The Northern Region of the Battle of Antietam

6:00 AM The Battle of Antietam opened with Hooker's I Corps attack launched from the North Woods. Hooker's three Divisions went into action at the same time, with Doubleday's on the right, Ricketts' on the left, and Meade's holding back in the center.
Jackson's Corps advanced to meet Hooker just south of the Cornfield; Jackson's Division (led by J.R. Jones) on the left, and Ewell's (led by A.R. Lawton) on the right. Starke and Taliaferro's Brigades, and Hood's Division, remained in reserve in the West Woods. Hays' Brigade quickly advanced to support Lawton.

6:30 AM West of the Hagerstown Turnpike, Jones' Division was repulsed; Starke and Taliaferro's Brigades advanced to the Turnpike, and were repulsed. Near the East Woods, Lawton's Division was also repulsed. Although Hooker initially drove the Confederates successfully, Doubleday's and Ricketts' Divisions were nearly exhausted.
At this critical moment, Hood's Division was sent into the fray, Law's Brigade on the right, and Wofford's on the left. Hood's attack turns the tide of the battle: Doubleday was stopped dead; Ricketts' was pushed back through the Cornfield. Meade's Division advanced to stop the Confederate counterthrust.

7:30 AM Hood's attack swept through the cornfield where they encountered Meade's Pennsylvania reserves. Two isolated regiments of Gibbon's Brigade (Doubleday's Division) advanced out of the northern portion of the West Woods and hit the Texans on their left flank.
Having driven the Federals from a threatening position near the Dunker Church all the way to the northern edge of the Cornfield, Hood's troops were shot to pieces. One of Wofford's regiments suffered a casualty rate of over 80%. Later in the day, a colleague asked Hood where his division was; Hood replied, "Dead - on the field".

8:00 AM As the remnants of Hood's two brigades left the field, Ripley's Brigade moved out of their position in Mumma's farm fields to counter the latest wave of Federals. Already weakened by Wofford and Law, Ripley drove the last of the Union I Corps troops (Gibbon's two regiments west of the Turnpike and Meade's Pennsylvanians) from the field.
At about this time, advance elements of the Union XII Corps arrived and deployed in the vicinity of the East Woods. Union troops from Crawford's Brigade managed to turn back Ripley's Brigade from its position in the Cornfield.

8:30 AM With Ripley's Brigade turned back by fresh Federal Troops, Colquitt's Brigade moved out of its position in the Sunken Road to make one last attempt to retake the Cornfield.
After successfully driving Crawford back into the East Woods, Colquitt's troops encountered Tyndale's Brigade, also of the Union XII Corps. Once again, Confederates were able sweep forward all the way through the corn, only to be stopped by fresh Union troops. The two brigades blazed away at each other for some time, until still more Union XII Corps reenforcements arrived. Colquitt's Brigade returned southward, leaving the bloodied cornfield to the Federals.

9:00 AM With the repulse of Colquitt's Brigade from the field, the Federals freely advanced uncontested across the northern portion of the battlefield. The XII Corps (Crawford's Brigade) cleared out the last resistance in the East Woods and moved on the Dunker Church; the 125th Pennsylvania of Crawford's Brigade penetrated the West Woods, while Tyndale's Brigade took up a position several hundred yards east of the West Woods.
As the XII Corps took position, the Union II Corps arrived on the field. Well in advance of the other two II Corps Divisions, Sedgwick's Division crossed the Antietam near the Pry House, advanced out of the East Woods, crossed the Cornfield, and penetrated the West Woods.
As the Federals took up their tentative position in the West Woods, Confederate reenforcements arrived in this sector. Early's Brigade moved to oppose the Federal intrusion in the West Woods. Walker's Division moved up after having been removed from the Lower Bridge region. McLaws's Division, just up from Harper's Ferry, moved in to bolster the shattered Confederate left flank.

