The Battle of Shepherdstown (also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford) was fought on September 19 and 20, 1862. It was the last of four battles that made up the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War.
In early September of 1862, General Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign saw the first invasion of the North by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Lee's plan was to win over the citizens of Maryland, a border state, to the Confederate side. A victory in the North could also convince England and France to recognize the Confederate states as a legitimate country. The Maryland Campaign had so far consisted of three battles: the Battle of Harpers Ferry, the Battle of South Mountain and the bloody Battle of Antietam. The fourth battle was the Battle of Shepherdstown.
After Antietam, Lee's army was retreating back across the Potomac River at Boteler's Ford, about 1 mile east of Shepherdstown. Brigadier general William N. Pendleton, an ordained Episcopal minister before the war, was given command of the rearguard at Boteler's Ford covering the withdrawal of the Army of Northern Virginia back into Virginia. He was Lee's chief of artillery. As such he would dispatch various artillery units to other commands. But he had never commanded troops himself.
As the battle-weary Confederate troops crossed the river into what is now Jefferson County, West Virginia, their crossing was being protected by Pendleton's artillerymen manning about 35 cannons on the bluffs on the south side of the river. But the odd collection of cannons had several short-range howitzers and a number of obsolete six pounders incapable of reaching the opposite Maryland bluffs. Pendleton also had command of two understrength infantry brigades he stationed along the riverbank.
The last of Lee's infantry was crossing the river by early afternoon on September 19. Lee then sent General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry to a second crossing near Williamsport, Maryland. Just as the last of the Confederates were wading ashore, Union General Alfred Pleasonton arrived with a scouting force of Union cavalrymen. He had orders from Major general George B. McClellan not to follow the retreating rebels into Virginia "unless you see a splendid opportunity to inflict great damage upon the enemy without loss to yourself." Seeing the Confederates on the South side covered by artillery on the bluffs above, he did not immediately cross the river. Instead he set up 70 cannons on the north side of the Potomac. He then ordered the cannons to open fire on the Confederates. The Confederate artillery returned fire as best they could. That same morning Union general Fitz John Porter's V Corps had arrived. He had orders from McClellan to support Pleasonton and attack the Confederates as they retreated. As night approached, Porter's 500 or so Union soldiers began crossing the Potomac. The Union troops attacked Lee's rearguard and proceeded to capture several of Pendleton's cannon. With his artillery overpowered Pendleton panicked and left his post as commander of the Confederate forces to look for reinforcements. Shortly after midnight Pendleton found Lee. He told his commander he had lost all of his cannon and Federal troops were on the South shore. In fact, the Union forces had only captured five of his cannons. In his absence, the Confederate artillerymen had moved the remaining cannon back to safety.
Early in the morning hundreds more Union troops began crossing the Potomac to join the 500 already there. As they pushed into Shepherdstown they met the Confederate reinforcements commanded by general Stonewall Jackson. Porter, seeing he was badly outnumbered ordered his men back to the Maryland side of the river. But some could not escape before the Confederates opened fire on them. One unit, the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry, was pinned down and could not cross back into Maryland. They were inexperienced and had been issued poor quality muskets that did not always fire. Some scrambled down the cliffs to cross the water under fire. The regiment lost a total of 269 casualties out of 737 men. For the rest of the day the two sides remained in their positions on either side of the Potomac. The battle ended in a stalemate.
Ussel, Corrèze
Ussel () is a French commune, a "subprefecture" in the Corrèze department in central France. It is in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is also the capital of the "arrondissement" of Ussel.
It is the capital of the old, historical region of "Haute-Corrèze".
Ussel is in the Massif Central on the foot of the plateau de Millevaches. The city itself is on top of a hill between the valleys of the Diège and the Sarsonne rivers.
The "commune" of Ussel has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
The city of Ussel is at about from Bordeaux, at from Toulouse, at from Paris and at from Lyon.
The "commune" of Ussel is surrounded by the "communes":
Three rivers flow through the "commune"ː the river Diège (the town sometimes is called "Ussel-sur-Diège"), the river Sarsonne and the stream "Étang Roux".
The climate of Ussel, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.
The inhabitants of this city are known, in French, as "Usselois" (women: "Usseloises").
With a population of 9,772, Ussel has a population density of inhabitants/km.
Evolution of the population in Ussel
Ussel is a subprefecture of the Corrèze department, the capital of the "arrondissement" of Ussel and the administrative centre () of the canton of Ussel.
It is part of the intercommunality "Haute-Corrèze" ().
Ussel is twinned with:
Hekatonkheires
The Hekatonkheires ( - "Hundred-handed ones") are one of the three races of beings born to Ouranos and Gaia, the primordial gods of the sky and the Earth. Their names are Kottos (Greek: Κόττος), Briareos (Greek: Βριάρεως) and Gyges (Greek: Γύγης).
The Hekatonkheires received their name because they each have a hundred arms, fifty on each side of their bodies. Despised by their father, the Hekatonkheires were thrown into Tartarus alongside their brothers, the Elder Cyclopes, guarded by the monster Kampê. Many years later, Zeus, alongside his brothers and sisters, freed the Hekatonkheires and the Elder Cyclopes from their prison so that they might help them in their war against the Titans. During the war, the Hekatonkheires threw rocks at Mount Othrys, the Titans' base, reducing the mountain to half its original size. After the Titanomachy, the Titans were cast into Tartarus, and Zeus appointed the Hekatonkheires to be their jailers.
Neuenegg
Neuenegg is a municipality of the administrative district of Bern-Mittelland in the canton of Berne in Switzerland.
<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
Nidau
Nidau is a municipality of the administrative district Biel/Bienne in the canton of Berne in Switzerland.
Niederbipp
Niederbipp is a municipality in the administrative district of Oberaargau in the Swiss canton of Berne. On 1 January 2020 the former municipality of Wolfisberg merged into Niederbipp.
Ebbs
Ebbs is a small village in the Kufstein district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is north of Kufstein at the border with Bavaria, Germany. The village has seven parts. It was mentioned for the first time as "Episas" in 788. Rumors came up that settlement began in the Roman age. The main source of income is tourism but the village also has commuters.
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic (born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player.
Raonic was born in Titograd, Socialist Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He moved to Brampton, Ontario, Canada in 1994. He lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco. His uncle is Montenegrin politician Branimir Gvozdenovíc.
Raonic is the most successful Canadian singles player. He turned pro in 2008. He represented Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics. His world ranking peaked at no. 3 in November 2016. He was the losing finalist of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.