Wesley P Ellington
Corporal
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2018
- Location
- Maryland
When George McClellan retakes control of the main eastern Union army in early September 1862 there are 14,000 federal troops in the Shenandoah Valley at Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry, Virginia. McClellan repeatedly asks General-in-Chief Henry Halleck to evacuate these men and add them to his command, but Halleck refuses and the men stay in their Shenandoah garrisons.
Lee’s intention for his campaign is to move into the Shenandoah/Cumberland Valley and use it to invade Pennsylvania, but first he must clear out the 14,000 federals stationed at Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. At Frederick, Maryland, on September 10 Lee divides his army, sending most of it to capture the federal troops in the Shenandoah Valley, while keeping the rest of it around Boonsboro and Hagerstown. Four days later, the confederates are still divided.
Without those Union men in the Shenandoah Valley, Lee would have crossed South Mountain, moved north to Hagerstown, and then marched into Pennsylvania with a united army, far ahead of McClellan. God knows how that would have played out.
If Lee is still in the North on Election Day, then the Democrats would probably win the House, which means that Lincoln couldn’t raise taxes or troops. Unable to capture Atlanta, Lincoln would lose reelection, and the Union would lose the war.
Halleck’s decision to keep his men in the Shenandoah Valley compels Lee to halt at Boonsboro and divide his army, thereby giving McClellan the time to catch up to him and the opportunity to defeat the confederate army in detail. McClellan’s poor performance at South Mountain, and in the days following, almost ruins this opportunity, but he does engage the confederates soon enough at Sharpsburg that Lee doesn’t have his whole army on the morning of the battle of Antietam, which greatly helps the federals win and force the confederates back to Richmond. Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. Republicans maintain complete control of Congress. The Union wins the war.
Thank you, General Halleck!
Lee’s intention for his campaign is to move into the Shenandoah/Cumberland Valley and use it to invade Pennsylvania, but first he must clear out the 14,000 federals stationed at Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. At Frederick, Maryland, on September 10 Lee divides his army, sending most of it to capture the federal troops in the Shenandoah Valley, while keeping the rest of it around Boonsboro and Hagerstown. Four days later, the confederates are still divided.
Without those Union men in the Shenandoah Valley, Lee would have crossed South Mountain, moved north to Hagerstown, and then marched into Pennsylvania with a united army, far ahead of McClellan. God knows how that would have played out.
If Lee is still in the North on Election Day, then the Democrats would probably win the House, which means that Lincoln couldn’t raise taxes or troops. Unable to capture Atlanta, Lincoln would lose reelection, and the Union would lose the war.
Halleck’s decision to keep his men in the Shenandoah Valley compels Lee to halt at Boonsboro and divide his army, thereby giving McClellan the time to catch up to him and the opportunity to defeat the confederate army in detail. McClellan’s poor performance at South Mountain, and in the days following, almost ruins this opportunity, but he does engage the confederates soon enough at Sharpsburg that Lee doesn’t have his whole army on the morning of the battle of Antietam, which greatly helps the federals win and force the confederates back to Richmond. Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. Republicans maintain complete control of Congress. The Union wins the war.
Thank you, General Halleck!