Northern Fighting
Lee's ulterior motive for winning a battle in the North was to finally convince foreign governments to back the South, and he believed that sympathizers in the Border States would also join the Confederate cause. As his army headed into Maryland, they were a pathetic sight — dirty, hungry, and often barefoot. Just the least bit unnerved by Confederate troops in his backyard, Lincoln relieved Pope of his command, giving McClellan, or “Little Mac,” another chance to fend off Lee's troops.
On July 3, 1863, at 1 p.m., Confederates opened an artillery bombardment — with 175 cannons firing on the Union line — during the Battle of Gettysburg. General Pickett, with a fresh division, led a charge on Cemetery Ridge. The Union army fired on the Confederate troops, inflicting heavy casualties. The bloody charge failed to crack General Meade's line. The Confederates fell back, having lost nearly three-fourths of their ranks. Pickett's charge ensured that the Battle of Gettysburg was just about over. Indeed, on the evening of July 4, General Lee began retreating to Virginia.
Unfortunately for Lee, a Confederate soldier left behind a precious piece of military intelligence — General Lee's troop orders. The Union corporal who stumbled on it turned it over to McClellan, but in another surprise, a Southern sympathizer tipped off General Lee that the North knew of his plans. As a result, Lee pulled back his forces, and instead of attacking quickly, the cautious-as-ever McClellan hesitated, believing that Lee outnumbered him. But truth be told, McClellan had amassed about 70,000 troops in front of Lee at Sharpsburg, Maryland, along Antietam Creek. In the fighting that September 1862, McClellan drove Lee back into Virginia in the bloodiest one-day battle ever fought. The Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg as the South called it, cost both sides dearly, but the outcome was Union victory.
