M.A. Kleen

On July 10, 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac was located just west of Boonsboro, Maryland, with Hagerstown and Funkstown on its right flank. The army could not advance with Confederate cavalry threatening its flank, so Brig. Gen. John Buford’s cavalry division rode north along the Old National Pike to attack J.E.B. Stuart’s crescent-shaped defensive line around Funkstown north of Antietam Creek. Buford hoped to drive them off, but Stuart’s troopers put up a spirited defense. Col. William White, temporarily commanding George T. Anderson’s Georgia brigade (Anderson had been wounded at Gettysburg), rushed to reinforce Stuart’s line. Union infantry, commanded by Col. Lewis Grant, also arrived on the scene, and for a moment it looked like another bloodbath was brewing. The Union army did not want to bring on another major engagement, however, and broke off the attack before nightfall. Union forces lost an estimated 16 killed and 90 wounded to the Confederates’ 29 killed and 115 wounded.