Antietam

He believed that the soldiers of McClellan and Pope “lay weakened and demoralized” in the vicinity of Washington, D.C., and he sought to maintain aggressive momentum rather than assume a defensive position and allow the Federals to muster their superior strength to mount another offensive.

Why did General Lee Invade Maryland? Lee invades Maryland! Why Lee Invaded Maryland: Lee’s greatest objective was that a victory in the North could possibly gain diplomatic recognition from Europe and bring England and France to the aid and assistance of the South.

Lee decided to invade the North at Sharpsburg, Maryland (Antietam) because he believed that a victory on Union soil would help win support for the South in Europe and turn the northern public opinion against the war. General George McClellan commanded the North’s troops.

Fact #4: Lee decided to surrender his army in part because he wanted to prevent unnecessary destruction to the South. When it became clear to the Confederates that they were stretched too thinly to break through the Union lines, Lee observed that “there is nothing left me to do but to go and see Gen.

You see here that Southern generals were “better” than Northern generals, but the main point is that they worked with a worse-equipped, smaller force to do damage to a superior enemy.

As Sev mentioned, it is debatable that the South had better generals during the Civil War. The proof is that the South lost. However, in 1861 North and South both assumed the South had better generals. However, in 1861 North and South both assumed the South had better generals.