General George Meade was the Union commander at the Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg. He was a major general in the United States Army and led the Army of the Potomac to victory against Confederate General Robert E. LEE's Army of Northern Virginia. The battle was fought on September 17, 1862, and is considered to be the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. Meade's victory at Antietam was a major turning point in the Civil War, as it forced LEE to retreat back into Virginia.