Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to episode 197 of our

Civil War Podcast. I'm Rich. And I'm Tracy. Hello y'all. Welcome to the

podcast. Previously on the show, we looked at round one of the fighting for the

Sunken Road during the Battle of Antietam as the second core division of

William French advanced against the Confederate position and was thrown back

with heavy losses. Continuing the unfortunate federal pattern of piecemeal

attacks, Israel Richardson's division now arrived on the scene after the last

of French's men fell back into feet. Richardson's 4,000 second core veterans

might well have been used to exploit the foothold George Green had won in the

West Woods near the Dunker Church, but there was no guiding hand for the

federal effort on this side of Antietam Creek. As this army continued to make

uncoordinated and unsupported attacks on this part of the battlefield,

McClellan was still at his headquarters back at the pry house where he was

making no effort to direct operations or shape the action here and

consequently events would play out as they would. With no one to tell him

otherwise, Richardson moved his division southward to join French's battered

force in front of the Sunken Road. At the same time that Israel Richardson's

division was swinging into action against the Sunken Road, there was a brief

flurry of gunfire from the south in the direction of the lower bridge. You see

when McClellan had finally released Richardson's division to cross the

Antietam, he had also decided it might be time to bring the ninth core into play.

A courier from McClellan had reached Ambrose Burnside's headquarters shortly

...