Antietam and Gettysburg - Two Pivotal Civil War Battles That Saved The Union

With his Army of Northern Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee made two incursions into Union territory during the Civil War, first into Maryland in 1862, then into Pennsylvania in 1863. The two major resulting battles, Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history, and Gettysburg, the battle that determined America's fate, raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., to Confederate capture. Each time the Confederacy was in a position to strike a serious blow against the North - each time it was repulsed. The far reaching implications of each battle are discusssed in this article.