When did the confederate states of america free the slaves?

Well, of course it was Robert E. Lee who freed the slaves by stopping McClellan outside of Richmond before allowing McClellan to fight him to a draw at Antietam ... or maybe it was McClellan who freed the slaves by giving Lincoln a battle he could claim was a victory in order to issue the Emancipation Proclamation ... then again, maybe it was Stephen Douglas who freed the slaves by introducing the Kansas-Nebraska Act, thus giving rise to the Republican party, then splitting the Democrats over Lecompton, and facilitating Lincoln’s rise to power ...