The Antietam Campaign

The Maryland Campaign of 1862, which culminated in the Battle of Antietam, was a major turning point in the American Civil War and in the history of this nation. Lasting for just fifteen days, the courage, sacrifice and eventual outcome of the campaign would forever burn into the American memory names like McClellan and Lee, places like "Bloody Lane" and the "Cornfield," and principles such as emancipation and freedom. With over 23,000 casualties, the battle of Antietam was the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. When the guns finally fell silent on the campaign and the Confederate army crossed back into Virginia, General Robert E. Lee's first major invasion into the North was over. Although a tactical draw on the field, with Lee's army retreating, Abraham Lincoln saw an opportunity to change the course of the war. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation had been on Lincoln's desk since July. Now that the long hot summer of Union defeats had given way to an autumn with Union success, Lincoln signed the Proclamation just three days after Lee's army splashed back across the Potomac River. The historic terrain provides soldiers an exceptional opportunity to study the battles on the actual ground where the critical events occurred.