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    True enough (+1) but one could quibble that Antietam wasn't a "great union victory" since it was tactically a draw in which McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army despite having a dominant position. Still, a draw which left you in a strategically better position was at least a partial victory after a long run of failure. Commented Jan 16, 2019 at 14:13
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    @JohnColeman - In tactical lingo, the "Victor" of an engagement is the force that holds the field at the end. You could quibble with the "great" part I suppose, but Antietam was objectively a Union victory. (To be fair, The Antietam WP page currently has this wrong in exactly the way you suggest). Commented Jan 16, 2019 at 15:34
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    To give more data: if you look at the battles fought in 1862 with the goal of finding a decent union victory preceding Antietam, they are hard to find. The best candidates are Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Pea Ridge. The battles in the east were better covered by the press, and were all fiascos for the Union., except for one: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Elizabeth_City Commented Jan 17, 2019 at 19:11
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    Also obviously Lincoln knew Antietam wasn't that great a victory, because he got rid of McClellan (who couldn't wipe out Lee in spite of having the intel for all his movements literally handed to him) as soon as he could. it was the best thing at hand, and he didn't know how long he'd have to wait til the next one. Commented Jan 17, 2019 at 19:19
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    The Emancipation Proclamation was to a large extent PR, making it politically impossible for Britain or France to ally with the Confederacy. Given that, Antietam had to be something that could be described as a victory. Commented Jan 18, 2019 at 16:00