Attack Of French's Division And Richardson's Division At The Sunken Road - Synopsis

You are required to synopsis of this event :Attack of French's Division and Richardson's Division at the Sunken Road

Main points are:

1. French and Richardson's (II Corps) attack of the Sunken Road 
2. Hancock's report 
3. Turning the Confederate flank at the Sunken Road

Also talk about D. H. Hill's defense of the Sunken Road.

1. Plan of defense of Sunken Road

2. Reaction to Richardson's turning movement
3. Confederate withdrawal from the Sunken Road and reforming the defensive line

Attack of French Division

This paper carries out the analysis of French’s Division and Richardson’s Division (II Corps) attack at the Sunken Road. The fight at the Sunken Road forms part of Battle of Antietam within the American Civil War. The Sunken Road battle took place on September 17, 1862 (Shoukat, Waheed & Waheed, 2016). The battle was one of the single bloodiest war ever fought on the American soil. Brown (2003) noted that the Sunken Road battle claimed twenty-two thousand deaths. Below is the section of the Sunken Road also known as the bloody lane.

                                                                            Source: https://johnsmilitaryhistory.com

French and Richardson’s (II Corps) attack of the Sunken Road

                                                                   Source: https://johnsmilitaryhistory.com

The above map gives a wider view of the Sunken Road and how soldiers had positioned themselves during the battle. However, before going to the real events of the war, it is crucial to explore the military activities preceding the war.  The Sunken Road battle finds its roots at the Guinea station where Lee organizes his army after they had lost Jackson (Brown, 2003). Lee had won several battles, but this time, it was getting difficult to win the Confederacy of the West. The challenge for Lee was the inadequate resources and workforce which are essential tools of a battle (Doyle & Bennett 2013). Lee started withdrawing his army from Fredericksburg to bring the political war to an end. However, the opponents were much prepared. They even sent Six Corps to check if the Lee’s Army was in the vicinity. 

                                                                    Source: https://johnsmilitaryhistory.com

Turning at the Confederate

French brigades and sharpshooters and artillery positioned themselves almost hundred yards behind the Sunken Farm Road.  The sharpshooters were the three Confederate of brigades of Maj. Gen Harvey Hill’s division (Hamill, 2017). The forces fired the scene, and there was an eruption of the huge blue flame that covered the large part of the Sunken Road. This lead to the large heap of the wounded and dead Union soldiers. The brigade firing the spot was taken off by the sharpshooter fire, and another one was ordered to take his place, and the results were the same.  

The Maj. Gen. Daniel Harvey team was determined to fight, and therefore, Brigadier General Nathan Kimball moved forward with the brigade of four regiments. This time round the soldiers did not fall back. They rolled as they cocked and reloaded their guns and fired to the Confederates who responded with the same kind.  The Sunken Road was full of dark blood hence its name Bloody Lane.  The two Confederate Union could not withstand the forces of Kimball brigade, and therefore the ended up fleeing.

The surrender of the Union Confederates was not the end of the Sunken Road battle. Israel B. Richardson, the Union major general, attacked Kimball’s brigade from the left side. Richardson brigade was led by Gen. Thomas Francis, Meagher and Waterford. They fought against Gen. Ambrose brigade of Maj. Gen. Richard which was under Anderson division and had been sent to reinforce Hill. Anderson was wounded immediately after entering the battlefield, and therefore his men could only offer little help to Hill. Finally, the Hill's men were evicted by Wright and Meagher’s forces.

When the armies met at the sunken road, there were massive battles. The soldiers positioned themselves at the Roulette farms, and the wall stones close the Sunken Road (Hamill, 2017). The war began with a morning phase at the cornfield. At midday, they approached the Confederate line where the war continued with over 1750 French soldiers being casualties. Before the afternoon approached, the armies had to turn back since the majority of the soldiers were injured and killed.  However, the battle continued later in the afternoon.

The plan of defense starts with two Lon’s battery soldiers seeing two skulls on the way. That implies in the former battles soldiers had never been buried. Burials are significant, especially in a military war. The funeral ceremony enables the war colleagues to show last respect as well as preserve the body well (Booth, 2014). The seeing of the skulls of the dead soldiers motivated Lee's men to plan for defense.  Lon’s battery continued moving accompanied by the Second Corps towards the north. As they were close to Hey market, there happened to be a firing from the Confederate cavalrymen. The troops kept on moving to the North under General Harnock. A series of commander changes occurred at the headquarters. The soldiers went on following a map (Brown, 2003).

D.H Hills Defense

General Harnock moved towards Meade's headquarters, and several gunshots were made. When they reached Taneytown, Lon made a command to his battery over to Lieutenant Canby. At that time, Harnock left in an ambulance, but after studying the map, he stepped out and together with his soldiers he rode a horse. On the way, they met the ambulance carrying General Reynolds who had died. They took their hats off as a sign of last respects to the dead (Auchter, 2016).The section ends with them reaching Gettysburg. Lee did not attack them that evening (Brown, 2003). The troops continue positioning themselves led by own leaders.

During the battle, Richardson got mortally wounded, but as a commander, he never gave up. He ordered the war to continue. He was a fearless, gruff and aggressive warrior (Historynet, 2017).Though the war became too tight, he pushed on and together with some of his men ultimately survived. Afterward, he was promoted to a higher rank.

Lee and his legion arrived in Gettysburg and positioned below the Cemetery and Culp’s hills. Piplani & Talmadge (2016) notes that hillsides, buildings, and forests are obstacles ideal for the military to position for the enemies. Harnock obtained guns and marched towards Gettysburg with horses. They arrived at the cemetery and stopped there at the ridge. Lon ordered the soldiers to position themselves at the stone wall ready to attack. Lon ordered the soldiers to open fire. There were snipers at the building, but when the shooting increased, the left the building. Lon ordered them to reposition. The other troops were more equipped and had more commanders than Lee's army. Lee was active but withdrew from the war. He did not attack for fear that he would lose the battle for the Union Corp Commanders and their forces were heavily equipped.

Conclusion

The synopsis above has described various incidences that took place at different places where the war took place. Each place is briefly explained citing the major activities. Several commanders and troop leaders are mentioned plus their role in the work. The synopsis ends where the armies are positioning themselves ready to confront each other. 

References

Auchter, J. (2016). Paying Attention to Dead Bodies: The Future of Security Studies? Journal of Global Security Studies, ogv005.

Booth, P. (2014). A late Roman military burial from the Dyke Hills, Dorchester on Thames, Oxford shire. Britannia, 45, 243-273.

Brown, K. M. (1993). Cushing at Gettysburg. 

Doyle, P., & Bennett, M. R. (Eds.). (2013). Fields of battle: terrain in military history (Vol. 64).

Springer Science & Business Media. Pp 9-14

Hamill, J. (2017). Antietam - II Corps Attacks, The Sunken Road. Retrieved 4 12, 2017, from johnsmilitaryhistory.com: https://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/antietam_sunken.html 

Historynet. (2017). Israel Richardson at Antienam. Retrieved 4 12, 2017, from www.historynet.com: https://www.historynet.com/israel-richardson-at-antietam.htm

Piplani, V., & Talmadge, C. (2016). When war helps civil–military relations: Prolonged Interstate conflict and the reduced risk of coups. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 60(8), 1368-1394.

Shoukat, S. L. Waheed, M. & Waheed, S. A. (2016). Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research: A Synopsis of Required Competencies for Curriculum Developers. Science International, 28(2).