September 12, 1862---The Battle of Harper's Ferry

SEPTEMBER 12, 1862:       

The Battle Of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. 

Stonewall Jackson and 30,000 troops of the Army of Northern Virginia seize the U.S. Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry by seizing the heights around the town and armory. The Union commander, though knowing of Jackson’s approach, inexplicably chose to keep his 14,000 troops in town, ceding the high ground to the Confederates. Most of the Union men were inexperienced garrison troops. 

Though the battle lasted a full three days (September 12-15), it was mostly due to Union stubbornness; as one Union soldier wrote, “[Without the Heights, Harper’s Ferry is] as defensible as a well bottom.” 

Though Harper’s Ferry was a complete Confederate victory, and though the Confederate troops seized a cornucopia of supplies (including stocks of ammunition and food, guns and cannons), the fact that the green, outnumbered, and surrounded Union garrison held out for three full days should have given Jackson or Lee pause. It did not. 

By taking Harper’s Ferry, Lee secured his flank and his main supply route back to Virginia. 

September 11, 1862---The Worst Day of The War: "What May We Expect?"

SEPTEMBER 11, 1862:       

If asked in retrospect, President Lincoln would probably have said that his worst day as President---apart from letting Mary drag him to the theatre to see Our American Cousin on Good Friday, 1865---was September 11, 1862.   

Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia arrived in Hagerstown, Maryland, as very unwelcome guests, but the type that couldn’t simply be politely asked to leave. Lee was planning to move on to Harrisburg and Philadelphia, just as Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania feared, but Lee had decided to use Hagerstown as his staging area for the further invasion of the North, and the Rebels begin to dig in. Lee is undefeated; the Union Army has been defeated many times, latest at Bull Run (a second time!) and is disorganized, or so many people, North and South, believe. 

What no one realizes is that George B. McClellan, though an indifferent battlefield general and a megalomaniac, is also a gifted military organizer, and he has managed to rebuild the Army of The Potomac into an effective fighting force even while on the march. Whether he will use the weapon he has crafted remains to be seen. 

The Governor of Pennsylvania sent this message to Lincoln on September 11^th:

‘I have information this evening of a private character, which I deem entirely reliable, that the whole of the rebel army has been moved from Frederick, and their destination is Harrisburg and Philadelphia. You should order a strong guard placed upon the railway lines from Washington to Harrisburg to-night, and send here not less than 80,000 disciplined forces … It is our only hope to save the North and crush the rebel army. Do not suppose for one instant that I am unnecessarily alarmed … The enemy will bring against us not less than 120,000, with large amount of artillery. The time for decided action by the National Government has arrived. What may we expect?’

What indeed?

September 10, 1862---Governor Curtin calls out the Guard

SEPTEMBER 10, 1862:      

Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin of Pennsylvania, fearing (rightfully) that the Army of Northern Virginia is targeting Harrisburg and Philadelphia issues General Order 95, calling up all State Militia reserves for Home Defense. 

September 9, 1862---Special Orders Number 191

SEPTEMBER 9, 1862:        

Robert E. Lee issues Special Orders No. 191 detailing the deployment of his troops.

September 8, 1862---Mayhem along the Monocacy

SEPTEMBER 8, 1862:        

Moving north through Maryland, Confederates destroy the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridge over the Monocacy River. Despite Confederate assurances to what they believe is a pro-Southern citizenry, most Marylanders are outraged at the forced requisitioning and property destruction inflicted by Lee’s forces.