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To: Vigilanteman

“Most historians call it a Pyrrhic Union victory because it prevented the south from advancing any further until the following year.”

Yes, as a strategic battle it would fit the definition of a Pyrrhic victory, but as a tactical battle it was a draw. It was a very pivotal fight in the War, and how it ended meant that the War would go on. The next such pivotal battle was Gettysburg, almost a year later, and THAT battle arguably cost the Confederacy the war.

But Antietam was interesting, because McClellan (who had discovered Lee’s battle plan) resorted to his usual timid self and blew it. Lincoln replaced him soon after.


69 posted on 09/28/2020 3:45:43 PM PDT by ought-six (Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)
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To: ought-six
Correct. Lincoln wisely waited until after the 1862 mid-term elections to removed McClellan. The Republicans still lost 27 seats in the House but retained a narrow plurality.

The die was cast for a rematch two years later when the course of the war would turn the politics strongly in Lincoln's favor. But people tend to forget just how unpopular the war was in what remained of the Union.

75 posted on 09/29/2020 7:31:54 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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