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There were secondary reasons as well. The Confederate invasion might be able to incite an uprising in Maryland, especially given that it was a slave-holding state and many of its citizens held a sympathetic stance toward the South. Some Confederate politicians, including Jefferson Davis, believed the prospect of foreign recognition for the Confederacy would be made stronger by a military victory on Northern soil, but there is no evidence that Lee thought the South should base its military plans on this possibility. Nevertheless, the news of the victory at Second Bull Run and the start of Lee's invasion caused considerable diplomatic activity between the Confederate States and [[France]] and the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>McPherson, pp. 91–94; Eicher, p. 337.</ref>
After the defeat of Pope at Second Bull Run, President Lincoln reluctantly returned to the man who had mended a broken army before—George B. McClellan, who had done it after the Union defeat at the [[First Battle of Bull Run]] (First Manassas). He knew that McClellan was a strong organizer and a skilled trainer of troops, able to recombine the units of Pope's army with the Army of the Potomac faster than anyone, and there was no other viable choice for the job except Burnside, who was asked and declined command of the army. On September 2, Lincoln named McClellan to command "the fortifications of Washington, and all the troops for the defense of the capital."<ref>Rafuse, p. 268; McPherson, pp. 86–87.</ref> The appointment was controversial in the Cabinet, a majority of whom signed a petition declaring to the president "our deliberate opinion that, at this time, it is not safe to entrust to Major General McClellan the command of any Army of the United States."<ref>Sears, ''McClellan'', p. 260.</ref> The president admitted that it was like "curing the bite with the hair of the dog." But Lincoln told his secretary, John Hay, "We must use what tools we have. There is no man in the Army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops of ours into shape half as well as he. If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."<ref name=Bailey15>Bailey, ''Bloodiest Day'', p. 15.</ref>
==Opposing forces==
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The army that McClellan took into Maryland was not an entirely cohesive or battle-ready fighting force. At its core were the Peninsula veterans of the II, V, and VI Corps, but a large portion of the army were untested rookie regiments or troops who had never fought as part of the Army of the Potomac. Some of the rookies had never even loaded their muskets, and others were unknowingly armed with defective weapons.
The "core" Army of the Potomac, the II, III, V, and VI Corps, which had served through the Peninsula Campaign, were the easiest ones to get ready for action. In addition there were the three corps that had comprised Pope's army. Aside from the Pennsylvania Reserves, which had born the brunt of action in the Seven Days Battles, none of these troops had served under McClellan before, all had been poorly led, and did not have much record of battlefield success. The two divisions of Burnside's IX Corps were also new to McClellan, but they had served capably in North Carolina early in the year. The IX Corps was also being joined by Brig. Gen [[Jacob D. Cox]]'s "Kanawah" division from West Virginia, new to McClellan as well. These troops had seen no major action so far and were essentially green.
The I Corps had excellent troops; as mentioned above the Pennsylvania Reserves had been in the thick of the Seven Days Battles and all three divisions were heavily engaged at Second Bull Run. McDowell however had been written off as a loser, he was despised by his own troops and would not hold a command in the Civil War again. McClellan's first choice to lead the I Corps was his friend and intimate [[Jesse Reno]], then having operational commmand of the IX Corps but instead the position went to Joe Hooker, considered a more experienced officer.
The XII Corps under Nathaniel Banks had a poor reputation; it had been badly defeated by "Stonewall" Jackson's troops during the Valley Campaign in spring, had fought poorly at Cedar Mountain, and Pope held the corps and Banks in such low regard that he kept them away from the Second Bull Run battlefield. Banks was dropped from command of the XII Corps and eventually sent to Louisiana. Brig. Gen [[Alpheus Williams]] temporarily commanded the corps until Joseph Mansfield assumed command on September 14.
Of the six corps that participated in the Maryland campaign, the II and VI were the largest and most well-rested as neither had fought since the Seven Days Battles over two months earlier (aside from one brigade of the VI Corps which had been attacked by the Confederates and routed while scouting near Bull Run). The II Corps received a new division of nine month troops commanded by Brig. Gen William French and the VI Corps had one new regiment; all the rest of the men in both corps had fought on the Peninsula. The I Corps was the smallest, as it had suffered heavy losses at Second Bull Run (one of its divisions had also been heavily engaged in the Seven Days) and would lose still more men at South Mountain; it's estimated that the corps had 8000 men at Antietam out of a paper strength of 14,000.▼
The III Corps and XI Corps had both suffered severe losses at Second Bull Run and were almost driven from the field in panic; they were left behind in Washington D.C. to rest and refit. The III Corps were excellent troops who had fought hard on the Peninsula and at Second Bull Run, while the XI Corps, consisting of a large number of German-American troops, as well as its commander Maj. Gen [[Franz Sigel]] had a poor reputation and no record of success on the battlefield.
The V Corps also consisted mostly of Peninsula veterans; Morell's division had suffered severe losses at Second Bull Run and had its ranks filled out with green troops. A new division of nine-month regiments led by Brig. Gen [[Andrew A. Humphreys]] was added, but they would not arrive until after Antietam.▼
McClellan was thus able to use his influence to remove several underperforming generals, namely McDowell, Heintzelman, and Banks; the Army of the Potomac in this regard was a little behind its Confederate opponent as Lee had been able to purge his ranks of inadequate generals in the aftermath of the Seven Days Battles. The administration had wanted to remove Porter and Franklin, whom they considered politically suspect, but McClellan was able to retain them for this campaign.
▲Of the six corps that participated in the Maryland campaign, the II and VI were the largest and most well-rested as neither had fought since the Seven Days Battles
▲The V Corps
The IX Corps had had two divisions at Second Bull Run (commanded by General Reno as Burnside was not present at the battle); for the Maryland campaign, it was joined by a third division under Brig. Gen [[Samuel Sturgis]] and Brig. Gen [[Jacob Cox]]'s "Kanawah" Division, on loan from the West Virginia area. It included several green regiments and the corps as a whole was quite inexperienced as Second Bull Run had been the only serious engagement it had fought in.
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The divisions of McLaws and D.H. Hill had been left in the Richmond area during the northern Virginia campaign; they quickly rejoined the army for the march into Maryland. Lee was also reinforced by Brig. Gen [[John George Walker|John G. Walker]]'s two-brigade division from North Carolina.
The exact size of the Army of Northern Virginia at Antietam has been a source of debate since the 19th century
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