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This was a day no one would forget. In the two days before the battle many men from both sides maneuvered into positions around Antietam. Each knew the other was there; skirmishes erupted throughout the day on 15 and 16 September. Long-range artillery tore through the air in hopes of softening the opposing forces. Everyone knew on the evening of 16 September that the next day would be one to remember. On the morning of 17 September there were 30,000 of Lee's Confederate soldiers facing McClellan's 60,000 Union troops. Artillery shells broke the silence of the morning as daybreak signaled the start of the day and the start of the bloodiest single day in American history and the Civil
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By recognizing the value of gaining the high ground, the Union forces were able to take charge of some of the high ground around Gettysburg. Lee had planned an organized attack that depended on cooperation and coordination among his forces, but that didn't happen. His commanders misinterpreted Lee's orders and failed to follow through as quickly as Lee asked. The result: The retreat of the Confederate Army back to the South with no gain in either the war or its efforts to resupply and the loss of more than 1/3 of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee offered his resignation, but President Jefferson Davis knew Lee was his best general and would not accept it.
Meade was a hot-tempered soldier who established a reputation as a tenacious fighter. His career started after graduating from West Point in 1835. He served as an artillery officer. He resigned to become a civil engineer and married in 1840. Meade found that he couldn't support his family on his civilian income and decided to rejoin the Army as a second lieutenant. Meade spent most of his second time around in military engineering. When the Civil War broke out he accepted a command in the Pennsylvania Volunteers as a brigadier
By recognizing the value of gaining the high ground, the Union forces were able to take charge of some of the high ground around Gettysburg. Lee had planned an organized attack that depended on cooperation and coordination among his forces, but that didn't happen. His commanders misinterpreted Lee's orders and failed to follow through as quickly as Lee asked. The result: The retreat of the Confederate Army back to the South with no gain in either the war or its efforts to resupply and the loss of more than 1/3 of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee offered his resignation, but President Jefferson Davis knew Lee was his best general and would not accept it.
Meade was a hot-tempered soldier who established a reputation as a tenacious fighter. His career started after graduating from West Point in 1835. He served as an artillery officer. He resigned to become a civil engineer and married in 1840. Meade found that he couldn't support his family on his civilian income and decided to rejoin the Army as a second lieutenant. Meade spent most of his second time around in military engineering. When the Civil War broke out he accepted a command in the Pennsylvania Volunteers as a brigadier