Crossroads of Freedom - Antietam by James M. McPhersonCall Number: E474.65 .M48 2002
ISBN: 0195135210
Publication Date: 2002-09-12
The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in American history. In Crossroads of Freedom, James M. McPherson, paints a masterful account of this pivotal battle, the events that led up to it, and its aftermath. As McPherson shows, by September 1862 the survival of the United States was in doubt. The Union had suffered a string of defeats, and Robert E. Lee's army was in Maryland, poised to threaten Washington. The British government was openly talking of recognizing the Confederacy and brokering a peace between North and South. Both Confederate and Union troops knew the war was at a crossroads, that they were marching toward a decisive battle. Valor, misjudgment, and astonishing coincidence all played a role in the outcome. Lee's battered army escaped to fight another day, but Antietam was a critical victory for the Union. It restored morale in the North and kept Lincoln's party in control of Congress. It crushed Confederate hopes of British intervention. And it freed Lincoln to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation, which instantly changed the character of the war. McPherson brilliantly weaves these strands of diplomatic, political, and military history into a compact, swift-moving narrative that shows why America's bloodiest day is, indeed, a turning point in our history.