Who Won the Battle of Antietam?

The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was one of the bloodiest days in American history, with roughly 6,000 soldiers killed. The 6,000 soldiers killed at Antietam is nearly four times the amount of men killed on D-Day and nearly twice as many me killed the entire Iraq war going on now. So who won the Battle of Antietam? This debate has raged for years among historians, with no real answer. The only thing historians can agree on is, September 17 was a horrific day in American history.

Antietam was one of the few battles fought during the Civil War in which both sides chose the field and place to fight. The Confederate strategy was to use Antietam creek as a defensive line against the Union. With nearly 60,000 men the Army of the Potomac had a distinct advantage over the 40,000 Confederates. The Union decided to engage first. General George McClellan had a great plan for battle, but it was poorly executed. The 9th Corp under General Ambrose Burnside attacked across the southernmost bridge, which would later bear his name and The Battle of Antietam was underway. Burnsides attacked across the bridge for the entire day.

However, all he had to do was have his forces attack simultaneously across the bridge and the creek. The creek could easily be waded, but Burnsides did not realize this until later in the day. Burnsides would never breakthrough and roll up the Confederate right flank, which was the plan. Had this happened the battle would have been over and probably the war. It wasn’t until late afternoon that a couple of Federal regiments secured a foothold on the other side, but by then it was too late.

Across the battlefield things were going just as bad for the Union commanders. General Joseph Hooker of the Union Army led the attack on the right. After 5 hours of fighting neither side had gained an advantage. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and by midday nearly 12,000 Union and Confederate troops lay dead or wounded. Finally, the shear size of the Union Army overwhelmed the Confederates on the left flank. Rebel divisions broke and ran, but McClellan decided not to chase. The sad thing was, the Confederate Army was broken. Had the Union Army given chase the Confederate Army would have been destroyed that day. Years later McClellan would say he did not order the attack because of the serious casualties Union forces had sustained.

The cost of the battle was staggering. Nearly 6,000 men lay dead and another 17,000 were wounded or captured. Barely 30,000 Confederates remained alive and unscathed after the battle. On the night of September 18, Lee had his army cross back into Virginia without much harassment from Federal forces.

So who really did win the Battle of Antietam? Neither side can claim victory. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, which prevented them from taking the battle further. Most historians believe the battle was a draw and neither side gained or lost anything. Except for the thousands of men who died that day.