THREE PIVOTAL BATTLES OF THE
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
On September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek, Maryland, over
23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers (twice the number
lost during D-Day in World War II, were killed or wounded.
This battle was the bloodiest day of fighting in American
history, with a stunning number of casualties left in its
wake.
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
(BATTLE OF SHARPSBURG BY THE CONFEDERATES)
• Though Union troops had halted
Confederate advance toward
Washington, D.C., neither side
emerged as the decisive victor. The
battle was a symbolic victory for the
Union. Encouraged by the Confederate
retreat, President Lincoln issues the
Emancipation Proclamation.
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
• Lincoln’s proclamation states that unless
the South surrenders by Jan. 1, 1863, “all
slaves in states in rebellion against the
United States will be free.” If the South
surrendered, slavery would continue in the
southern states. The Confederate leaders
chose to continue to fight and the war
continued.
BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG
• Of the more than 2,000 land engagements of the Civil War,
Gettysburg ranks supreme. Although the Battle of
Gettysburg did not end the war, it was the great battle of
the war, marking the point when the ultimate victory of the
North over the South became clear to both sides alike.
• Here at Gettysburg, on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, more men
fought and died than in any other battle in American
history.
• In November of 1863, President Lincoln went to the
battlefield to dedicate it as a national military cemetery.
Lincoln’s famous two-minute speech is known as the
Gettysburg Address.
BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA
• The Battle of Chickamauga (Indian name meaning River of
Death) was the biggest battle fought in Georgia. With 34,000
casualties, it is considered to be the second bloodiest battle of
the war – only Gettysburg, with 51,000, was deadlier. The battle
was a part of a larger Northern objective to capture
Chattanooga – an important railroad center and to use its
capture as a stepping stone to capture a more important railroad
hub – Atlanta. This battle is important for two reasons:
• it was the largest Union defeat in the Western Theater of the
Civil War.
• led to the South’s failed attempt to recapture Chattanooga –
thus making it the launching point for Sherman’s Atlanta
Campaign – a gateway to the South.