American History

The Battle of Antietam also referred to as the Battle of Sharpsburg was one of the major civil wars in America. This battle took place in the year 1862 and affected Maryland, Sharpsburg and Antietam Creek. This battle has been said as the worst of all in the history of America as it was the bloodiest battle that Americans had ever been involved in. It was fought for a day only but more than 23,000 people were reported as casualties by the end of the battle. The key people in this particular war were Major General George B. McClellan who led the Union team while the Confederate team was led by General Robert E. Lee. The outcome of the battle was not concluded although the North did have a win that was considered strategic as their casualties were few in comparison to the South.

It all began on September 3rd 1862 when Robert Lee came to Maryland having earned a victory earlier in August the same year in Second Bull Run. The main aim of Lee and his troops was to recruit more people as well as to seek more supplies from the state of Maryland. It was also the aim of Lee to influence the general opinion of the public for the upcoming elections in the Northern part of America. The two armies, one from the North and one from the South met at Maryland which was to be the battle field.

Beginning from dawn to dusk of the 17th day of September in the 1862, there were massive attacks from both sides and the battlefield was filled with bodies from both sides. The landscape of the battlefield was characterized by the color red as blood sprinkled during the war. One of the soldiers involved in the battle said that on this particular day one could walk on peoples bodies without stepping on bare ground. This showed the many number of bodies that were lying the day after the battle. It is argued that during this battle no side took the victory and that the battle ended due to exhaustion. On the night of 18th September 1862 Lee withdrew his troops ad went back to Potomac. There were two main opposing parties in the battle of Antietam. There was the Confederate which was led by the General Lee. This group was from the north of Virginia and was organized into two major groups. The first group was led by Major General James Long Street while the second group was led by General Thomas Jackson. The other opposing party was the Union which was led by Major General George McClellan.

The aftermath of the battle was one of the worst that America has had to deal with since their independence. The battle is estimated to have ended at about 5.30 pm on the 17th of September 1862. The Union side had a total of 12,401 casualties with at least 2100 reported to have succumbed to their injuries and died. The Confederate on the other hand had more than10,000 with at least a third people dead. According to the military history of America, this is the highest number that has ever been witnessed.

Upon the return of McClellan and his troops President Lincoln was not impressed by their performance. He felt that the whole performance of McClellan and his team was an underperformance and that there was no coordination. The President was particularly disappointed with the fact that McClellan did not pursue Lee when he withdrew from the battle claiming that there was shortage of equipment. Immediately McClellan returned from the battle he was relived from his duties as the commander of the army.

The Maryland campaign of 1862 has been ranked among the very most crucial operations of the military in all the civil wars that America has experienced. The battle of Antietam was not a full victory on the side of the Union especially in comparison to what President Lincoln expected. However this came up as an opportunity for Lincoln and his team to strike politically at the Confederacy. On the 22nd September 1862 President Lincoln issued the infamous Emancipation Proclamation which declared that the government which was federal in nature would consider all slaves that were held by their masters against their will free beginning 1st of January the following year.                               

This declaration did not take effect immediately and was met by heavy resistance especially from some masters who did not want to let their slaves go. However President Abraham Lincoln insisted that the abolition of slavery had been declared official and that this was just the preliminary stage of the government in a bid to end human slavery and ill treatment of the human race.                               
Immediately after the battle McClellan agreed that invasion of Pennsylvania would never come to be. Lee on the other hand had massive plans on crossing back to Potomac. It is the Emancipation Declaration that would later lead to the American Civil War. When Abraham Lincoln made this declaration most of the people from the South objected this idea as they thought that they would not survive. Pretty much of the income from the South came from slave trade and the people from the South felt that end of slave trade would take away their source of income. Slaves would work in tobacco and cotton plantations. In the northern part of America, slavery was illegal and had since abolished. Due to this reason there was anger between the two sides (North and South). In April 1962, the Southern side bombed South Carolina and after that there were many bloody battles that came to be crowned by the battle of Antietam.

The battle of Antietam can be divided into three major phases. The first phase took place on September 16th 1862. The rain that had lasted the whole night had just stopped. The battle began at approximately 6.00 in the morning. By 7.00 oclock all members of confederate had been withdrawn partially when Mansfield was attacked and killed.       

The second phase of this war was at the center of Confederate and the troops of the Union group had not seen the Confederate group hiding. The Confederates without the knowledge of the Union troops opened fire at a close range. This struggle lasted for a couple of hours with both sides attacking and counterattacking one another. During this phase General McClellan got an opportunity to totally destroy Lee and his troops. However he did not take up this chance and Lee together with his troops managed to escape.  Slowly the battle began to move in the Southern direction and Lee and his troops found themselves at the center of two main commanders from the enemy side. The troops from the confederate side had hid themselves in a road that was sunken making it impossible for the other side to recognize or even locate them.

However as the Confederates were skimming their next move they were surprised to spot those from the Union side being on a hill. They formed a parade that was led by Major General William French as they approached the confederates. This marked the end of the second phase. As the Union side approached the confederates they were attacked unawares and most of their soldiers were lost. A second troop of soldiers from the Union side attempted a similar approach and were equally overwhelmed. For three hours there were massive attacks from both sides which resulted in practical slaughter of people with neither side seeming to overpower the other.

The third phase of the battle was in Southeast and this was the territory of the Union side. It was at this point that this battle was considered a turning point for the American Civil War which was later to hit America. The battle of Antietam marked then point of turn for the Civil was as it brought to an end the invasion of the Northern side of America by Lee and his troops. It was also as a result of this battle that President Abraham Lincoln got an opportunity to make the great proclamation that saw all slaves declared free. President Lincolns intention was to make the Emancipation declaration way before the civil. However he was advised against this move by his members of Cabinet and was instead advised to do it after the victory that Union garnered against the Confederates. This was done to eliminate the perception that the declaration was made out of desperation.

The victory that was garnered by members of the Union and also the declaration that was made by President Abraham Lincoln were seen as playing a key role in dissuasion of Britain and France as far as giving recognition to Confederacy was concerned. Some people from the North had always thought that Great Britain and France had the plan to give recognition to the Confederacy and that they were going to view it as a nation independent from the Union if the latter suffered a major defeat in subsequent battles.

     The battle of Antietam is one of the most historical battles in the history of America because of its significance as many changes took place after or as a result of this battle. To begin with this battle has been considered as the point of turn for the Civil War as the aftermath was quite tragic. America has never witnessed such great number of deaths as they did on this particular battle. It was as a result that the Civil War in America was born. It is also one of the bloodiest wars that America has ever witnessed since its independence. Perhaps the greatest significance that is attached to this war was the fact that it was after the war that President Abraham Lincoln made the greatest declaration which came to be known as the Emancipation Proclamation that saw slaves declared free.