Battle of Crampton's Gap

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Crampton's Gap
partof=the American Civil War


caption=
date=September 14, 1862
place=Maryland, United States
result=Union victory
combatant1=United States of America
combatant2=Confederate States of America
commander1=William B. Franklin
commander2=Howell Cobb
strength1=12,800
strength2=2,100
casualties1=533 total (CS)
casualties2=887 total (CS)

The Battle of Crampton's Gap was a battle fought between forces under Confederate General Howell Cobb and Union Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin as part of the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1862 at Crampton's Gap in Central Maryland.

Franklin's VI Corps attacked a small, hastily assembled Confederate force at Crampton's Gap in South Mountain to protect the rear of Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws, who was across Pleasant Valley on Maryland Heights taking part in the siege of Harpers Ferry. Despite inferior numbers, the Confederate force held out throughout the day, taking heavy casualties. By the evening the VI Corps broke the Confederate line and proceeded through the gap into Pleasant Valley, Franklin, however, failed to follow up on his success and did not attack McLaws on Maryland Heights.

Tactically the battle resulted in a Union victory because they broke the Confederate line and drove through the gap. Strategically, the Confederates were successful in stalling the Union advance and were able to protect McLaws' rear.

Background

On September 13, 1862, Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan received a lost copy of Robert E. Lee's Special Order No. 191, which detailed the Confederate plan of action in Maryland, including the fact that Lee had divided his army and sent a portion to capture Harpers Ferry.

As part of that siege, units under Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws were sent to take Maryland Heights and then bombard the Union garrison in the town. To protect his rear flank, McLaws stationed a small guard at Brownsville Gap (a smaller gap a few miles south of Crampton's Gap) and Crampton's Gap, both of which allowed access to Pleasant Valley and the eastern slope of Maryland Heights. The force at Crampton's Gap consisted of one battery of artillery, 3 regiments of infantry under Brig. Gen. William Mahone, one brigade under Brig. Gen. Howell Cobb, and a small cavalry detachment under Col. Thomas T. Munford.

McClellan, uncharacteristically, did not delay after receiving the Lost Order, he immediately ordered Maj. Gen. William Franklin and his VI Corps to set out for Burkittsville from his camp at Buckeystown the following morning at daybreak, with instructions to drive through Crampton's Gap and attack McLaws' rear. Though he did not delay in sending the order, by allowing Franklin to wait until morning to depart, his order did contain a delay of nearly 11 hours.

The battle

The small Confederate force used the terrain to its maximum advantage with Munford's cavalrymen initially stationed at the eastern base of the mountain, the artillery halfway up its slope and the infantry entrenched at the summit. From there vantage point on the mountain they watched throughout the morning as Franklin's VI Corp marched across the Middleton Valley towards them.

When the Federals reached Burkittsville around noon, the Confederate artillery opened up. In Burkittsville, while under artillery fire, Franklin assembled his troops into three columns. At 3:00pm, after a delay of nearly 3 hours, the VI Corps finally began its assault. The reason for the delay has never been ascertained, but it would prove costly. The Union advance was slow and steady, supported by artillery. Their superior numbers quickly overwhelmed the cavalry and artillery on the slopes of the mountain. The retreating Confederates were briefly rallied at the summit by General Cobb, but the weight of the Federal advance was too much. Once the VI Corps reached the summit they drove the Confederates from their positions, inflicting heavy casualties, in just 15 minutes of fighting.

After the Confederate line at the summit broke, the troops scattered in all direction into Pleasant Valley and were thereafter totally unable give any further fight to the Federals. They, however, had held out for three hours, which, in concert with the delay of the VI Corps getting to and beginning the attack on Crampton's Gap, meant that it was after 6:00 p.m. when Franklin reassembled his men in Pleasant Valley and too late to begin a second attack on McLaws force on Maryland Heights. The following day Harpers Ferry surrendered to the Confederates, while Franklin sat camped in Pleasant Valley, now convinced he was outnumbered by McLaws by nearly 2 to 1.

Results and analysis

In total, the VI Corps suffered 115 killed, 416 wounded and 2 missing, for a total of 533 casualties. The Confederate forces suffered 130 killed and 759 wounded, for a total of 887 casualties.

Tactically, the Federals were successful in driving the Confederates from the gap, the first time any portion of Lee's army had been driven from the field at the point in the war, and were able to inflict heavy casualties in doing so. Strategically, the Confederate force, however, was able to stall the Federal advance for 3 hours despite being outnumbered nearly 6 to 1. The delay was long enough to ensure the safety of McLaws on Maryland Heights and capture of Harpers Ferry the following morning .

Perhaps more importantly though, was the fact that after seizing Crampton's Gap, General Franklin failed to attack McLaws and allowed Jackson's Corps to reunite with the main body of the Confederate army at Sharpsburg without a fight. There Lee hastily stood his ground in the mammoth Battle of Antietam, the war's bloodiest day. President Abraham Lincoln then used the marginal Union victory at Antietam as a springboard to his Emancipation Proclamation which changed war aims. The actions of Franklin at Crampton's Gap thus set the stage for Antietam three days later.

References

* [http://aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=421 Crampton's Gap Battlefield]
*Murfin, James V. "The Gleam of Bayonets: The Battle of Antietam and Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign, September 1862." Louisiana State University Press; Baton Rouge, 1965.