Essay Archive - The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam ( or Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862,
climaxed the first of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s two attempts to
carry the war into the north. About 40,000 southerners were against the
87,000- man Federal Army of the Potomac under General George McClellan.
When the fighting had ended, the course of the American Civil War had
greatly altered.
After his great victory at Manassas in August, Lee had marched his
Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland, hoping to find vitally needed men
and supplies. McClellan followed, first to Frederick ( where through ....
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