What is Maryland Campaign?
[[File:Maryland Campaign.svg|thumb|right|250px|{{Center|Map of the 1862 Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War}}]] The '''Maryland Campaign''' (September 4, 1862–September 20, 1862), also called the '''Antietam Campaign''', was a series of four battles in [[West Virginia]] and [[Maryland]] [[wikt:initiate|initiate]]d by [[Confederate Army|Confederate]] [[General officer|General]] [[Robert E. Lee]].<ref name=mcbcwLOA>{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-marylandcampaign.html |title=Maryland Campaign & Battles of the Civil War |website=American History |publisher=Legends of America |access-date=29 June 2016}}</ref> It was considered as one of the major turning points in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] for the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]. The goal was for Lee's army to invade the [[Northern United States|Northern]] [[US State|states]] of Maryland and [[Pennsylvania]]. That way he could threaten the [[cities]] of [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[Baltimore]]. By a series of [[wikt:decisive|decisive]] [[Victory|victories]] Lee thought that the South could gain [[wikt:recognition|recognition]] from [[England]] and [[France]] and get them to support the Southern cause.<ref name=whyTL69NCR>{{cite web |url=http://thomaslegion.net/whyleeinvadedmaryland.html |title=Why Lee Invaded Maryland |website=American Civil War |publisher=Thomas' Legion: The 69th North Carolina Regiment |access-date=29 June 2016}}</ref> The hope was if Lee was victorious, it might cause [[Abraham Lincoln]] to sue for peace.<ref name=whyTL69NCR/> == Background == During the [[summer]] of 1862, the hopes of the North that the rebellion could be easily crushed were quickly fading.<ref name=mcCWT>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam/history/the-maryland-campaign-of-1862.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/ |title=The Maryland Campaign of 1862 |publisher=Civil War Trust |access-date=29 June 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In July, [[Major General]] [