What was the low point of the Civil War for the Union?

One of the lowest points in the Civil War for the Union occurred during a series of battles in the summer of 1862. In the Seven Days' Battle, which lasted from June 25 to July 1 1862, Robert E. Lee commanded a Confederate army that drove Union troops out of Richmond. Soon after, Lee led yet another defeat of Union troops during the Bull Run, or Second Battle of Manassas. That August, Confederate troops drove the Union presence in Tennessee back into Kentucky, and Lee led an invasion of Maryland. This rapid series of victories by the Confederacy lowered morale for the Union, and many consider this the lowest point of the war. The New York Times even predicted in early September that the Union was bound to lose the war, and anti-war Democrats began to urge the Union to enter peace negotiations to end the war. However, the Battle of Antietam, in late September, resulted in a Union victory and President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation soon after.