Confederate General Robert E. Lee took the American Civil War into Union territory in mid-September 1862. Lee's forces moved into Maryland and staked a position at Sharpsburg, near Antietam Creek. Early in the morning on September 17, Union forces attacked the Confederate positions. By sunset, some 23,000 soldiers were dead or wounded, making the battle at Antietam the single bloodiest day in U.S. history. Although the battle was technically a Union victory because Lee was forced to withdraw, many historians label Antietam a near-draw because so little territory changed hands.
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