Battle of South Mountain

The Battle of South Mountain, fought September 14, 1862, was part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War.

South Mountain is the name given to the continuation of the Blue Ridge Mountains after they enter Maryland. It is a natural obstacle that separates the Shenandoah Valley and Cumberland Valley from the eastern part of Maryland.

On September 14, pitched battles were fought for possession of the South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen George B. McClellan, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, needed to pass through these gaps in his pursuit of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

Confederate generals D.H. Hill and James Longstreet defended Turner's Gap against Ambrose Burnside's corps. To the south, Lafayette McLaws defended Crampton's Gap against William B. Franklin's corps. By dusk the Confederate defenders were driven back, suffering severe casualties, and McClellan was in position to destroy Lee's army before it could concentrate. McClellan's limited activity on September 15 after his victory at South Mountain, however, condemned the garrison at Harpers Ferry to capture and gave Lee time to unite his scattered divisions at Sharpsburg. Union general Jesse Reno and Confederate general Samuel Garland, Jr., were killed at South Mountain.

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