Lee invaded Maryland in September with a full agenda. He wanted to move the focus of fighting away from the South and into Federal territory. Victories there, could lead to the capture of the Federal capital in Washington, D.
Confederate success could also influence impending Congressional elections in the North and persuade European nations to recognize the Confederate States of America. On the other side, President Abraham Lincoln was counting on McClellan to bring him the victory he needed to keep Republican control of the Congress and issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
The first Confederate invasion of Union-held territory is not going as planned. Lee opts to make one last stand in the hopes of salvaging his Maryland Campaign. With Federal forces closing in from the east, Lee selects strategic ground near Antietam Creek and orders his army to converge there. A mile east of the town of Sharpsburg, the creek meanders through the hilly but open countryside, good for long-range artillery and moving infantry.
The water is deep, swift, and crossable only at three stone bridges, making it a natural defensible location. On September 15, Lee positions his men behind the creek and waits for McClellan to arrive. On the afternoon of September 16, Union general George B.
McClellan sets his army in motion, sending Maj. The following morning, McClellan attacks. September Meanwhile, towards the center of the battlefield, Union assaults against the Sunken Road pierce the Confederate center after a terrible struggle for this key defensive position.
Unfortunately for the Union, this temporal advantage in the center is not followed up with further advances and eventually the Union defenders must abandon their position. In the afternoon, the third and final major assault by Maj. Ambrose E. Burnside's Ninth Corps pushes over a bullet-strewn stone bridge at Antietam Creek. Just as Burnside's forces begin to collapse the Confederate right, Maj. There are more than 22, casualties at the Battle of Antietam. Doctors at the scene are overwhelmed.
This battle also provided Lincoln the political cover he needed to make changes in the leadership of his army. The Battle of Antietam, the single bloodiest day of the Civil War, was a victory for the North, which allowed them to pursue actions that eventually lead to the conclusion of the war. Sweet, Lyndsey A.. January Retrieved from the Scholarship. Undergraduate Thesis. After McClellan repeatedly balked at pursuing the enemy, an exasperated Lincoln finally relieved the general of his command in early November The only campaign McClellan would mount for the duration of the war was as the losing Democratic presidential candidate in But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. On September 18, both armies remained on the battlefield. They negotiated a temporary truce, allowing each side to remove its wounded from the battlefield.
On the evening of September 18, the Confederates began their retreat. McClellan did not immediately pursue the Army of Northern Virginia. The Battle of Antietam was a Union victory. This Union victory also affected the Union war effort in another important way. Saving the Union had been the initial motivation for pursuing the war with the Confederacy, but on September 22, , President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
It stated that slavery would end in all states still rebelling against the Union on January 1, Lincoln and several members of his cabinet were cautious as to the timing of the announcement of the Proclamation. If the president moved to end slavery before a Union victory was won, Europeans, Confederates, and some in the Union might view this action as a desperate attempt to win support for the Union war effort. The Union victory at Antietam allowed the president to link slavery's demise with the preservation of the Union.
The Battle of Antietam and the resulting Emancipation Proclamation caused both anxiety and hope among Ohioans. Many Ohioans worried that Union victory in the war was further off than they hoped with Lee's invasion. Other Ohioans welcomed the Emancipation Proclamation and celebrated that slavery's demise was now a Union war aim. Other Ohioans feared a surge in black migrants to the state if the Emancipation Proclamation was enforced.
Toggle navigation. Jump to: navigation , search. McClellan Army of the Potomac. Dee, Christine, ed. Athens: Ohio University Press,
0コメント