Antietam (also known as Sharpsburg) was by far the bloodiest day in American history. It took place in September, 1862 in Sharpsburg, Maryland. General Lee had gained much support and momentum from the second battle of Bull Run and the Peninsula campaign. By this time, the South was negotiating with Britain and France for their respective support, so for recognition Lee attempted to invade Maryland. Unfortunately for the Confederacy, an unknown general accidentally dropped a battle plan which was picked up by a Northern sympathizer, who turned the battle plan over to the Union military. Union General-in-Chief (head general) McClellan had this advantage when he met Lee's forces in northern Maryland. The Union had a major advantage of having 85,000 troops, double the Confederate troops in size. After about 13 hours of fighting, the battle resulted in a draw with over 10,000 Confederate casualties and 12,000 Union casualties (Keep in mind the Union had much more troops than the Rebels). When the Confederates withdrew, McClellan failed to chase after them, which could have brought the already longer than expected war to a close. For his failure to do so, Lincoln removed him of his position for the last time.
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