Preview

The Battle of Antietam: Events Leading to the Emancipation Proclamation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1239 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Battle of Antietam: Events Leading to the Emancipation Proclamation
In the summer of 1862, the confederates found themselves as the aggressors. In the Eastern Theater, Lee's army of Northern Virginia had driven the Union Armies away from the Confederate capital, Richmond and was preparing to invade Maryland. In the western theater, the confederate armies were also moving strong, into Kentucky. Due to the war France and Britain were feeling the strain as cotton from the southern states was starting to diminish.
President Lincoln was thinking of taking a risky step to seal victory. At this point in time he came to the realization that he needed to move in a different direction. The strategic goal to restore the Union was not a good enough reason to keep the Northern states interested and behind the war. Lincoln decided to offer the North a new reason to stay in the fight and the British to stay out of the war, however he needed a good victory under his belt to use for this change in strategic planning. The problem was how to break the news of this change in strategy before the Confederates tore through the union on the battlefield and effected his troops morale.
A month prior Generals Lee and Jackson were crossing guns with Pope at Manassas#. Lee moved his army across the Potomac River into Maryland on September 4, 1862. At this point in time his objective was to claim Harrisburg.# On his way he spread his troops around Maryland to show everyone his strength, gathering supplies#, rounding up volunteers and he also managed to threaten Baltimore, Washington and even Philadelphia. Lee's plan was that McClellan would eventually come out of Washington to fight him and he would have plenty of time to choose the ground that he wanted to fight on and secure the southern victory.
Lee choose the Shenandoah Valley as his supply route. Unfortunately the Union controlled Harpers ferry at the northern opening of the valley. This Union force could cut off the confederate supply route of wagon trains loaded with ammunition, which could

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    On May 7, 1864 Ulysses S. Grant orders the army to of potomac to head toward Spotsylvania Court House. Spotsylvania Courthouse is a small town off a trail on the way to Richmond, Virginia. Grant was attempting to cut off Robert E. Lee’s army that was heading for Richmond or at least get Lee’s army into an open field where the Unions would be able to take advantage with their superior numbers. It was Conf. general J.E.B. Stuart’s job to stop the federals from getting to Spotsylvania. For a couple of days, a part of Stuart’s cavalry, led by Fitz Lee, battled union horseman for the control of the Brock Road. The Brock Road was the most direct route between the wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. Lee was forced to relinquish his position near…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    April 9th was a very big day. That was the day that Lee surrendered to Grant in the Appomattox court house. We all know the war started when the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter and the war took off from there. Lee finally surrendered when Grant took away his supplies and had surrounded him and his troops. What Grants soldiers would do was get a piece of paper and write there name and addresses so when they died they could tell who they were and contact their family.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lee took command of the north virginia army. “His military genius became readily apparent.”- Lees consistently defeat numerically superior foes. He earned his respect for his men. Despite Lee’s comfortable effers, lee was forced to surrender on April 9, 1865 with his depleted army effectively ending the civil war.…

    • 49 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lincoln wanted to evoke a Spirit of reconciliation with the states that had seceded! because he didn't want to dissolve the union…

