Infantry and batteries
disappeared in woods or beyond a ridge, and then Dick noticed that night
was coming. The sun was already hidden by the lofty slopes of the
western mountains, and there would be no battle that day. In another
half hour full darkness would be upon them.
But Dick felt that something had been achieved. A powerful Union force
was now beyond the Antietam, with its feet rooted firmly in the soil of
the peninsula. It looked directly south at the Confederate army and
there was no barrier between. Lee would have to face at once, Hooker on
the north and McClellan on the east across the Antietam. The Union army
had been numerous enough to outflank him.
Dick was quite sure of success now. They had lost two of the most
precious of all days instead of one, but they had closed the gap on the
north, through which Lee's army might march in an attempt to escape.
It was likely, too, that the last of Jackson's men would come that way
and the Union force would cut them off from Lee. Two entire army corps
were now beyond the Antietam, and they should be able to do anything.
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