Editing James Longstreet (section)

===Antietam===
After the Confederate success at Second Manassas, Lee, holding the strategic initiative, decided to take the war to Maryland to relieve Virginia and hopefully induce foreign nations to come to the Confederates' aid. Longstreet supported the plan. "The situation called for action", he later said, "and there was but one opening – across the Potomac."{{sfn|Wert|1993|pp=180–181}}{{sfn|Longstreet|1991|p=200}} His men crossed into Maryland on September 6 and arrived in [[Frederick, Maryland|Frederick]] the following day, beginning the [[Maryland campaign]].{{sfn|Wert|1993|pp=180–181}} At the [[Battle of Antietam]] (Sharpsburg) on September 17, rather than commit his forces all at once, McClellan made a series of partial attacks on Confederate troops at different places throughout the day while holding many of his troops, including the entire V Corps, in reserve. At dawn, Hood's division on the Confederate left was driven back by an assault from Hooker's and [[Joseph K. Mansfield]]'s corps until reinforced by men from Jackson's command. More troops from both sides soon poured into the fighting, which raged for three hours.{{sfn|Alexander|1989|p=151}}{{sfn|Alexander|1989|p=195}} At the center of the field, D.H. Hill's division defended a 600-yard (548.6 meters) position dominated by a sunken wagon path. The position was naturally strong, made more so by the piling of planks from a wooden fence at the top of the ditch, and Hill's men firmly repulsed two successive charges from the Union divisions of [[William H. French]] and Richardson. Hill suffered significant casualties, and Longstreet sent R.H. Anderson's division, which consisted of 3,500 men, to reinforce him. Anderson was wounded and replaced by Pryor. At Pryor's request, Longstreet sent artillery support in response to Union cannon being fired at Confederates in the road from across [[Antietam Creek]]. He also ordered a flanking movement by about 900 soldiers in several regiments led by Colonel [[John Rogers Cooke]]. Union troops arrested Cooke's advance. An intense fight followed, and Cooke withdrew after his ammunition was expended. A mistaken order allowed Union troops to breach the Confederate position at the sunken road, but Confederate lines were stabilized.{{sfn|Wert|1993|pp=195–198}}

At this point in the afternoon, fighting largely ceased except for on the Confederate right. The Union left-wing under Major General [[Ambrose Burnside]] attempted to cross the Antietam Creek at what would become known as [[Burnside's Bridge]], while Jones' division led by Brigadier General [[Robert Toombs]]'s brigade defended the heights on the western side of the creek. For hours, the Union troops tried to cross the river and failed five times.{{sfn|Sears|1983|pp=284–307}}{{sfn|Pollard|1866|p=316}}{{sfn|Longstreet|1991|pp=256–259}} Finally at 4 P.M., a flanking maneuver forced Toombs to withdraw. After the further engagement, the remainder of Jones' division was forced to give way, and Burnside's men occupied the crest overlooking the river before pressing their advantage. Their progress was arrested by the arrival of A.P. Hill's division under Jackson from [[Harpers Ferry]]. Fighting ensued in the town of Sharpsburg until Burnside withdrew his men at dusk. The Confederates pursued their enemy but stopped once the retreating troops came under the protection of a battery on the opposite side of the river, ending the Battle of Antietam after 18 hours of fighting.{{sfn|Longstreet|1991|pp=259–262}}{{sfn|Pollard|1866|pp=316–317}}{{sfn|Sears|1983|pp=307–323}} At the end of that bloodiest day of the Civil War, Lee greeted his subordinate by saying, "Ah! Here is Longstreet; here's my old ''war-horse!''"{{sfn|Wert|1993|p=200}} Lee held his ground at Antietam until the evening of September 18, when he withdrew his army from the battlefield and took it back across the Potomac and into Virginia.{{sfn|Alexander|1989|pp=153–154}}{{sfn|Sears|1983|pp=306–307}} On October 9, a few weeks after Antietam, Longstreet was promoted to [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|lieutenant general]]. Lee arranged for Longstreet's promotion to be dated one day earlier than Jackson's, making the Old War-Horse the senior lieutenant general in the Army of Northern Virginia. In an army reorganization in November, Longstreet's command was designated the [[First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia|First Corps]], and Jackson's the [[Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia|Second Corps]]. The First Corps consisted of five divisions, approximately 41,000 men. The divisions were commanded by Lafayette McLaws, R.H. Anderson, Hood, Pickett, and [[Robert Ransom Jr.]]{{sfn|Dickson|2000|p=1215}}{{sfn|Wert|1993|pp=205–208}}