Britain and France Stayed on the Sidelines
The Battle of Antietam was not a quiet one and the sounds reverberated across the globe. France and Britain during this time stayed on the sidelines. However, owing to a shortage in Southern cotton, they had come very close to identifying the independence of the Confederate States of America by getting involved in the war and bringing it to a halt.
Bodies await burial in front of Dunker Church Antietam, Maryland, during the American Civil War. (Photo by Alexander Gardner/Getty Images)
This decision was changed very quickly and drastically when the results of the Battle of Antietam hit the world, and the Proclamation was made public. It was then that the European forces of Britain and France decided to stay out of the war and remain neutral during these proceedings.