31 - Mr. Lincoln's Pilgrimage to the Banks of Antietam Creek

About this episode: 

A few nights after September the 22nd, 1862, a band came to serenade the 16th president. Moved by the music and supportive crowd, Abraham Lincoln stepped onto the executive mansion’s balcony and, referring to his recent Emancipation Proclamation, remarked: “I can only trust in God I have made no mistake. It is now for the country and the world to pass judgment on it, and maybe, take action upon it.”

But for the President, first things first: To put teeth into his executive proclamation, he would have to win the war - and that prompted him to leave Washington City and travel to the site of this country’s bloodiest single day. His ostensible purpose? To review the Army of the Potomac. His added incentive: to prod the army’s cautious commander, Major General George B. McClellan, into action. This is the story of the President’s visit to Sharpsburg, Maryland - his pilgrimage to the banks of Antietam Creek.

 

Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode: 

George B. McClellan

John A. McClernand

Ozias M. Hatch

Ward Hill Lamon

Joseph C. G. Kennedy

John W. Garrett

 

Additional References In This Episode:

President Lincoln on battle-field of Antietam, October, 1862 / Alex. Gardner, photographer.

From left to right: Colonel Delos B. Sacket, Captain George Monteith, Lieutenant Colonel Nelson B. Sweitzer, General George W. Morell, Colonel Alexander S. Webb [Chief of Staff, 5th Corps], General George B. McClellan, Scout Adams, Dr. Jonathan Letterman [Army Medical Director], unidentified soldier, President Abraham Lincoln, Colonel Henry J. Hunt, General Fitz-John Porter, Joseph C. G. Kennedy, Colonel Frederick T. Locke, General Andrew A. Humphreys, and Captain George Armstrong Custer.

 

Get The Guide:

Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.

 

Producer: Dan Irving