The Effects Of The Battle Of Antietam

The King of Battle is what the artillery has been nicknamed due to their historical effects during war. The roar of artillery brings mass confusion to the enemy and devastating effects to troops in the open. In history, one battle that definitively portrays their long standing title as the King, the Battle of Antietam. The Union claimed a victory in Sharpsburg because the south had retreated first, but the number of casualties from each side would suggest a stalemate. Killed, wounded, or captured on rates for the North totaled 12,410 and the South had 10,316. Death and destruction is what this battle sounds like while reading articles from historic publications. Looking at the results, the battlefield was an array of dead bodies piled
Admits the crops were thousands of body parts littering the battlefield from both sides due to the effects from the artillery batteries. At the time the Union was not achieving the results they needed within the Maryland Campaign against the Confederates. With this head to head standoff of artillery force in Sharpsburg, it gave Abraham Lincoln the push back he needed to publish his first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation which truly was a victory for the Union. This act from the President and the victory from this battle helped to cripple the South, which started a trend of northern victories. After viewing the total number of casualties of what later would be called “America’s bloodiest day” (Lapp, 2001-2005) it is evident that this may have been one of the most pivotal battles, not only in the Civil War, but in artillery history altogether. The field artillery was the utmost influential factor in this battle due to the different types of cannons and munitions fired, the speed and efficiency of the crewmembers during their crew drills, and the tactical field emplacement of the cannon batteries by the Commanding Officers to cause overwhelming effects upon their
The King of Battle was the main facilitator of the massive amount of casualties produced in the short amount of time during the Battle of Antietam. Undeniably, because of the demolition created by the militaries’ long arms, Antietam has been fittingly called Artillery Hell. Each battery was made up of four to six guns; each gun being identified as a platoon of six to eight men. The platoon pulled their cannon by a limber and ammunition by a caisson, each of which was driven by six horses serving as the prime mover and ammunition hauler. The platoon sergeant, also known as the Chief of the Piece, is what modern day American artillery would classify as Chief of Section. He controlled the overall efficiency of his cannon and crewmembers, ensuring that the platoon fired with the commander’s intent by the means of promptness and precision. The Chief of the Piece would command the section to commence firing and would observe the platoon as they conducted each fire mission. One of his major duties was to find weak points within their drills and correct them. Time and accuracy literally could be the difference of life and death for these Soldiers. The Gunner was tasked with the direction and elevation of the cannon tube making him one of the most vital members of the team for accuracy. He would be the