In some ways, it was a turning point. Since it could be viewed as a Union Victory (or at least, not a defeat) something which the Union had not been able to achieve up to that point. This allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which he had been holding on to awaiting such a positive moment to arrive.
This effectively stopped other countries, mainly England and France, from recognising the Confederacy, something which was a real possibility, since they could not be seen to supporting a country who still had slavery. Remember that by this time, both England and France had outlawed slavery.
Its a bit more complex than that, but that is the gist of it.
Furthermore, the battle itself, in conjunction with South Mountain, is very interesting. McClellan missed a chance to decisively destroy Lee's army, even though he had captured a copy of Lee's full battle plan. A significant portion of his army was never committed to battle even though it was 'on the field'.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2020, 09:33:23 AM by bob48 »
“O Lord God, let me not be disgraced in my old days.”
'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'