The Battle of Antietam Script:
By: Trey and Jedrus
Reporter Jim Brown- Trey
Historian George Arnold- Jedrus
Jim: Hi folks! Welcome to History Today! Your daily dose of history!
Today’s guest is Civil War Historian George Arnold! Hi George!
George: Hello!
Jim: George will talk to us all about the Battle of Antietam, a Civil War
battle fought on September 17, 1862.
George: Yes, the Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest battle of the Civil
War. About 23,000 casualties on each side. The result was a
Confederate and Union retreat.
Jim: Nice, but tell us about when major things happened at the battle.
George: Ok, It is about 6 AM and Confederate soldiers are fighting 3
very powerful Union attacks near Dunker Church.
Jim: In September? Virginia? 6 AM? No way! These men were really
tough!
George: This is just the beginning! At 9 AM, the Union soldiers attack
the Confederate forces at Sunken Road. The Confederates are forced to
retreat to Sharpsburg. Both sides suffered a lot of casualties.
Jim: Is it over yet? Did Union win?
George: Not yet. You see, this battle is not a simple one to discuss
because of the retreating and attacking. Anyway, at 1 PM Union
soldiers attack Sharpsburg, as well as renaming the bridge across
Antietam Creek after their leader General Burnside.
Jim: Yay! Union wins! I think.
George: No, it’s not over yet! At 3:30 PM Confederate soldiers take the
Union soldiers by surprise, forcing them to retreat. This gave Lee time
to retreat his weakened forces back across the river. That was the end.
So many people died and neither Union nor confederacy won.
Jim: Wonderful explanation of the events George. Now, my audience
wants to know why this battle was important in the Civil War.
George: Well, this battle was important in many ways. First, it was the
bloodiest battle of the war with over 23,000 casualties on each side.
That’s about 25% of the Union Army and 31% of the Confederate. This
also made Lincoln disappointed at General McClellan’s cautious and
poor actions forcing the battle to be a draw, not a Union victory.
Jim: Did anyone benefit from the battle?
George: Well, the Union did repel Lee’s first Invasion on the Union.
Jim: So if this battle didn’t happen, Lee would have invaded the Union?
Man! This battle sure is important. I mean, Washington DC is near
Maryland, and if Lee took over Washington, the Union would have lost
and Abraham Lincoln could have been killed.
George: You are right! Anyway, I think there isn’t much left for me so
Good Bye!
Jim: Bye George! (George leaves)
Jim: That’s all folks! See you next time on History Today, your daily dose
of History!