I got to wondering how far Shepherdstown and Sharpsburg (site of the Battle of Antietam) were from each other. I was shocked that they were so close, just 4.1 miles.
When Fitz John Porter's troops arrived at Boteler's Ford on the Maryland side, they eventually had some 70 cannons set up and began pounding the Confederate positions. Confederate guns were effectively outdistanced.
Messages were sent to William Pendleton describing a worsening situation. At 5:30, a group of U.S. Sharpshooters crossed the Potomac and set up a line on top of the bluffs. Pendleton had never commanded infantry in combat before and started making mistakes with his positioning of them not knowing how many troops he actually had.
Reinforcing his flanks left him with just about 300 men to defend Boteler's Ford. Pendleton's artillery began running low on ammunition. Eventually the Confederate lines broke and mass confusion reined. At that point, he went out looking for support and orders as to what he should do. He had not seen any of his cannons for awhile and assumed the pieces had been captured.
However, all but four of the 44 cannons were saved.
--Old Secesh
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