Battle of Antietam..Civil War..Importance?

Question

Could someone help me i need to know the importance and/or historical significance of the Battle of Antietam and/or how it affected america. thanks.

Answer 1

The key reasons Antietam was important:

- It effectively ended Lee's efforts to invade the northern states.
- It halted southern efforts to press Lincoln to sue for peace.

- It was a critical northern victory which allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
- The issue of the Emancipation Proclamation probably kept France and England out of the war.

Antietam is preserved as a National Battlefield.
The NPS site is here: http://www.nps.gov/archive/anti/contents.htm

Answer 2

Battle Of Antietam Significance

Answer 3

RE:
Battle of Antietam..Civil War..Importance?
Could someone help me i need to know the importance and/or historical significance of the Battle of Antietam and/or how it affected america. thanks.

Answer 4

it was the first victory for the union in a while and it allowed lincoln to publicize the emancipation proclamation without making it seem like a final battle cry

Answer 5

Here is couple of sites that might help. Good luck.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/ABPP/battles/md003.htm


http://www.civilwarhome.com/antietam.htm

Answer 6

To understand the importance you have to go at the battle and the events before and after: Battle of Sharpsburg- September 17, 1862. First, the “Lost Orders” were of not much importance, like today the media EX. Pollard editor of the Richmond Examiner had again printed so much information Lee had told his council of war just to read the paper and they would know their assignments. It was just something else to project blame. By marching his victorious army (this was just 18 days after second Manassas) into Maryland, Lee had several objectives. First, he wanted to maintain the momentum from that victory, which left the retreating Union army in chaos. By marching into Maryland, Lee could relieve Virginia of enemy occupation. He knew the Union army would have to mirror his movements and take up defensive positions in front of Washington and Baltimore.
Logistically, also, moving his army into the unharvested, virgin countryside of western Maryland would provide new food supplies for Lee's hungry soldiers, and the merchant stores in Frederick could resupply his troops with new clothing and shoes. In addition, September and October mark the key harvest months. Without Union armies to bother them, the Southern farmers could gather their harvests and be able to feed Lee's armies during the upcoming winter.
Lee also hoped that by his moving into Maryland the undecided border states might still join the cause and the European powers might recognize the South. Possibly, he could influence the upcoming Congressional Elections and cause more Democrats--who favored peace--to be able to outvote the Republican majority in the House and demand an end to the war.
So on, Thursday morning, September 4, 1862, the dirty, ragged Army of Northern Virginia splashed across the shallow fords of the Potomac River just north of Leesburg to the strains of "Maryland, My Maryland". By midmorning, Saturday, September 6, Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson's advance force of 5,000 men marched down Market Street in Frederick and made camp on the north side of town. The remainder of Lee's 40,000-man army soon followed.
Upon his arrival in town, Lee drew up a Proclamation to the People of Maryland, inviting them to side with the Southern movement. For the next several days Lee's troops, upon strict orders not to pillage, bought food and all the shoes and clothing they could find at the stores in town. Soon it became obvious that the citizens of Frederick, though polite, had no sympathy for the Southern cause.
Therefore, Lee drew up a new set of plans. He would divide his forces into four sections, sending Gen. Jackson with six divisions of 22,000 men to eliminate the 12,000-strong Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry to the southwest. The remaining three divisions of Lee's forces--18,000 men, under Gen. James Longstreet--would move northwest over the Catoctin and South Mountain ranges to Boonsboro and Hagerstown, a distance of 25 miles.
Later Jackson would rejoin Lee and Longstreet at Hagerstown. Then, using these mountain ranges to protect his right flank, Lee could move his combined Confederate forces northeast along the rail line to Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania and a key rail center for the Union. Early on Wednesday morning, September 10, Lee's forces began leaving Frederick to carry out their assignments. Unforeseen events, however, would disrupt Lee's plans. General McClellan would reorganize the Army of the Potomac in days, rather than weeks as Lee expected, and arrive in Frederick on Friday, September 12th. Second, the garrison at Harpers Ferry, rather than fleeing, was ordered to stand until reinforcements could arrive. When Lee learned that McClellan's army was moving westward from Frederick, he realized the peril in which his divided forces found themselves. Quickly he sent troops to block the three main passes over South Mountain, providing sufficient time to concentrate the majority of his forces in a defensive position around Sharpsburg, six miles to the southwest of Boonsboro. At the same time, McClellan, with 85,000 men, gathered on the east bank of the Antietam Creek. Thus, late on September 16, all the pieces were in place late for the battle that would begin at sunrise the next morning--the battle that would become the bloodiest day of the Civil War.
You did not ask about this but if I were your teacher I would give you extra credit for including (you recognized the significance of the matter and that the answer are intertwined) it. Lincoln was reluctant to issue an Emancipation Proclamation but you would have thought from what one is taught in class these days this was his primary concern. He issued the proclamation to save the Union making impossible for foreign Governments to intervene on behalf of the Confederacy. Even though the English supported (indirectly) slavery, they like other countries were officially against the practice. By his actions, Lincoln was showing the US was against slavery but not the Confederacy. If like the leaders of these countries at the time, you took the time to read and study the act you would see it does nothing and in fact, Lincoln thought that the Afro American was not the equal of whites and his plan was to resettle the slaves in either the Amazon or Western Texas.

Most people are not aware that there was a series of action and even proclamations for instance Lincolns correspondence of October 14, 1862 to the military and civilian authorities of occupied Louisiana.

“Major General Butler, Governor Shepley, & and [sic] all having military and naval authority under the United States within the S[t]ate of Louisiana. The bearer of this, Hon. John E. Bouligny, a citizen of Louisiana, goes to the State seeking to have such of the people thereof as desire to avoid the unsatisfactory prospect before them, and to have peace again upon the old terms under the constitution of the United States, to manifest such desire by elections of members to the Congress of the United States particularly, and perhaps a legislature, State officers, and United States Senators friendly to their object. I shall be glad for you and each of you, to aid him and all others acting for this object, as much as possible. In all available ways, give the people a chance to express their wishes at these elections. Follow forms of law as far as convenient, but at all events get the expression of the largest number of the people possible. All see how such action will connect with, and affect the proclamation of September 22nd. Of course, the men elected should be gentlemen of character willing to swear support to the Constitution, as of old, and known to be above reasonable suspicion of duplicity. (CW 5:462-3, italics added).

NOTE: The italic show that Lincoln rather then issue an Emancipation Proclamation or free the slaves was still willing to allow the Southern States back into the Union. One will find this all the way up to the 1865 visit to Camp Lookout.

At the same time Lincoln was issuing the Emancipation Proclamation he was petitioning his cabinet to negotiate and appropriate funds to force the Blacks else where.

In 1864, Jeff Davis and other Southerner leaders would contemplate outlawing slavery and probably would have if the opportunity had arisen.

God Bless You and The Southern People.