnside any earlier than 10 a.m.5 In truth, the record overwhelmingly proves that the order which prompted Burnside to advance reached him closer to 9 a.m.—not 10 a.m., as he stated. Moreover, there is good reason to believe that McClellan's claim of having issued an 8 a.m. order might not be as far-fetched as some have argued.
The Historical Record
All parties agree on one point at least: At about 7 a.m. on the 17th, Burnside received an order from McClellan to advance the IX Corps to a ridge overlooking Antietam Creek and hold it there in readiness to make the assault. Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox, in temporary command of the IX Corps, attended to the disposition of the troops. Having completed these arrangements, Cox joined Burnside on a knoll northeast of the bridge. At this point, the accounts begin to differ.
What is known for certain is that Cox and Burnside stood on the knoll together until "an order" to advance arrived.8 In his September 23, 1862 report, Cox writes, "About 9 o'clock the order was received to cross the stream." More than 25 years later, in a Battles and Leaders article, Cox would change his mind, insisting, "Facts within my own recollection strongly sustain the view that the hour was 10 a.m."10 To help justify this radical modification of the facts, he added: "The judgment of the hour, 9 o'clock…was merely my impression from passing events, for I hastened at once to my own duties without thinking to look at my watch, while the cumulative evidence seems to prove conclusively that the time stated by Burnside, and by McClellan himself in his original report, is correct." Before examining McClellan's October 15, 1862 preliminary report – in which he, himself, stipulates a 10 a.m. receipt – the cumulative evidence should be considered.
Excluding McClellan's preliminary and official accounts, there are 31 battle reports in the Official Records discussing the attack on the bridge. Of these, however, only seven specify a time at which the IX Corps is supposed to have gone into action. As noted, Burnside wrote "at 10 o'clock" while Cox said "about 9 o'clock." Other IX Corps officers concurred with Cox. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Gerhardt, commanding the 46th New York Regiment, wrote "at 9 o'clock." Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero, commanding the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division, stated, "at about 9 o'clock."
The Confederates across the creek also noted the time. Captain Abner McC. Lewis commanded a company in the 2nd Georgia, one of the regiments from Toombs' Brigade that defended the bridge, and said the Union attack began "at 9 o'clock."His temporary brigade commander, Colonel Henry L. Benning, placed it, "at about nine o'clock." Brigadier General Robert Toombs, temporarily in command of a division, said, "At between 9 and 10 o'clock."18 Although Toombs' reckoning may not be as definitive as the preceding six, one cannot help but notice that he does not say between 10 and 11 o'clock.
Only one of these reports—Burnside's—points to a 10 o'clock jump-off. All the others fix it at or about 9 a.m. There are no other reports extant in the Official Records that even remotely support Burnside's claim. If anything there are several that, with some reasoning, help to further establish a 9 a.m. advance.
It is difficult to understand why Burnside arbitrarily specified 10 a.m. without consulting with Cox, whose report so drastically conflicted with his own. Surely, such a major discrepancy should have warranted some form of discussion between the two commanders.
Cox eventually became convinced that Burnside "…believed he knew the time at which the order came to him upon the hilltop…[and that] his accuracy in giving the hour was greater than my own."21 Had Cox carefully sifted through the Official Records, he would have realized that his original report was corroborated by no less than five other reports—Union and Confederate—and refuted by none except Burnside's. This single aspect should be conclusive in proving that it could not possibly have been 10 a.m. when the IX Corps made its initial advance on the Rohrbach bridge but rather, at closer to 9 a.m.
As for the matter surrounding McClellan's preliminary report, it was while recounting the battle that he wrote "Burnside's corps…was entrusted with the difficult task of carrying the bridge…and assaulting the enemy's right, the order having been communicated [delivered] to him at 10 o'clock a.m." As far as Cox was concerned, "This exact agreement with General Burnside would ordinarily be conclusive in itself."
A key question remains, however: Where did McClellan get such a precise notion of an occurrence that had taken place two miles distant from his headquarters? Typically, a commander prepared his own report, particularly a preliminary report, based in large part on those of his subordinates. It would stand to reason that McClellan, while gleaning information from what must have been a multitude of reports, inadvertently accepted Burnside's incorrectly stated time. How else could he have been privy to such an obscure detail as the time that Burnside received an order? McClellan either completely missed or did not see fit to correct the misinformation
Antietam Battlefield-Sharpsburg Md.