CEDAR MOUNTAIN TO ANTIETAM: A Civil War Campaign History of the Union XII Corps, July - September 1862

1-229680

Study blends unit histories with leadership and character assessments to put the XII Corps' actions in context along with a significant and substantive examination of its Confederate opponents. Includes 28 detailed maps and 53 images.

The diminutive Union XII corps swept through the East Woods and the Miller Cornfield -- permanently clearing both of Confederates -- repelled multiple CSA assaults against the Dunker Church plateau, and eventually secured a foothold in the West Woods. Its achievement is especially notable given its string of disappointments and hardships in the months leading up to Antietam. Federal leadership largely ignored this signal achievement and the opportunity it presented.

Explains how the corps endured a bloody and demoralizing loss after coming within a whisker of defeating Maj. Gen. 'Stonewall' Jackson at Cedar Mountain on August 9; suffered through the hardships of Pope's campaign before and after the Battle of Second Manassas; and triumphed after entering Maryland and joining the reorganized Army of the Potomac. The men of this small corps earned a solid reputation in the Army of the Potomac at Antietam that would only grow during the battles of 1863.