The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862, during the American Civil War. It took place near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, and was one of the bloodiest single-day battles in American history. The Union Army, led by General George McClellan, faced off against the Confederate Army, commanded by General Robert E. Lee. The battle resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, with about 22,000 soldiers killed or wounded. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, it had significant strategic implications. The Union's ability to halt Lee's invasion of the North gave President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared freedom for enslaved people in Confederate