Field Artillery: The Battle Of Antietam

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Field Artillery is one of the most critical assets any branch of service has too utilize in any type of confrontation. Established 17 November 1775, the field artillery has been a vital part of United States armed forces strategy against all enemies. The branch itself has a rich lineage and has been deployed in many battles. In fact, the first time the Field Artillery was deployed was 02 March 1776 under command of President George Washington and Henry Knox. Throughout the centuries, the howitzer has come in various models and has constantly been improving to the what is it now as the modern-day piece. The howitzer today however would not be what it is today without one specific battle, The Battle of Antietam. In this paper we will prove …show more content…
At that point the British continued to advance through the militia’s defensive perimeter by providing continuous volleys towards the enemies’ position. The Continental Militia suffered a great deal of casualties and were forced to retreat and reconsolidate at a pre-determined location. Upon reaching the blood-soaked city of Lexington, the British posted two artillery pieces in order to protect their rear elements from continental militia counter attack. As the British expected, the militia attempted to counteract by breeching their offensive perimeter. The attack failed miserably due to the immense fire from the British artillery pieces and forced the continental militia to once again retreat after suffering a great loss of soldiers. On this day, 19 April 1774, the great loss of this battle made the Continental Congress realize they needed an artillery force for themselves. 17 November 1775 after a devastating loss at Bunker Hill, Henry Knox was made the chief of the Continental Artillery and the American field artillery was born. The Battle of Antietam was the next turning point for the American Field Artillery where the influences of that battle are still shown to this day in the modern military howitzer and firing …show more content…
There were over twenty-three thousand casualties during the Battle of Antietam, and the only positive that came from it was the military maneuver lessons learned that day. At the previous battle of Bull Run it was discovered by the Confederates that more casualties were produced from battalion fires than the battery fires that were being used. The artillery battalion was attached to each division and a reserve battalion was attached to each Corps in order to consolidate the leadership and increase the effectiveness of artillery as a whole. The Emancipation Proclamation sparked off the battle of Antietam after the Union had seen the hardship and despair of so many losses. On September 13th two Union Soldiers found orders with details about the Confederate Army code-named Special Order 191 which gave away General Lee’s battle plans. On September 17th the Battle of Antietam began with the union soldiers firing at the confederates left flank across a 30 acre cornfield. The Union Army had a superior force of artillery in size; the Union force had a number of 293 artillery pieces whereas the Confederates had only 246 pieces. Even thought the Union had more pieces of artillery the Confederates were better trained in there use than the Union Army. The Confederates disseminated their troops and guns in order to lessen the opposing forces superior firing power. Some artillery was not available to
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