Battle Of Antietam Essay

The Battle of Antietam also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg is considered the bloodiest battle of the Civil War with over 23,000 casualties.The battle took place near the Antietam river in Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 22, 1863. This battle occurred during the Civil War which started because of slavery the Confederates wanted to keep slaves and the Union thought that was dehumanizing and not right. The Confederates did not want to give up the Slaves whatsoever so they removed themselves from the United States, and called themselves the Confederate States of America. In the battle of Antietam, the Union General during this battle was George McClellan and the Confederate General was Robert E. Lee. The Battle of Antietam gave the Union

Since the battle took place in Sharpsburg, Maryland it would be the first attack by the Confederates on Union territory. The Confederates were very hopeful that they would be victorious because this would definitely have a big impact on how the war would turn out because it would give General Robert E. Lee the knowledge that he can attack the Union on their home soil and have a chance of winning. “The action of the army against the rebels has not been quite what I should have best liked. But they have been driven out of Maryland, and Pennsylvania is no longer in danger of invasion.” This quote is by Abraham Lincoln explaining that he was not proud of the battle because of the number of casualties, but regardless they still came out with a victory. The Union’s defense caused the Confederates to retreat because they were not willing to put more lives at stake.“And though weaker than our opponents in men and military equipments, must endeavor to harass, if we cannot destroy them.” This quote was by the Confederate General Robert. E. Lee and he basically pointed out that they needed this victory, even though they were outclassed in everything, Amount of men, and military equipment, they were still going to try to win this

The Union win at the Battle of Antietam basically made France and Britain stay away from the war because once again the Confederacy would be on a huge shortage of materials due to having to use it for war. “the event you so strongly desire”—diplomatic recognition—“is very close at hand.” This is what the British Prime Minister had said to some Confederate envoys. Diplomatic recognition basically means that they would finally get recognition from Britain for being an independent country. Once the news of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation had arrived overseas the British had backed away, because they had known that the Confederates would be placed in a horrible position due to lack of supplies and overall soldiers. If the Confederates had won here they would have had France and Britain in their possession because they weren’t getting anything from the Union so why would they need or want to help them. If Britain would have jumped in on the Confederate side, the war would have been over because Britain was so powerful even though they still had a lack of supplies. Since the Confederates had lost the battle it