Battle of Antietam

On September 17, 1862, Generals Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off near Antietam creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland, in the the first battle of the American Civil War to be fought on northern soil. Though McClellan failed to utlilize his numerical superiority to crush Lee's army, he was able to check the Confederate advance into the north. After a string of Union defeats, this tactical victory provided Abraham Lincoln the political cover he needed to issue his Emancipation Proclamation. Though the result of the battle was inconclusive, it remains the bloodiest single day in American history, with more than 22,000 casualties.

More to Explore

People and Groups

Themes

Events

Related Topics

This Day in History

Jun 19

Civil War

USS Kearsarge sinks CSS Alabama, 1864

The most successful and feared Confederate commerce raider of the war, the CSS Alabama, sinks after a spectacular battle off the coast of France with the…

Recommended Articles

  • American Civil War

    American Civil War

    The American Civil War, fueled by the debate over slavery and states' rights, pitted North against South in the costliest conflict fought on U.S. soil.

  • Robert E. Lee

    Robert E. Lee

    Lee's most brilliantly fought battle was the defeat of Joseph Hooker at Chancellorsville on May 1-4, 1863.

  • George McClellan

    George McClellan

    George McClellan reorganized Union forces in the first year of the American Civil War but drew criticism for failing to capitalize on his advantage over Confederate troops.

  • Emancipation Proclamation

    Emancipation Proclamation

    The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed slaves in states that remained in rebellion during the American Civil War.

Did You Know?

The 1st Texas Infantry lost 82 percent of its men during the Battle of Antietam, the highest casualty rate for any Confederate regiment in one battle of the Civil War.

Fought along Antietam Creek, at Sharpsburg, Maryland, this battle brought about America's bloodiest day, the product of Confederate audacity and Union command failure.

Following Second Manassas, General Robert E. Lee advanced into Maryland, believing that the potential strategic and political gains justified his defiance of the avowed Confederate defensive policy. Lee's complex operational plan divided his outnumbered force; disaster loomed when a lost copy of that plan came to the Union commander, Major General George B. McClellan. Slow, cautious, and defensive-minded, however, McClellan wasted all the advantages of his lucky discovery and his two-to-one numerical superiority.

The battleground Lee selected was well suited for defense but dangerous as well, having the Potomac River behind him. McClellan planned to overwhelm Lee's left flank but failed to exercise command control, so the combat diffused south along the battle line.

The first four hours of fighting, much of it across farmer David Miller's thirty-acre cornfield, were indecisive. Next came a series of bloody head-on attacks against Lee's center that finally overran the area afterward called Bloody Lane. The last action of the day was against Lee's right, where Union troops pierced the line (weakened to reinforce other sections) but were stopped by late-arriving Confederate reinforcements.

Lee withdrew across the river on September 18, suffering 10,318 casualties (of 38,000 engaged) to McClellan's 12,401 (of 75,000). The draw that the Union claimed as a victory provided the Lincoln administration enough justification to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. A series of graphic battlefield photographs of the dead, taken by Alexander Gardner, brought to the home front "the terrible earnestness of war."

NOAH ANDRE TRUDEAU

The Reader's Companion to Military History. Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Advertisement

Related Shows

  • America The Story of Us

    America The Story of Us

    America The Story of Us is an epic 12-hour television event that tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented.

Shop HISTORY

See More

Classroom Study Guides

  • 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: Antietam (PDF)

    Teacher's Guide to the program dramatically exploring the events, meaning, and significance of the watershed battle at Antietam.

  • April 1865: The Month That Saved America (PDF)

    Teacher's Guide to the program covering the last few weeks of the Civil War, from President Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration, to the surrender at Appomatox, the assassination of Lincoln, and the final laying down of arms by the Confederacy.

  • Sherman's March (PDF)

    Teacher's guide to General William Tecumseh Sherman's military campaign. In 1864 General Sherman began his "March to the Sea," burning crops, confiscating supplies, destroying buildings and ripping up the rail tracks on his way.