war on this day. By his choosing to hold back three quarters of his men he was unable to give a decisive defeat to Lee’s army and prolonged the war to see more bloody days. Had McClellan attacked with his entire army, it is quit possible he may have driven Lee’s army back to Richmond and ended the war. However, the fact that he was able to fight the rebels to a draw, kept the European nation from becoming involved with the war. The South’s only real hope in this war was the movement into Union territory in an effort to gain realistic consideration from the European nations. Lee’s inability to take Antietam may have been the actual defeat of the Confederate army. President Lincoln needed a strong showing by the Union troops to shift the focus of the war to a cause higher than man himself. Lincoln was a calculating individual. He knew that with the casualties being suffered in this war, therefore, the American people would not let it continue for the sake of land and principal. This battle enabled him to issue the proclamation, which abolished slavery. While this proclamation did not free slaves in any of the Confederate States, it did create a new hope to the war. Once again the American people where figh
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