Lee Invades Maryland

Fresh from victory at the Second Battle of Manassas, Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River on September 4-6, 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 Harpers Ferry. After the Federals pushed the remaining Confederates out of the South Mountain gaps, Lee awaited Jackson's 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.

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Show me all markers in:  Sharpsburg, MD  |  Washington County  |  21782  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862
Companies G. I. and K., 4th U.S. Infantry
Jones' Battalion, Reserve Artillery
Reserve Artillery
Squires' Battery, 1st Company Washington Artillery of New Orleans
Unknown Union Soldiers of the Irish Brigade
4th New York Volunteer Infantry
Washington Artillery, Longstreet's Command
Washington Artillery, Longstreet's Command
Evans' Brigade, Longstreet's Command

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