Antietam, battle of

(17 September 1862) Battle of the American Civil War, described as 'the bloodiest day of the war'. Robert E. Lee had crossed the Potomac to carry the war into the north, and his 38,000 soldiers faced George McClellan's 75,000 Union troops. There were 22,719 casualties but no clear victory. After the battle, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.