Ithaca Bound

One of my favorite websites is that of the History Net. Most every morning finds me playing its daily quiz, reading its Today in History listing of events that occurred on the day’s date, and the picture of the day, with a brief description of the significance of the chosen photo. The site also asks for the reader’s opinion on a particular historical event. For example, the one currently running is “Do you believe that Antietam was the turning point of the Civil War?” The choices ...One of my favorite websites is that of the History Net. Most every morning finds me playing its daily quiz, reading its Today in History listing of events that occurred on the day’s date, and the picture of the day, with a brief description of the significance of the chosen photo. The site also asks for the reader’s opinion on a particular historical event. For example, the one currently running is “Do you believe that Antietam was the turning point of the Civil War?” The choices given are Yes, No, and Don’t Know.

The opinion poll, which has been running for a few weeks now, is quite relevant to the month of September. It was on the 17th of September 1862 that the bloodiest day in American history took place. The battle of Antietam claimed some 22,000 casualties, with the Union forces losing more than the Confederates. At the end of the day’s fighting, both sides remained pretty much where they had been at the beginning of the battle. In other words, pretty much a standoff. Nonetheless, because Robert E. Lee withdrew his troops from the battlefield, George McClellan, commanding the Union forces, claimed a great victory, and Abraham Lincoln, who had been looking for a significant “win” in order to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, used the “victory” to do so.