9:30 AM At about 9:30 AM, the fighting around the Dunker Church reached its climax as Sedgwick met disaster in the West Woods. McLaws dislodged Crawford from the woods, leaving the Federal left completely uncovered. While Walker applied steady pressure on Sedgwick's front, Early's Brigade managed to come up unseen through a gully and hit Sedgwick on his left flank and rear. Taken completely by surprise, Sedgwick's Division scattered north toward the Miller Farm and eastward, toward the East Woods; in about 20 minutes, Sedgwick suffered about 2,000 casualties.
Meanwhile, Tyndale's Brigade remained prone in front of the Dunker Church, waiting for resupply of ammunition.

12:00 AM After a period of relative quite, Tyndale's Brigade finally resupplied and moved in toward the Dunker Church. The rest period also allowed the Confederates to regroup some of their strength.
Unclear on the positions of friendly and enemy troops in the West Woods, Colonel Tyndale believed that the Union line still held where Sedgwick had been. Tyndale's failure to guard his right flank allowed Ransom's Brigade (of Walker's Division) to outflank and drive Tyndale out of the Woods.
Cooke then advanced his two regiments to drive Tyndale into total confusion, and overrun an advanced section of Knap's Battery. Once again, the Federals lost their foothold in the West Woods.

1:00 PM Between Noon and 1:00 PM, Federal reenforcements arrived on the field: Irwin's Brigade of the Union VI Corps. As they advanced, Irwin's men flushed out advanced Confederates who had taken part in driving Tyndale away from Mumma's Swale. As Irwin approached the West Woods, however, he encountered stiff resistance from Ransom's men, who still held the woods in numbers.
Unable to mount sufficient strength to attempt to take the woods, Irwin's troops took up position along the crest of Mumma's Swale. The Confederates, barely able to hold the woods, made no further attempt to drive the Federals away.
Although artillery roared on both sides for the rest of the day, neither adversary was inclined to renew the fight in this sector.
The Dunker Church had been the target of the Federal assault. Some 12,000 casualties fell in a half mile radius of it. Although the East Woods and Miller's fields were firmly held by the Federals, possession of the Church evaded them until the morning after the Confederate retreat on the 18th.

