Antietam, Battle Of

Also called  Battle of Sharpsburg  (September 17, 1862), a decisive engagement in the American Civil War (1861–65) that halted the Confederate advance on Maryland for the purpose of gaining military supplies. The advance was also regarded as one of the greatest Confederate threats to Washington, D.C. The battle took its name from Antietam Creek, which flows south from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to the Potomac River near