er of which,
may never be determined, but the sorrowful result of which was that
the Union forces, much larger in the aggregate than Lee's, were
divided and continually outnumbered on the field of battle.

Flushed with success the Confederate authorities pushed their
fortunes with great boldness. General Bragg invaded Kentucky with
a large army and General Lee prepared to invade Pennsylvania. The
cruel defeat of General Pope disabled him for the time as a commander,
and the Administration, fearing for the safety of Washington, and
yielding somewhat to the obvious wishes of the soldiers, ordered
General McClellan on September 2 to assume command of all troops
for the defense of the Capital. General Lee avoiding the fortifications
of Washington, passed over to Maryland, and prepared to invade
Pennsylvania with a force formidable in numbers and with the added
strength of a supreme confidence in its invincibility. General
McClellan moved promptly westward to cut off Lee's progress northward.
After preliminary engagements the main battle of Antietam was fought
on the 17th of September, resulting in a Union victory. Lee was
severely repulsed and retreated across the Potomac.

General McClellan fought the battle of Antietam under extraordinary
embarrassment caused by the surrender of Harper's Ferry to the
Confederates on the 13th, with a loss to the Union army of more
than twelve thousand men. Could he have had the advantage of this
force on the battle-field, under a competent commander, at the
critical moment, his victory over Lee might have been still more
decisive. His success however was of overwhelming importance to
the National Government and put a stop to an invasion of Pennsylvania
which might have been disastrous in the extreme. He was blamed
severely, perhaps unjustly, for not following Lee on his retreat
and reaping the fruits of his victory. He had the misfortune to
fall into a controversy once more with the authorities at Washington.
After a correspondence with the War Department he was peremptorily
ordered by the General-in-Chief Halleck on the 6th of October in
these words: "The President directs that you cross the Potomac
and give battle to the enemy or drive him south. Your army must
move now while the roads are good. . . . I am directed to add that
the Secretary of War and the General-in-Chief fully concur with
the President in these instructions." The order was not promptly
obeyed. The Army o