Lee had defeated the Army of the Potomac on the peninsula near Richmond in July, then followed up with a victory at Second Manassas/Bull Run in August. In September, Lee crossed the Potomac.
McClellan and the Union Army followed from Washington to Frederick, Maryland. There, McClellan discovers Lee's Special Orders 191: Lee's secret plans.
Lee had divided his Confederate army. Longstreet headed north to Boonsboro and then to Hagerstown, Maryland. But Jackson and other elements headed west to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
McClellan followed, sending the main army toward Boonsboro and Franklin's corps toward Harpers Ferry. The Battle of South Mountain (September 14, 1862) took place on the long ridge of the Appalachians near Boonsboro.
Thomas Stonewall Jackson and the rebels managed to capture Harpers Ferry on September 15. Lee reorganized the army at Sharpsburg, Maryland, near Antietam Creek.
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Film by Jeffrey Meyer, research librarian, Iowa
Images from the Library of Congress and National Archives
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Music: /"Veracruz/" by Quincas Moreira
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