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On this day yesterday…1862

The Battle of Antietam was an important battle in the American Civil War.It is also called the Battle of Sharpsburg by South historians.[a] The battle was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland. It was also considered the bloodiest battle in the Civil war. It was the first major battle in the Civil War that took place in the border states. Both sides hoped a big victory for their side would make a short war.

About 22,720 soldiers were killed, wounded or were missing at Antietam.[3] There has never been another single-day battle in the history of the United States with so many American casualties.[3] However, there have been other battles that lasted for more than one day where more Americans fell.[3] For example, the later Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days and had an estimated 51,000 American casualties.[3]

Background Edit

During the summer of 1862, the hopes of the North that the rebellion could be easily crushed were quickly fading.[4] In July, Major General George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign to capture the Southern capital at Richmond, Virginia failed.[4] Near the end of August, the Second Battle of Bull Run was another Confederate victory.[4] The Union armies retreated back to Washington, D.C. only a few miles away.[4] In Tennessee and other western states, Confederate offensives were succeeding.[4] This was causing poor morale in the Union army.[4]

After defeating the Union Army of Virginia at Bull Run, Lee led his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland beginning his Maryland Campaign.[5] He had several reasons for attacking the North.[5] First, it was harvest time in the Shenandoah Valley and Lee needed to turn the Union's attention away from his main sources of food for his army.[5] Secondly, he needed European support for the Confederacy. A major win in the North could get the support they needed and also cause the border state of Maryland to secede.[5] It would demoralize the North and possibly get them to negotiate. Lee thought the Union army needed time to rebuild and resupply and moving quickly he could catch them unprepared.[5]

Prelude

The battle Edit

Three days later the two armies, led by Lee and McClellan, met again on September 17, 1862, between Antietam Creek and the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland.[5] The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, was not only the bloodiest day of the American Civil War, it was the single bloodiest day in American history.[5] The Confederate troops took up defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At this point, McClellan decided to attack.

At dawn on September 17, Union soldiers led by Major General Joseph Hooker attacked Lee's troops from their left. As the two armies fought each other, the fighting spread across a local cornfield and around the Dunker Church. The Union troops kept attacking the Confederates at the Sunken Road.[13] They were able to break through the center of the Confederate lines.[13]

Late that afternoon, more Union soldiers, led by Major General Ambrose Burnside, came into the fight.[13] They captured a stone bridge over Antietam Creek and moved towards the Confederate troops' right side.[13] But as Burnside's soldiers attacked, more Confederate soldiers arrived. Confederate Major General A.P. Hill had led his division of soldiers from Harpers Ferry to Antietam. Once Hill's division arrived, they were able to counterattack (fight back against Burnside's soldiers).[13] This was a surprise to the Union troops, and the surprise worked well. The Confederate troops drove Burnside's soldiers back and ended the battle. Even though he had more soldiers, McClellan was not able to destroy Lee's army. Lee was able to shift his troops to meet each of McClellan's attacks. McClellan also did not call up his many reserve forces (soldiers on standby) which could have helped build on the Union's successes.

Aftermath