Battle of Sharpsburg (or the Battle of Antietam) - Bloody Lane

The second phase of the Battle of Sharpsburg was around 9:00 am. This is where the Southern army was hit in the middle by General French of the XI corps. The confederates were in a defensive position at a place known today as Bloody Lane. The lane was a sunken road that were used by wagons over the years and eventually wore down the ground where in some places were several feet deep below the surface. This proved to be a gift for the confederates who didn't have any reserves.

Bloody Lane was defended by D.H. Hill's men and they fought hard. The first wave of attack of the Union came when Brig. General's Weber's men advanced and were thrown back by Hill's men. To be fair about things, the men in Weber's brigade were mostly green, but the confederates made the most of it by firing one volley and sent most of the men retreating. The Union sent another wave of men at the center and again, they were thrown back. The third attack was kept at bay as well.

The fourth attack was led by Union Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Meagher of the Irish Brigade. Known to be tough fighters who were immigrants from Ireland, this was going to be a challenge for the Confederates stacked in Bloody Lane. When Meagher's men approached, over 500 were shot down by their enemy before they were ordered to withdraw like the other brigades. This was quite a blow for the Union army.

The fifth attack on Bloody Lane proved to be successful for the Union. General Caldwell's brigade went around the right flank of the Confederates and they saw a weakness in the line, and fired down on it. Instead of holding and firing back, their was miscommunication between the Southern leaders and an order to withdraw was given and the Confederates gave up their protective positions and the Union soldiers came flying in. There were a couple Southern brigades that didn't withdraw and fought to their death - and that's what it was - death everywhere. There were so many men shot down on both sides, that the bodies piled up three to four men deep. One could literally walk down the lane and not touch the ground, but of dead men.

The South's center was now busted open and was a great opportunity for General McClellan to send in his reserves to route the Confederate army. What many historians lacked to say that the war could've ended right here. General Lee had the Potomic river to his back and was trapped. Lee and Longstreet rode over and stretched a thin line of defense and waited for their impended doom, but the Union reserves never came. McClellan had himself convinced that there were tens of thousands of Confederates but instead was just a few thousand. So no Union soldier attacked the South's center and blew their chances of winning not just the battle, but the war itself.

To Continue to the third phase of the battle of Sharpsburg (or Antietam): Burnside Bridge