South Mountain, Crampton Gap
Turner Gap, Fox Gap
Civil War Maryland

American Civil War
September 14, 1862

After invading Maryland in September 1862, General Robert E. Lee divided his army to march on and invest Harpers Ferry.

The Army of the Potomac under Major General George B. McClellan pursued the Confederates to Frederick, Maryland, then advanced on South Mountain.

On September 14, pitched battles were fought for possession of the South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. By dusk the Confederate defenders were driven back, suffering severe casualties, and McClellan was in position to destroy Lee's army before it could reconcentrate.

McClellan's limited activity on September 15 after his victory at South Mountain, however, condemned the garrison at Harpers Ferry to capture and gave Lee time to unite his scattered divisions at Sharpsburg. Union general Jesse Reno and Confederate general Samuel Garland, Jr., were killed at South Mountain.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Frederick County and Washington County

Campaign: Maryland Campaign (September 1862) next battle in campaign previous battle in campaign

Date(s): September 14, 1862

Principal Commanders: Major General George B. McClellan [US]; General Robert E. Lee [CS]

Forces Engaged: Corps

Estimated Casualties: 4,500 total

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Volumn XIX/1 - Page 423

Mouth of Antietam, Maryland, September 20, 1862

The commanding general announces to the corps the loss of their late leader, Major Gen. Jesse L. Reno. By the death of this distinguished officer the country loses one of its most devoted patriots, the army one of its most thorough soldiers. In the long list of battles in which General Reno has fought in his country's service, his name always appears with the brightest luster, and he has now bravely met a soldier's death while gallantly leading his men at the battle of South Mountain. For his high character and the kindly qualities of his heart in private life, as well as for the military genius and personal daring which marked him as a soldier, his loss will be deplored by all who knew him, and the commanding general desires to add the tribute of a friend to the public mourning for the death of one of the country's best defenders

By command of Major-General Burnside:
LEWIS RICHMOND,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

Books
Civil War
Womens Subjects
Young Readers
Gettysburg
Native Americans
Military History



Confederate Store
Civil War DVDs
Civil War VHS
Civil War Games
Civil War Music
Civil War Posters

Military Toys
Military Video Games
Military History DVDs
Military Magazines
US Military Gear

Maryland State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War
Civil War Submarines
Civil War Cooking
Civil War Picture Album

Annapolis Maryland City History Current Weather and Hotel Bed and Breakfast and Camping


The First and Second Maryland Infantry, C.S.A
The First Maryland Infantry was formed from Marylanders who chose to cast their lot with the Confederacy against a Union government that had invaded their state and established martial law, forcing those who disagreed with the invasion of the South to join the Confederates or to submit to what they considered as tyranny. Organized at Harpers Ferry, they fought in the first battle of the war at Bull Run, and distinguished themselves for their valor. The Marylanders fought in the Shenandoah Valley under Jackson, bringing new honors to their fame. During the Seven Day Campaign they made an outstanding charge across open fields to help break the Union lines at Gaines's Mill.

A Southern Star For Maryland: Maryland and the Secession Crisis
Maryland did not freely choose to remain in the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War, this book argues: the state was held by brute force. A colorful account of the dilemmas faced by Marylanders in the crisis as seen from the Southern point of view. A well-written and thoughtful production. I commend this book to anyone seriously interested in Maryland and the Civil War.

Maryland in the Civil War: A House Divided
This superbly designed book presents archival illustrations, many in full-color, an incisive text, and colorful vignettes to capture the agony of this border (and slave-holding) state imprisoned by geography in the Civil War years. After Fort Sumter, the Lincoln administration could ill afford to lose Maryland, and the state, especially its principal city Baltimore—site of the first blood spilled when a mob attacked the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment—remained under military occupation for most of the war. Maryland was the site of the greatest single day's carnage in American history, at Antietam Creek, and Marylanders on both sides of this brothers' war shot down one another at Front Royal and Gettysburg.

A Maryland Boy in Lee's Army: Personal Reminiscences of a Maryland Soldier
There are very few Civil War memoirs from Marylanders who fought with the Confederacy and "A Maryland Boy in Lee's Army" begins to correct that deficiency. As the introduction, written by a national park service historian, explains, George Wilson Booth was an extremely intelligent, sixteen year old Baltimorean who joined the Army of Northern Virginia in 1861. Booth begins by explaining that it was "at the request of somewhat partial friends" that he decided to record this period of his life in book form and he writes to show how bravely and valiantly men of the Old Line State fought in the Civil War.

 
Web AmericanCivilWar.com
Volcano-Pictures.INFO
Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.