Dates: September 16 - 18, 1862

 

Location: Sharpsburg, Washington Country, Maryland 

 

Union Commander:  Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan.

 

General McClellan’s objective was to defend and protect Washington D.C., the capital, from the first invasion of the North by Confederate General Robert E. Lee. 

 

Confederate Commander: General Robert E. Lee 

 

General Robert E. Lee’s objective was to invade Maryland, though doing so was breaking the Confederate defensive policy. 

 

Summary:

 

In Sharpsburg, Maryland near Antietam creek on September 16, 1862 the Union army under command of General McClellan engaged in battle with the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General Lee. Antietam is the bloodiest day in all of American military history. The battle began on September 17, General Lee’s left flank was attacked by General Hooker’s corps. Indecisive logistics resulting in a abundance of casualties. These beginning confrontations took place in the West Woods and David Miller’s thirty acre cornfield. Although the Union outnumbered their enemy about two to one the Confederate Army held their ground. The Union army began to launch head-on attacks into General Lee’s center along the Sunken Road. After many waves of attacks the Union successfully broke through the Confederate center, and gained the key defensive position. Towards the end of the day General Burnside’s corps charged over the stone bridge across Antietam Creek, and attacked the Confederate right. Arriving just in time Confederate General Hill’s division launched a counterattack after arriving late from Harpers Ferry. During the night the armies recovered and fortified their lines. On the 18th several small battles continued while Lee evacuated his wounded south of the Potomac. McClellan’s gradual deployment of his larger army enabled General Lee to deal with each attack by moving his forces from each skirmish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who won?

 

While the battle was a draw from a military point of view Abraham Lincoln named it a victory for the Union. This victory was a necessity to Lincoln that would enable him to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation without it seeming like a plea. The Emancipation Proclamation would greatly change the geopolitically of the War.

 

Bibliography: 

 

"Antietam." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam.html?tab=facts>. 

Battle_of_Antietam. Digital image. Https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Battle_of_Antietam.png. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Battle_of_Antietam.png>. 

History.com Staff. "Battle of Antietam." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-antietam>. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Antietam: A Savage Day In American History. Digital image. Wunc.org. Http://wunc.org/post/antietam-savage-day-american-history, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/shared/npr/201307/161249404.jpg>. 

"The Unfinished Nation." Barnes & Noble. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/The-Unfinished-Nation>.