Tactically inconclusive, but strategically victorious, but not victorious enough

My hotel for the week overlooks this statue of Gen. George B. McClellan, but I had to go to Wikipedia to learn/remember exactly who he was.

In reading the first several paragraphs their account, it appeared as if he lost the battle of Antietam. However, since Gen. Lee was the first to withdraw from the battlefield, the deadliest day in American military history (at least up to that point) was considered a win for the Union Army. And so, at the very end of the article summary, we get to a beautiful summation: tactically inconclusive, but strategically victorious.

The Union victory at Antietam led directly to Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, and influenced France and Britain to hold off recognizing the Confederacy.

Personally and professionally, McClellan fared poorly even in victory, and was widely believed to have let the Confederate Army off too easy, given his superior numbers at Antietam and in the aftermath of the battle. He was relieved of his command shortly after, and many armchair generals have suggested that if he done a better job that day the war might have ended much sooner.