Battle of Antietam

My research paper will be on the bloodiest battle of all, the battle of Antietam. Some of the reasons way I want to write on this battle is first it was the bloodiest and second I love reading about Gen Robert E. Lee. I will be touching on most of the war, including the morning, afternoon and into the night. I will take a look at pivotal turning points throughout the day. What did south did wrong as well as the north? Also the ultimate question, how was this the bloodiest war and not a winner?

More men were killed or wounded at Antietam on September 17, 1862, than on any other single day of the Civil War. Federal losses were 12,410, Confederate losses 10,700. Although neither side gained a decisive victory, Lee's failure to carry the war effort effectively into the North caused Great Britain to postpone recognition of the Confederate government. The battle also gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which, on January 1, 1863, declared free all slaves in States still in rebellion against the United States. Now the war had a dual purpose: to preserve the Union and end slavery.

1. Sears, Stephen. Landscape turned red: The battle of Antietam. New Haven : Ticknor & Fields, 1983.

2. Bailey, Ronald H. The bloodiest day: the battle of Antietam. Alexandria, Va. : Time-Life Books, c1984.

3. Johnson, Curt. Artillery hell: The employment of artillery at Antietam. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, c1995.