Battle Of Antietam Essay

The Battle of Antietam, (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg), at the time was just another battle in the War Between the States. Some seasoned and experienced generals could see the seriousness of the situation from the beginning. However, many soldiers did not realize that this battle would be a major turning point in the war. It would be known as the bloodiest single day battle of the war with both sides sustaining thousands of deaths and injuries. The Union lost 12,400 men, while 75,300 were engaged in total. The Confederates lost 10, 300 men with 52,000 engaged in total. Six Generals were killed and more than 500 cannons were used on both inclusively. On both sides of the battle, decorated generals stood, both desiring victory.

On September 9th, Lee was issued an order named Special Order 191 by the Confederacy. This was the first invasion of the North by the Confederates. The plan split apart the Confederate forces, sending each unit to a different town for siege. Shortly after routing the Union Army of Virginia under Maj. Gen. John Pope in the Second Battle of Bull Run in August, 1862, Lee led his own Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac into Maryland. Reasons for this invasion included taking pressure off the Shenandoah Valley at harvest time; encouraging European support for the Confederacy by winning a battle on Northern soil; and demoralizing Northerners to reduce their support for the war while encouraging the slave-holding state of Maryland to secede and join the Confederacy. Believing the Union army would require time to rebuild, Lee took the step of separating his army, sending parts of it to capture different objectives. Mainly, these plans involved using part of Lieutenant General Thomas Jackson’s corps to capture the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia , while the largest corps, that of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, proceeded on the road toward Sharpsburg. General Lee wrote down the specific plans and routes of his army in