A Visit from the President

— Antietam Campaign 1862 —

At the time of the bloody Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, this house was the home of Stephen P. Grove, and this was his farm. The Federal Army of the Potomac camped throughout the area after the battle; the Grove house became the headquarters of Gen. Fitz-John Porter, commander of the V Corps.

When the fighting ended on September 17, both armies suffered from exhaustion and shock. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee reacted first, withdrawing the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River near Shepherdstown during the next night. Union Gen. George B. McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac, sent part of his force in pursuit but kept the remainder near Sharpsburg to rest and resupply. In Washington, D.C., President Abraham Lincoln sympathized with the soldiers' need to recover. He grew increasingly impatient, however, as the days and weeks rolled by and McClellan failed to move. On October 1, Lincoln took a train west from Washington to visit and encourage McClellan in person.

The men conferred at McClellan's headquarters, then came here on October 3 to attend a review of the V Corps in nearby fields. Afterward they posed here for Alexander Gardner, one of Mathew Brady's photographers. Lincoln and McClellan seemed to be taking each other's measure, with the advantage going to the much taller president. Lincoln returned to Washington the next day. On November 7, Lincoln relieved McClellan, who finally had crossed into Virginia but still refused to give battle to Lee. The president's search for a general who would fight and win continued until 1864, when Gen. Ulysses S. Grant took charge.

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1862 Antietam Campaign
Antietam Station
Headquarters Site Gen. R.E. Lee
First Methodist Cemetery
Longstreet's Command
Jackson's Command
Kemper's (Va) Brigade
1st Maryland Artillery (CSA)
Jackson's Command
Jackson's Command

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