Stories in the Maryland Campaign

Items that help tell the story of a Civil War Soldier

National Park Service

By the summer of 1862 there were few Americans whose lives had not been impacted by the Civil War. Union morale was low and Confederate hope was high. Seeking to capitalize on his successful defeat of two union armies earlier in the summer, Robert E. Lee hoped to move quickly and seize the opportunity to resupply his army and move the fighting onto Northern soil.

"The army is not properly equipped for an invasion. It lacks much of the material of war, is feeble in transportation, the animals much reduced, and the men are poorly provided with clothes, and in the thousands of instances are destitute of shoes."
~Robert E. Lee to President Jefferson Davis, Sept. 1862

When a copy of Lee's plans came into the hands of George McClellan the Confederates faced disaster.

"I have all the plans of the rebels and will catch them in their own trap."
~George B. McClellan to President Abraham Lincoln, Sept. 1862

These are the stories of that summer…

Showing results 16-16 of 16

• The Vortex of Hell

  

  Robert E. Lee's success in driving McClellan back from Richmond in the summer of 1862 cast him as the savior of Richmond and cloaked his army with a sense of invincibility. Yet, even as he did so, Union General John Pope led his army deeper into Virginia, waging total war on the southern people. Responding to the impact of Pope's methods, Lee set out to suppress the "miscreant." Read more

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