Goldsboro's Sacrifice at Battle of Antietam-- Part 5

That little bridge was defended by a small group of Georgia troops and it took until late in the afternoon for Union troops to get across it.  Once they did, they were in a position to flank the Confederate Army and turn the battle into a fiasco for Lee.  General Burnside commanded the Union troops at the bridge and his name is forever attached to it.  Lincoln elevated him to command of the Army of the Potomac after the battle which led to the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg in December.

Very fortunately, the  troops of Confederate General A.P. Hill arrived from Harper's Ferry after a 17-mile march and they smashed into the Union troops, forcing them back and ending the fighting.

Lee waited a day, expecting McClellan to continue the attack, but when that didn't happen, he retreated back to Virginia and McClellan did not follow.  This angered Lincoln so much that he once again fired his general.

More than 23,000 troops on both sides were killed or wounded during the battle and since it was Americans on both sides, it is the single bloodiest day in American history.

Lees Escaped a Big One.  --Old Secesh