The Battle of Antietam

        By September of 1862, General Robert E. Lee had successfully thwarted the Union army's attempts of capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond. His tactics had proven to be unbeatable and his victories had left Abraham Lincoln frustrated with the Union commanders. Confederate President Jefferson Davis encouraged Lee to gain a victory in Union controlled territory to further weaken Northern morale and have the North agree to a ceasefire. Davis believed that a major Confederate victory would guarantee French or British military support for the Confederacy.

   Two Union soldiers discovered Robert E. Lee's battle plans wrapped in cigars and presented the plans to the Union commander General McClellan.  Lee's "Special Order 191" contained detailed information of the Confederate army's plan to divide its division and proceed through Maryland.  McClellan waited 18 hours before acting on this information and lost the opportunity to decisively defeat Lee's forces.

      McClellan's forces consisted of 75,000 men and were opposing Robert E. Lee's 38,000 man army.  Fighting at  Antietam Creek began shortly before dawn on September 17, 1862 and lasted the entire day.  9/17/1863 became the single bloodiest day in U.S. History, with over 23,000 men killed.  By the end of the day, Lee's army was forced to retreat and the Union army had a much needed victory. The victory at Antietam bolstered Northern morale and gave Abraham Lincoln a decisive victory over the Confederacy.  

      Since the beginning of the war Lincoln struggled over the issue of slavery.  Not wanting to cause any more states to leave the Union he promised to uphold the Fugitive Slave Act in his first Inaugural Address.  Cabinet members, abolitionists, and politicians had been pressuring Lincoln since the beginning of the war to free the slaves in the Confederacy for political and military reasons. 

     

       Freeing slaves in the South would weaken the Confederate economy and helped bring the war to an end faster.  By calling for an end to slavery in the South it would also speed up the process of ending slavery all together.  Lincoln understood that to issue such a proclamation it would have to come after an important victory not a defeat so he would not look like he was negotiating out of weakness. 

For Homework Tonight:

Finish Reading the Handout on the Emancipation Proclamation and please answer the following questions:

1. According to the Emancipation Proclamation who is now free? (Be specific)

2. What is Abraham Lincoln hoping the newly freed slaves would do?

3. What did Abraham Lincoln ask the freed slaves to do? What could they join?

Here are the notes for the past week.