Battle of Shepherdstown

Overview

The Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September 19–20, 1862, at Boteler's Ford along the Potomac River, during the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. After the Battle of Antietam on September 17, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia withdrew across the Potomac. Lee left a rearguard commanded by Brigadier General William N. Pendleton at Boteler's Ford. On September 19, elements of the Union V Corps dueled with Pendleton's artillery before pushing a short distance across the river at dusk. Pendleton inaccurately informed Lee that all of the artillery of the rearguard had been captured. On the morning of September 20, the Confederates counterattacked with A. P. Hill's Light Division, forcing the Union units back across the Potomac. One Union unit, the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, did not withdraw at the same time as the others and suffered heavy losses. Lee's army continued its retreat into the Shenandoah Valley after the battle.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Shepherdstown was the final action of the Maryland Campaign, fought in the immediate aftermath of Antietam as Lee's Army of Northern Virginia completed its withdrawal across the Potomac. The engagement secured the Confederate army's rearguard passage at Boteler's Ford and allowed Lee to continue his retreat into the Shenandoah Valley without significant Federal interference. Although Union V Corps elements briefly crossed the Potomac on September 19, A. P. Hill's counterattack the following morning drove them back, removing any immediate threat of Union pursuit. The battle thus closed the Maryland Campaign on Confederate terms at the tactical level, even as the campaign as a whole had ended Lee's first northern incursion. Pendleton's erroneous report that all rearguard artillery had been lost introduced a moment of false crisis on the Confederate side, but Hill's action rendered that report moot.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)