1862 – Civil War Battle

View this map on the American Battlefield Trust website. The Trust also outlines the Battle of Shepherdstown and the action depicted on this map.

The Map Maker

  • American Battlefield Trust

    This map was produced by the American Battlefield Trust, an organization whose mission is to preserve America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educate the public about what happened there and why it matters. Of primary interest are the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.

    Established more than 30 years ago, the trust has used well- established conservation strategies to preserve in perpetuity more than 50,000 acres of battlefield land in 24 states. Some 621 acres of the Shepherdstown battlefield have been saved and are held by the Trust. As a result of recent Congressional legislation, the National Park Service is evaluating the possible inclusion of the battlefield into the National Park Service System. For more information visit Battlefields.org.

The Map

Following the Sept. 17, 1862 Battle of Antietam, Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia withdrew across the Potomac River. On September 19, 1862, elements of Union’s Major Gen. FitzJohn Porter’s V Corps crossed the Potomac River at Boteler’s Ford and attacked the Confederate rearguard commanded by Brig. Gen. William Pendleton, capturing four guns.

Early the next day, Porter pushed elements of two divisions across the river to establish a bridgehead. Confederate Gen. A. P. Hill’s division counterattacked while many of the Federals were crossing the river, and nearly annihilated the 118th Pennsylvania (the “Corn Exchange” Regiment), inflicting 269 casualties out of 737 men. Porter pulled back to the Union side of the river. The two-day fight at Shepherdstown discouraged Gen. George McClellan from pursuing Lee’s retreating army and ended Lee’s Maryland Campaign.