Osprey Trade Editions : Antietam 1862

Antietam was one of the critical battles of the American Civil War. The fortunes of the South were riding high after the resounding victory at Second Manassas. While Bragg and Kirby Smith invaded Kentucky, Lee's invasion of Maryland was intended to maintain the Southern offensive momentum, to wrest Maryland from the Union and to win the recognition of the European powers. But his bold plan was compromised - and at the Antietam River the Army of North Virginia was fighting for its very life. Norman Stevens looks not only at Antietam but at the whole period beginning with the Union retreat at Second Manassas and ending with their victory at Antietam. The battles of Crampton's Gap and Turner's Gap are looked at as is the issue of the Confederate Special Order 191 and its important discovery by Union forces. The title, having detailed the background to Antietam, not only carefully examines the battle's phases but also looks at the effects of its result in the wider context: Antietam not only changed the military character of the war but also the political issues as well. The Northern victory encouraged Lincoln to make public the Emancipation Proclamation in a presidential decree of 22 September 1862, to take effect from 1 January 1863. After Antietam the war went beyond mere politics: not only the maintenance of the Union but also the destruction of slavery and the survival of both Northern and Southern societies were explicitly at stake. Text by Norman S. Stevens.