Antietam: A Failure To Achieve Victory

The paper, "Antietam: A Failure to Achieve Victory," is an insight into the events that occurred during the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. It examines key events that altered both the course of battle and American history. The Battle of Antietam was a turning point in the course of the Civil War. Prior to the battle, Confederate troops were on the offensive in Northern territory and were hoping to achieve a decisive victory against their Union foes. If this victory occurred there was the potential that both Great Britain and France would recognize the Confederate States of America as a legitimate country and would intervene on behalf of the South. During the Maryland Campaign, chance events occurred that drastically altered the face of the Battle of Antietam. These events that occurred preceding the battle are an integral part in understanding both the outcome and the significance of the battle. Furthermore, the battle allowed for the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's Proclamation changed the tenor of war: the Union now required unconditional surrender to enforce the restrictions on slavery; and European nations were reluctant to support a Confederate nation increasingly isolated by its peculiar institution. The background, battle, and meaning of Antietam became one of the defining moments of the Civil War.