Battle Of Antietam Essay Example

The Battle of Antietam was fought on 17th September 1862 near Antietam Creek, Sharpsburg and Maryland. This was the first main battle that was fought in the American Civil War that took place on the Union soil and is considered to be the bloodiest one day battle in the history of America with more than 22,000 people being injured, missing or dead. The two opposing forces in this battle were Confederates that were headed by General Lee and Unions that were headed by General George McClellan. This war trimmed down dozens of Union soldiers within a few minutes as the war started. There was an average of one casualty in every two seconds the war was fought for the initial 12hours that turned out to be the bloodiest of all. At the end of the war, both parties were able to maintain their position despite the deadly killings. This battle had a huge strategic impact and changed the course of the Civil War and for the country too.
This battle helped eliminate slavery as it allowed Abraham Lincoln to present the Emancipation Proclamation. For almost two months, Lincoln proclamation to free the slaves was kept in a drawer awaiting the results and news of the battle of Antietam. The president claimed, to his cabinet in 1863 that the time has come now – this was after five days after the battle ended. Even though he claimed that the performance of his army against the enemy was not the best and was not that was expected but still the rebellion were driven out of Maryland. Hence his Emancipation Proclamation declared in 1863 that all slaves that exist in the rebel territory shall be free forever and not be held captive anymore.

End Notes

Klein C. (2012) 7 Ways the Battle of Antietam Changed America, History in the Headlines http://www.history.com/news/7-ways-the-battle-of-antietam-changed-america
National Park Service (2010) The Battle of Antietam, NPS Website http://www.nps.gov/anti/historyculture/upload/Battle%20history.pdf