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Lecture 29

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t could be argued that September 4, 1862, represents the high point of

the Confederacy and its attempt to secede from the United States. Over

the previous months, southern armies had thwarted the Union’s efforts to

capture Richmond. Then, at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Stonewall Jackson

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D.C. Riding this wave of victories, the morale of the southern soldiers was at

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was on the verge of achieving independence from the rest of the Union.

Accordingly, on September 4, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia crossed into

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Backdrop to Antietam

x After the Second Battle of Bull Run, the route to Washington for

Confederate forces now lay open, but Robert E. Lee knew that

he did not have the strength to directly assault the defenses of

the northern capital. He devised a plan to bypass Washington and

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Confederacy had invaded the north, and it represented a shift from

defense to offense.

x Lincoln faced midterm elections in November, and a successful

Confederate campaign in Maryland might discredit him and

embolden antiwar northerners into pressuring him to seek peace.

Furthermore, Maryland was believed to harbor many southern

sympathizers, and Lee hoped that the presence of his army there

might provoke the state into switching its allegiance, perhaps even

triggering other border states to abandon the Union.

x At the same time, major European powers were actively considering

granting political recognition to the Confederacy, which would

establish the legitimacy of the Confederacy and likely result in vital

material aid. Thus, the march into Maryland on September 4 by