The Battle of Antietam
I. 10 Essential Facts
1. The Battle of Antietam was a two-day battle fought at Sharpsburg, Maryland
2. The Union had an army of 87,000 while the confederates had around 45,000
3. It still remains the single bloodiest day in American history, with around 23,000 casualties (Confederate: 11,000; Union: 12,000)
4. General Robert E. Lee led the confederate army, while General George McClellan led the union army
5. From a military standpoint, neither side “won”, but the union suggested they dud because the south retreated
6. It gave President Abraham Lincoln the “victory” he needed before delivering his Emancipation Proclamation
7. The battle was started by Joseph Hooker’s Union soldiers mounting a powerful assault on the confederate left flank
8. Repeated union attacks and equally devastating confederate counterattacks, swept across Miller’s Cornfield, Dunker Church, Burnside Bridge, and the Sunken Road
9. Lee was outnumbered 2:1, he sent in all his forces while McClellan sent in less than three quarters of his so he could switch quickly from threat to threat on the battlefield.
10. Sunken road was a key defensive position controlled by the confederates, which was eventually penetrated by union soldiers. II. Four related stories or interesting facts
1. The Bloody Lane is the bloodiest encounter in the whole battle of Antietam. With more than 5,500 casualties combined. Bloody Lane (Sunken Road) was a worn-down road which wagons traveled around and gradually the road sunk five feet below ground level. The south hid at the top (where it was ground level again) and fired down at the surprised north. The south were eventually overrun but not after blood streamed and bodies lied around the road, giving it the nickname “bloody lane”
2. General Lee’s Battle Plans were known before the battle, but McClellan delayed it, thus causing a loss of critical information, which could have ended the battle much quicker
3. Lincoln was disappointed in McClellan’s bad performance, making the battle a draw instead of a crushing defeat for the confederates. Soon after, McClellan was fired.
4. The battle was very closely fought, a first person primary source states, most of the time they fired from less than a 100 yards away. They literally