Battle Of Antietam Essay

In, 1862 one of the most important battles of the Civil War happened, the Battle of Antietam, from the pressure, to the death toll, and the effects on the armies. The battle took place in September 1862, about a year and a half after the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter. The stakes leading into the battle was enomous on both sides with a win for each army could turn the tide of the war. The Battle of Antietam was also notable because it is the single deadliest day in American History. Lastly, the effects of the brutal death toll and the evacuation of the Confederacy would have lasting effects on the US. The year is 1862 and Abraham Lincoln had a document, known as the Emancipation Proclamation (a document that would free all slaves in

In the battle there were three main strikes, the morning attacks on the Confederate left flank, the second and most notable being at “Sunken Road”, and the final strike by General Ambrose E. Burnside which was destined to succeed until more Confederate troops came to push them back. During the battle there was a farm lane known as “Sunken Road” where 2,500 Confederate soldiers were defending themselves against 5,500 Union soldiers; at the end 5,000 soldiers lay dead making this only one of the many extreme casualties of the battle. The battle was quick, only lasting twelve hours, but what once stood as a pleasant corn field became the home of around 22,000 dead or wounded people after being shot by cannons and muskets. In the end, Lee’s troops retreated after suffering around 10,000 of the 22,000 casualties,but because of the size of his army this was the heavier

The outcome of the battle is still debated till today, “ In strict military terms (the battle) was a draw...But the North considered it a victory because Union troops had stopped the Confederate Army in its first attempt at invading Northern territory.”(Bolotin 72). The first of the many changes after the battle was of the Union commander, George McClellan, after the battle, the Confederate army was at its lowest point in a very long time. Instead of attacking the army with the chance of ending the war, McClellan decided against it, so consequently Abraham Lincoln removed him from command and chose General Ambrose Burnside to replace him. Nevertheless, the pushback of the Confederate army opened up a great opportunity for the Union to shake up the South which was accoumplished with the Emancipation Proclamation. This action which was seen as a military act freed all slaves in the southern states. This caused a great surge of southern slaves to enlist in the Union army while also limitng foreign support because the proclamation marked the elimination of slavery as the ultimate goal. Most importantly, in the 1862 midterm elections, the Democrats that were against war were leading the polls to gain more seats in Congress. If the Democrats controlled Congress then they could have potentially