The Civil War Turning Points in the East: The Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg

The bloodiest day in American history took place on the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. On September 17, 1862, Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia fought George McClellan’s Union Army of the Potomac outside Sharpsburg along Antietam Creek. That day, nearly 25,000 would become casualties, and Lee’s army would barely survive fighting the much bigger Northern army. Although the battle was tactically a draw, it resulted in forcing Lee’s army out of Maryland and back into Virginia, making it a strategic victory for the North and an opportune time for President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the rebellious states.

For those reasons, Antietam is remembered as one of the major turning points of the Civil War, but it is often overlooked that the bloody battle only represented the climactic culmination of a 3 week campaign that saw George McClellan cautiously pull a fragmented Union army together and begin tracking Lee’s army into Maryland. Sizing up McClellan, Lee had split his army up during its invasion, including sending Stonewall Jackson’s men to Harpers Ferry, but the whole course of the campaign and possibly the war changed when the Union Army somehow found a copy of Lee’s marching orders, telling them where the Confederate army would be and when. To Lee’s surprise, McClellan’s army began advancing far more rapidly, including attacking them at South Mountain before cornering them along Antietam Creek outside of Sharpsburg.

Without question, the most famous battle of the American Civil War took place outside of the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which happened to be a transportation hub, serving as the center of a wheel with several roads leading out to other Pennsylvanian towns. From July 1-3, Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia tried everything in its power to decisively defeat George Meade’s Union Army of the Potomac, unleashing ferocious assaults that inflicted nearly 50,000 casualties in all.

Day 1 of the battle would have been one of the 25 biggest battles of the Civil War itself, and it ended with a tactical Confederate victory. But over the next two days, Lee would try and fail to dislodge the Union army with attacks on both of its flanks during the second day and Pickett’s Charge on the third and final day. Meade’s stout defense held, barely, repulsing each attempted assault, handing the Union a desperately needed victory that ended up being one of the Civil War’s turning points.

After the South had lost the war, the importance of Gettysburg as one of the “high tide” marks of the Confederacy became apparent to everyone, making the battle all the more important in the years after it had been fought. While former Confederate generals cast about for scapegoats, with various officers pointing fingers at Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and James Stuart, historians and avid Civil War fans became obsessed with studying and analyzing all the command decisions and army movements during the entire campaign. Despite the saturation of coverage, Americans refuse to grow tired of visiting the battlefield and reliving the biggest battle fought in North America.

The Civil War Turning Points in the East comprehensively covers the entire Pennsylvania campaign, analyzes the decisions made by the battles' most important leaders, and explains the aftermath of the Union victory and the legacies that were made and tarnished by the battles. Along with bibliographies, maps of the battles, and pictures of important people and places, you will learn about the battles like you never have before.

© 2025 Charles River Editors (E-bog): 9781475332544

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 2. maj 2025