Antientam Battle

Antietam Battle

Date: September 17th, 1862

Location: Antietam Battlefield

Result: Confederate retreated

Union:

Confederate:

Troops: 87,000

Casualtys: 12,401

Troops: 45,000

Casualtys: 10,316

George B. McClellan was the organizer of the Union of the Civil War. Appointed by Lincoln, McClellan built his army, but was always wary of Confederate forces, and that he faced many numbers times his own. After a failed campaign in Virginia, McClellan lost his position and John Pope was made General of the Army of the Potomac.

Robert E. Lee was a Confederate General. Before, Lincoln had offered him a position in the Union Army, to which he refused, saying he cant fight against his own people. Instead, he accepted a position by a Confederate General, and joined the Confederate Army. When George McClellan found out about his invasion plans, they faced off at the Battle of Anitietam.

George McClellan, leader of the Army of the Potomac, assaulted the Confederate Army with a series of vicious assaults near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Counterattacks by the Confederate Army swept through Millers Cornfield and the West Woods. When Robert E. Lee started to lose, he sent his whole force against the Union, while McClellan sent less than three quarters of his army. At night, both armys helped the wounded and buried the dead, and the next day, the continued to fight. Eventually, Lee retreated with to many casualtys. The Union claimed the victory, although the battle is viewed as a draw from military perspective. Driving Lee from Maryland was the victory that Abraham Lincoln needed to deliver a document called the Emancipation Proclamation, which changed the geopolitical course of the Civil War.

Aftermath

The Battle

Over 23,000 soilders were killed in the battle. It will always be remembered from the great loss of life. Also, it saved the North, by driving the Confederate out of Maryland. McClellan later was "fired" from the army by Lincoln, and retired to his home in New Jersey waiting for a military call, which never came. Robert E. Lee was known for his skill in the battle, and fought the Union of for a long time considering his numbers. If there were any people who thought war was noble, this shattered that thought.

Northern Army

Southern Army

George B. McClellan

Robert E. Lee