Antietam

Antietam battle is considered one of the major battles of the American Civil War. To put the Union on the defensive, General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia invaded Maryland. To stop him, President Abraham Lincoln dispatched Major General George McClellan and his Army of the Potomac.

The initial encounter between the two groups took place at dawn in a cornfield in Sharpsburg, Maryland, where the tall corn stalks hid their movements as they exchanged fire. The action later moved to a stone bridge over Antietam Creek, where Union soldiers had to make three unsuccessful attempts to take a Confederate position before they succeeded. On both sides, 22,717 men are thought to have perished, been injured, taken prisoner, or gone missing.

Lee's assault was thwarted by the Union, even though the combat ended in a draw. That gave Lincoln the self-assurance he needed to proclaim emancipation, which changed the focus of the Civil War from one fought to maintain the Union to one fought to abolish slavery. Northerners were also made aware of the gruesome cost of the war by images taken by Alexander Gardner of bodies scattered over the battlefield and displayed in Matthew Brady's museum in New York.

Time: September 16, 1862 – September 18, 1862

Place: Maryland