The response was disappointing, to put it mildly. Over the next ten days, Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia received roughly two hundred recruits while losing roughly five times that number of men to desertion. Marylanders did, by and large, favor the Confederate cause, but they did so from a distance. Once they saw the war brought to their doorsteps, they were much cooler toward the Southern men in gray uniforms.

Lee recognized his mistake early on, but he had committed himself and could not turn back. He still harbored the hope of drawing out and destroying one of the various Union armies, and that alone would make the invasion of Maryland worthwhile. For the moment, however, Lee was content to have his men forage in Maryland for supplies, and for his cavalry arm, led by General J. E. B. Stuart, to keep a watchful eye on the Federals.