War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to throw up breastworks, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it lasts; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of life and property in the end.

Antietam was primarily a defensive battle against superior odds although McClellan failed to exploit his advantage. After a series of maneuvers Jackson defeated Frémont's command at Cross Keys and Brig. Several other men in his staff were killed in addition to many horses.

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21 1824 – May 10 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War and one of the best-known Confederate commanders after General Robert E. Lee.