One cannot discuss the Antietam Campaign without at least acknowledging the appalling number of casualties on both sides of the war. Regardless, the ramifications of the Antietam campaign went far beyond mere death tolls. Before Antietam, the Confederacy gained considerable momentum with Stonewall Jackson's successful raid on Harpers Ferry and Robert E. Lee's victory at Second Bull Run, but Confederacy leaders considered military success on Union soil as a necessary element of long-term victory. In this article, I will argue that the Confederate decision to invade Maryland was in fact a sound strategy, but that their final defeat at Antietam reconfigured the political and military landscape of the American Civil War. After Antietam, Lincoln, unhappy with McClellan's performance against Lee, remodeled the command structure of the Union generals and felt confident enough to issue the Emancipation Proclamation which secured a favorable position for the Union. Union in foreign policy. As such, the real significance of the Antietam Campaign concerned subsequent political changes in military command, improved Union morale, and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, as opposed to the technical victory of the Union over Confederates on the battlefield. Leading up to Antietam, Lee's campaign The Army of Northern Virginia simply dominated the Union. Victories at the Second Bull Run and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's capture of Harper's Ferry prompted Confederate leaders to attempt a campaign on Union soil. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson's men canvassed Harpers Ferry extensively before attempting to capture the garrison post, and their quick victory reflected the tactical prowess that had defeated the Union middle of paper..... . Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, effectively freeing slaves in rebellious states and destroying the Confederates' chances of allying with European countries. The costs of the Antietam campaign were extremely severe, for such loss of life was surely accompanied by brutal psychological problems and destruction of morale. Likewise, it allowed Lincoln to issue a presidential proclamation dismantling the economic and cultural landscape of the South. What was most ironic about the effects of Antietam was that Lee's masterful battlefield strategy against an equally miserable performance by McClellan actually led to a Confederate "loss" and a rejuvenation of the Union. The reinvigorated and reorganized Union, however, reaped such benefits through the non-military advantages of lack of defeat rather than decisive victory in battle..