Bloodiest Day: Antietam Halts Lee's Advance
The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, produced 22,717 casualties in a single day, making it the bloodiest day in American history. Union General George McClellan attacked Robert E. Lee's outnumbered Army of Northern Virginia along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, in a series of poorly coordinated assaults. Fighting surged through Miller's Cornfield, the Sunken Road (afterward called Bloody Lane), and across Burnside's Bridge. McClellan had Lee's battle plan, captured by a Union soldier wrapped around three cigars, but moved so slowly that Lee nearly escaped encirclement. The tactical draw was a strategic Union victory: Lee retreated to Virginia, and Lincoln used the result to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation five days later.
September 17, 1862
164 years ago
Key Figures & Places
American Civil War
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Robert E. Lee
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George B. McClellan
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Battle of Antietam
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Confederate army
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American Civil War
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George B. McClellan
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Army of the Potomac
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Maryland campaign
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Northern United States
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Robert E. Lee
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Army of Northern Virginia
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Battle of Antietam
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Union
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Confederate
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Maryland
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