⚔ Battlefields of the World

Battle of Crampton's Gap 1862

Battle of Crampton's Gap: Crampton's Gap map
Image: Jacob Wells, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Date14 September 1862Wikidata
Year1862Wikidata P585 (point in time)
Era19th century (1800–1913)derived from year
LocationUnited StatesNatural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentNorth AmericaNatural Earth
War / conflictAmerican Civil WarWikidata P361
Coordinates39.4060, -77.6398Wikidata P625

About the battle

The Battle of Crampton's Gap, or Battle of Burkittsville, was fought between forces under Confederate Brig. Gen. Howell Cobb and Union Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin as part of the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1862, at Crampton's Gap in Western Maryland, during the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War.

Franklin's VI Corps attacked a small, hastily assembled Confederate force at Crampton's Gap in South Mountain that sought to protect the rear of Confederate Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws, who was across Pleasant Valley on Maryland Heights taking part in the siege of Harpers Ferry. Despite inferior numbers, the Confederate force held out throughout the day, taking heavy casualties. By the evening the VI Corps broke the Confederate line and proceeded through the gap into Pleasant Valley. Franklin, however, failed to follow up on his success and did not attack McLaws on Maryland Heights.

Tactically the battle resulted in a Union victory because they broke the Confederate line and drove through the gap. Strategically, the Confederates were successful in stalling the Union advance and were able to protect McLaws' rear.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Crampton's Gap (revision 1370109337), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

39.4060, -77.6398 · United States

Google Maps OpenStreetMap

Nearby battles

Other battles of the American Civil War

All 498 battles of the American Civil War →

Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles

Further reading