6:00 AM	The Battle of Antietam opened with Hooker's I Corps attack launched from the North Woods. Hooker's three Divisions went into action at the same time, with Doubleday's on the right, Ricketts' on the left, and Meade's holding back in the center. Jackson's Corps advanced to meet Hooker just south of the Cornfield; Jackson's Division (led by J.R. Jones) on the left, and Ewell's (led by A.R. Lawton) on the right. Starke and Taliaferro's Brigades, and Hood's Division, remained in reserve in the West Woods. Hays' Brigade quickly advanced to support Lawton.
6:30 AM	West of the Hagerstown Turnpike, Jones' Division was repulsed; Starke and Taliaferro's Brigades advanced to the Turnpike, and were repulsed. Near the East Woods, Lawton's Division was also repulsed. Although Hooker initially drove the Confederates successfully, Doubleday's and Ricketts' Divisions were nearly exhausted. At this critical moment, Hood's Division was sent into the fray, Law's Brigade on the right, and Wofford's on the left. Hood's attack turns the tide of the battle: Doubleday was stopped dead; Ricketts' was pushed back through the Cornfield. Meade's Division advanced to stop the Confederate counterthrust.
7:30 AM	Hood's attack swept through the cornfield where they encountered Meade's Pennsylvania reserves. Two isolated regiments of Gibbon's Brigade (Doubleday's Division) advanced out of the northern portion of the West Woods and hit the Texans on their left flank. Having driven the Federals from a threatening position near the Dunker Church all the way to the northern edge of the Cornfield, Hood's troops were shot to pieces. One of Wofford's regiments suffered a casualty rate of over 80%. Later in the day, a colleague asked Hood where his division was; Hood replied, "Dead - on the field".
8:00 AM	As the remnants of Hood's two brigades left the field, Ripley's Brigade moved out of their position in Mumma's farm fields to counter the latest wave of Federals. Already weakened by Wofford and Law, Ripley drove the last of the Union I Corps troops (Gibbon's two regiments west of the Turnpike and Meade's Pennsylvanians) from the field. At about this time, advance elements of the Union XII Corps arrived and deployed in the vicinity of the East Woods. Union troops from Crawford's Brigade managed to turn back Ripley's Brigade from its position in the Cornfield.
8:30 AM	With Ripley's Brigade turned back by fresh Federal Troops, Colquitt's Brigade moved out of its position in the Sunken Road to make one last attempt to retake the Cornfield. After successfully driving Crawford back into the East Woods, Colquitt's troops encountered Tyndale's Brigade, also of the Union XII Corps. Once again, Confederates were able sweep forward all the way through the corn, only to be stopped by fresh Union troops. The two brigades blazed away at each other for some time, until still more Union XII Corps reenforcements arrived. Colquitt's Brigade returned southward, leaving the bloodied cornfield to the Federals.
9:00 AM	With the repulse of Colquitt's Brigade from the field, the Federals freely advanced uncontested across the northern portion of the battlefield. The XII Corps (Crawford's Brigade) cleared out the last resistance in the East Woods and moved on the Dunker Church; the 125th Pennsylvania of Crawford's Brigade penetrated the West Woods, while Tyndale's Brigade took up a position several hundred yards east of the West Woods. As the XII Corps took position, the Union II Corps arrived on the field. Well in advance of the other two II Corps Divisions, Sedgwick's Division crossed the Antietam near the Pry House, advanced out of the East Woods, crossed the Cornfield, and penetrated the West Woods. As the Federals took up their tentative position in the West Woods, Confederate reenforcements arrived in this sector. Early's Brigade moved to oppose the Federal intrusion in the West Woods. Walker's Division moved up after having been removed from the Lower Bridge region. McLaws's Division, just up from Harper's Ferry, moved in to bolster the shattered Confederate left flank.
9:30 AM	At about 9:30 AM, the fighting around the Dunker Church reached its climax as Sedgwick met disaster in the West Woods. McLaws dislodged Crawford from the woods, leaving the Federal left completely uncovered. While Walker applied steady pressure on Sedgwick's front, Early's Brigade managed to come up unseen through a gully and hit Sedgwick on his left flank and rear. Taken completely by surprise, Sedgwick's Division scattered north toward the Miller Farm and eastward, toward the East Woods; in about 20 minutes, Sedgwick suffered about 2,000 casualties. Meanwhile, Tyndale's Brigade remained prone in front of the Dunker Church, waiting for resupply of ammunition.
12:00 AM	After a period of relative quite, Tyndale's Brigade finally resupplied and moved in toward the Dunker Church. The rest period also allowed the Confederates to regroup some of their strength. Unclear on the positions of friendly and enemy troops in the West Woods, Colonel Tyndale believed that the Union line still held where Sedgwick had been. Tyndale's failure to guard his right flank allowed Ransom's Brigade (of Walker's Division) to outflank and drive Tyndale out of the Woods. Cooke then advanced his two regiments to drive Tyndale into total confusion, and overrun an advanced section of Knap's Battery. Once again, the Federals lost their foothold in the West Woods.
1:00 PM	Between Noon and 1:00 PM, Federal reenforcements arrived on the field: Irwin's Brigade of the Union VI Corps. As they advanced, Irwin's men flushed out advanced Confederates who had taken part in driving Tyndale away from Mumma's Swale. As Irwin approached the West Woods, however, he encountered stiff resistance from Ransom's men, who still held the woods in numbers. Unable to mount sufficient strength to attempt to take the woods, Irwin's troops took up position along the crest of Mumma's Swale. The Confederates, barely able to hold the woods, made no further attempt to drive the Federals away. Although artillery roared on both sides for the rest of the day, neither adversary was inclined to renew the fight in this sector. The Dunker Church had been the target of the Federal assault. Some 12,000 casualties fell in a half mile radius of it. Although the East Woods and Miller's fields were firmly held by the Federals, possession of the Church evaded them until the morning after the Confederate retreat on the 18th.