Antietam was a more important battle than Gettysburg

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The Importance of the Battle of Antietam in the American Civil War

The Civil War is one of the most crucial moments in American history This event was characterized by the division of the nation into the Union , led by President Abraham Lincoln , and the Confederacy headed by Jefferson Davis . This war , which originated from the issue of slavery claimed thousands of lives in the process . There were many battles that occurred within the duration of the war . Among them were the Battle of

br Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg . However , Antietam was the more important battle than Gettysburg

The Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg were both important victories for the Union (Gallagher 9 , 11 . The said battles were initiated by the ambitious moves of the Confederacy , which proved to be unsuccessful . If both proved to be the successes of the Union , then why is Antietam more important than Gettysburg ? It is because the Union victory at Antietam resulted in the abolition of slavery , which proved to be more significant in American history than the Gettysburg Address

The Battle of Antietam was named after the creek in which Confederate General Robert Lee situated his army (Gallagher 9 . General Lee wanted to proceed north and had many reasons why he brought his army to Maryland (National Park Service [NPS] . First , he wanted to spare Virginia from more fighting (NPS Gallagher 9 . Second , Maryland proved to be the ideal location from which Lee 's soldiers can get food clothes , and other supplies (NPS . However , Lee 's primary reason for moving into the North was for the Confederacy to be acknowledged by England and France (NP Gallagher 9

The Battle of Gettysburg was named after a town in Pennsylvania (The History Place [THP] . Lee 's decision to bring the Confederate forces in Pennsylvania was influenced by the same reasons for his move to Antietam . The only difference was location . If Lee wanted to spare Virginia from war by moving to Maryland , he also wanted to take the Northern attention away from Tennessee and Vicksburg by moving to Pennsylvania (Gallagher 11 . Also , Lee saw the opportunity for food and supplies in Maryland , just as he saw the same opportunity for the same commodities in Cumberland Valley (Gallagher 11

The significance of the battles was measured by their outcomes . The Battle at Gettysburg resulted in the Gettysburg Address (Gallagher 11 Lincoln recited this address in dedication to the Gettysburg National Cemetery , to pay respect to those who lost their lives in battle ( Gettysburg . The brief speech was not only the epitome of remarkable oratory , but also proved to be a declaration of democracy ( Gettysburg THP

On the other hand , the Battle of Antietam not only altered Lincoln 's policy , but it also gave way for the Emancipation Proclamation (Gallagher 9 . The Union joined the war with the purpose of restoring the Union . Soon after , Lincoln realized that if the Union was to be restored , the abolition of slavery must...