<P> McClellan had halted Lee 's invasion of Maryland , but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan . McClellan 's refusal to pursue Lee 's army led to his removal from command by President Abraham Lincoln in November . Although the battle was tactically inconclusive , the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield , making it a Union strategic victory . It was a sufficiently significant victory to give Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation , which discouraged the British and French governments from pursuing any potential plans to recognize the Confederacy . </P>
<P> McClellan had halted Lee 's invasion of Maryland , but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan . McClellan 's refusal to pursue Lee 's army led to his removal from command by President Abraham Lincoln in November . Although the battle was tactically inconclusive , the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield , making it a Union strategic victory . It was a sufficiently significant victory to give Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation , which discouraged the British and French governments from pursuing any potential plans to recognize the Confederacy . </P>
who won the civil war battle of antietam
who won the civil war battle of antietam
Union
Union