mcclellan now holds key battle plans that can ensure his army s success and personal redemption. it s a victory that would allow lincoln to redefine the war, giving soldiers like robert gould shaw a reason to fight, and create the new america frederick douglass has hoped for. there is a great deal of excitement for the issuing of the emancipation proclamation. saving the union and emancipation are one. it s this game-changing event. but there was a belief that lincoln might not do it. father. what if lincoln doesn t sign the proclamation? then we keep fighting. haven t come this far i haven t come this far to watch this nation fall back into a slave-owning power. the emancipation proclamation promises to make the war a fight to eradicate slavery. but that s a war frederick douglass has been waging his entire life.
halt! ready! aim! fire! forward! o1 retreat! retreat! forward, men! shaw and his men pued through the confederate line. retreat! yeah! [ men shouting ] but lee s outmanned rebel army refuses to quit. [ screams ] [ gunfire ] if mcclellan can t find a way to turn this massacre into a victory, the war and any hope for emancipation will be lost. we hit the door at
finish them. what do we know of lee s reinforcements? george mcclellan always worried a little too much about what the enemy might do. i will not send more men to die unless i have to, general franklin. and that s what happens at antietam. several times, subordinates urge him, now is the time to launch that final blow. but mcclellan s always thinking, what if things go wrong? just as he fails to act after intercepting lee s battle plan, mcclellan again hesitates. despite the fact that he overwhelmingly outnumbers lee s force, mcclellan doesn t destroy robert e. lee and the army of northern virginia, and he is widely criticized for this. and particularly abraham lincoln was deeply disappointed. however, mcclellan halts robert e. lee s invasion of maryland. the entire effort collapses, men retreat back, and the attack has turned to [ soldiespin]
with the emancipation proclamation hanging in the balance, george mcclellan s union army clashes with robert e. lee s confederate force in the battle of antietam. the second phase of the battle of antietam, this massive union attack right at the heart of the southern lines. and that s where the bloody lane occurs, when you ve got this sunken road that s absolutely filled with casualties and running with blood. after hours of savage fighting, the union forces finally break through the center of the confederate line. mcclellan now has a chance to claim victory. all he has to do is send in his 20,000 reserve troops. we have them by the throat, general. [ gunfire ] we could send in the reserve and
civil war s bloodiest battles. the fight begins at dawn as union general joe hooker s troops attack stonewall jackson s confederate corps. the southern army has drawn up in a defensive position, running roughly from a cornfield in the north down to some high ground in the south. and mcclellan throws his army at lee s northern flank. and you ve got these two armies absolutely throwing themselves at each other. the battle-hardened rebels throw back the union s first wave. to the north, robert gould shaw and the second massachusetts prepare to enter the fray. what s this?