Cedar Mountain to Antietam: A Civil War Campaign History of the Union XII Corps, July - September 1862

The Union XII Corps achieved significant success at Antietam, clearing the East Woods and the Miller Cornfield, repelling Southern assaults, and securing a foothold beyond the Dunker Church in the West Woods. Federal leadership ignored this achievement, and the corps' resurgence after entering Maryland and joining the Army of the Potomac earned it a solid reputation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 28 May 2022
Publisher: Savas Beatie

The diminutive Union XII Corps achieved remarkable success on the field of Antietam. Their soldiers successfully cleared the East Woods and the Miller Cornfield, permanently expelling the Confederates from both areas. They repelled multiple Southern assaults against the Dunker Church plateau and eventually secured a foothold beyond it in the West Woods. This crucial piece of high ground had been the Union's objective all morning, and its occupation threatened the center and rear of Gen. Robert E. Lee's embattled Army of Northern Virginia. Regrettably, federal leadership failed to recognize the significance of this achievement and the opportunity it presented.

The XII Corps' achievement is especially noteworthy considering its series of disappointments and hardships in the months preceding Antietam. Cedar Mountain to Antietam: A Civil War Campaign History of the Union XII Corps, July – September 1862, by M. Chris Bryan, delves into the formation of this often unlucky command as the II Corps in Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia on June 26, 1862. Bryan meticulously details how the corps narrowly avoided a crushing defeat against Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain on August 9, endured the hardships of Pope's campaign before and after the Battle of Second Manassas, and its resurgence after entering Maryland and joining the reorganized Army of the Potomac.

The men of this small corps, who would later wear a five-pointed star as their insignia, went on to establish a solid reputation in the Army of the Potomac at Antietam that would only grow during the battles of 1863. Bryan's study, a hybrid of unit history, leadership, and character assessment, provides a proper context for the XII Corps' actions by giving significant and substantive treatment to its Confederate opponents.

Weight: 692g
Dimension: 160 x 237 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781611215779