Antietam

Antietam, also known as Sharpsburg, as it was called in the south, was fought from September 16 - 18, 1862. In the morning on September 16, George B. McClellan and his Union Army encountered Robert E. Lees' Army near Sharpsburg, Maryland.  Joseph Hooker from the Union ordered his troops to attack the Confederates. The assault was brutal and it was the beginning of the single bloodiest day in American War history. Attacks and counterattacks went back and forth, even though the northerners strongly outnumbered the Confederates, under the lead of Stonewall Jackson, held their ground. To really put into perspective how terrible the battle was, listen to Clara Barton's story was. She was a nurse and while she tended to a wounded soldier a bullet went through her sleeve into the man she was treating and it killed him. Barton would later have to ring out her shirt because it was dripping with blood. Now this name may ring a bell. Clara Barton was raised in Massachusetts and had no particular interest in the war. Although, before her father died she told her, you are a good Christian so it is your job to take care of the soldiers. Barton climbed up the ranks as nurse throughout the war and after she founded the American Red Cross. Anyway, later in the day, General Ambrose Burnside gathered his corps and pushed them across Antietam Creek, trying to end the battle once and for all. It looked like Robert E. Lee and his army was in trouble but A.P. Hill and his soldiers arrived, staving off the Unionists. Robert E. Lee was outnumbered two to one, so he committed virtually everything in his arsenal to the Battle of Antietam. McClellan on the other hand did not, sending just one-third of his troops, much to Lincoln's dismay. Looking back on it, McClellan should have easily won this battle. After all, he did outnumber the Confederates two to one and he had a copy of Lee's battle plan. During the night everyone tended to their wounds and prepared for the next day. Lee and McClellan continued to have little debacles until the 18th, even though there were roughly 22,000 casualties on the 16th alone. It was a hard fought battle, and Lincoln claimed victory, he was encouraged to write the Emancipation Proclamation and European powers had decided not to help out the south. But the south had to be happy too, they knew they could stand with the Union and Lee had proven he was a powerful leader. After the battle Lincoln had a tough decision to make. George B. McClellan, a strong Union supporter and leader on the battlefield, had not lived up to his potential. He was timid and cowardly during fights, but demanded so much while not battling. He had done some costly things to the federal cause, so he was let go on November 3, 1862. While he was frustrated, McClellan did understand what had to happen. Although, as the years went on during the war, Lincoln would become very scared of McClellan. George decided to run for president in 1864, and if he had won, the country may look very different now.

Sources

Information http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam.html?tab=facts  

Picture of Farm and Dead http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/12/02/timestopics/battle-of-antietam/battle-of-antietam-sfSpan.jpg  

Picture of Battle http://www.xtimeline.com/__UserPic_Large/9015/ELT200805041620221833119.JPG