    • 5601 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This will take place in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. This battle would start out in the woods and will result in around 21,000 total casualties At first Lee thought he was coming out of their with a victory, but the battle showed that the North still had a lot of man power and was able to push back the south to the trenches of Richmond. The key was to this battle was that Grant refused to retreat, and made his men push southward even though he new it would be costly. In the end though this battle will turn out for a victory for the Union .…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert E. Lee’s plan to defeat the Union army at Gettysburg consisted of sending James Longstreet First Corps to outflank the Union left at Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Lee wanted the attack to take place stealthily and he hoped the attack would roll up the Federal line, and force them to leave their defensive positions. Lee wanted the attack to take place during the early morning. As Longstreet’s men were marching toward their target they had to reverse and countermarch after it was discovered their current path would put them in view of a signal station on top of Little Round Top (Battle). This cost the Confederates valuable time and they weren’t able to mount an offensive until just after 4 P.M. hours later than Robert E. Lee had…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The union was in strong positions. General Lee assigned James Longstreet to attack where he stood but didn't get…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the Confederacy just wanted to survive and defend its right to secede. Grants strategies in The Battle Of Spotsylvania Court House were that he wanted to keep pressing south. Even if the confederates wanted to invade the north they did not have the proper materials. The north had more potential soldiers, greater industry capacity, more railroads for transportation, and overall greater ability to fight The battle took place in Spotsylvania County, Virginia on May 8th till May 21, 1864. The soldiers engaged were 100,000 union and 52,000 confederates and 18,400 union casualties and 13,400 confederate casualties. Some of the battle took place “hand to hand.” In the blackness of the night the men stumbled upon unfamiliar country roads, falling into ditches, tripping, and floundering in…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many thought his loss could mean the end of war while Southerners held this hope but in the end Lincoln did get elected the Northerners saw a clear victory. This is because of this election and the past Northern victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg and Sherman’s march. Also Lincoln’s strong leadership along with Grants very strong leadership. The Northerners demanded a permanent end to slavery. The South hated this, so they kept pushing hard and so did we after Lincoln's re-election.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    His opening speech began: “A house divided against itself cannot stand, I believe this government cannot endure a half slave and half free.” He lost the election for senate but went on to become president, First in 1860 and re-elected in 1864. In both terms Lincoln was faced with the states seceding from the Union, his desire to end slavery, and then the Civil War. His political attributes of keeping the issue of slavery in the forefront, along with a divided union, his repeal of a section of the Missouri Compromise, the Emancipation Proclamation and his ideals of democracy, justice, fairness, the understanding of government funds appropriation and the knowledge of politics and the players allowed President Lincoln to strategically accomplish what was best for the people and the…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As he did with the other two Lincoln was really good at having result orientation. Result orientation is when a leader, Lincoln in this case, is able to decide which result are the most important and what they have to do to achieve them. One of his most noticeable times for being result oriented was when he fought the fight at Bull Run. This was a really big moment that illustrated his great leadership because many other leaders in his shoes would have given up when the war dragged on more than they anticipated it to go for. This was a huge move on him because he saw how important this fight was and made sure that him and his troops continued to fight regardless of what everyone already thought. The end of the war was seen by everyone and they thought that Lincoln and his team were going to lose, however with his result orientation Lincoln stuck it out and was able to come out victorious. Giving up was not an option for Lincoln which is why his result orientations were really…

    • 2269 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    He was doing what he believed was right for all citizens. Lincoln was the biggest leader in the civil war and lead the north to victory. To help the north win he rallied his troops by giving his famous Gettysburg address. As Sherman marched triumphantly…

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    On March 4, 1865, Lincoln presented himself to the public to deliver his speech; days before the Civil War came to the end. Lincoln’s anguish is displayed as he summarized the events that led to the Civil War. Trust was destroyed between the North and South and Lincoln was left with a nation in turmoil fighting over slavery. He reminded the people that they were one nation, not two independent nations warring against each other. He did not want to throw accusations to one side and chose to show the common qualities each side had in each time period. In doing this, he forced the people to widen their mind and consider the other side’s perspective. He did not want the sides to continue fighting and wanted to create a common ground and impacted…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    General Robert Lee led the Confederate army and due to the continued victories, he decided to take the battle to the North. Lee set out for the South to win the war. The Union army was led by General George Meade. General Lee’s army traveled up through Maryland and into Pennsylvania to meet the Union army. In July of 1863, there were Confederate soldiers who wondered in to Gettysburg searching for shoes since there was a shoe shortage in the South.…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Emancipation Proclamation was a major decision on our leaders parts, the issue of slavery had long been discussed and argued over. To the point, that the South ceded from the United States to attempt to keep slavery and soon raised arms to protect the right to hold slaves. Soon after, the Union raised their defenses and the Civil War exploded into our nation. While the war, wore on the President finally came to a decision to present and issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which would allow slaves to be free men. However it has been noted that President Lincoln, though tried twice to issue this, had a separate goal of issuing it. The Confederates were groveling to get foreign nations to join the war on their side, and the President wanted…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays