What were the unions strategies during the battle of antietam?
The battle stopped Lee’s invasion of the North but the Union conducted a disastrous battle plan. Several Union soldiers found a copy of Lee’s operational orders and and turned them over to the Union Officers. General McClellan therefore knew Lee’s strategy, number of troops, etc. But he was overly cautious and really did not develop a clear strategy. Union forces greatly outnumbered Lee, but McClellan was convinced that he was facing a much larger force. During much of the battle McClellan left the initiative with Lee and did not group his forces to soundly defeat Lee. In one great blunder, General Burnside, one of McClennan’s generals ordered Union forces to cross a narrow bridge across Antietam Creek that placed them in direct fire from the heights on the other bank. A small number of Confederate troops were able to slaughter the Union forces as they got bottled up on “Burnside’s Bridge”. In the end, Lee was defeated, but McClellan, being overly cautious again, failed to pursue Lee a
