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August 22, 2023
9781421446592
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v2.1 Reference
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August 22, 2023
9781421446608
9781421446592
English
976
460478
21
5
10.00 Inches (US)
7.00 Inches (US)
$54.95 USD, £45.50 GBP
v2.1 Reference

I Dread the Thought of the Place

The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign

The definitive account of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of the Civil War.

The memory of the Battle of Antietam was so haunting that when, nine months later, Major Rufus Dawes learned another Antietam battle might be on the horizon, he wrote, "I hope not, I dread the thought of the place." In this definitive account, historian D. Scott Hartwig chronicles the single bloodiest day in American history, which resulted in 23,000 casualties.

The Battle of Antietam marked a vital turning point in the war: afterward, the conflict could no longer be understood as a limited war to preserve the Union, but was now clearly a conflict over slavery. Though the battle was tactically inconclusive, Robert E. Lee withdrew first from the battlefield, thus handing President Lincoln the political ammunition necessary to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. This is the full story of Antietam, ranging from the opening shots of the battle to the powerful reverberations—military, political, and social—it sent through the armies and the nation.

Based on decades of research, this in-depth narrative sheds particular light on the visceral experience of battle, an often misunderstood aspect of the American Civil War, and the emotional aftermath for those who survived. Hartwig provides an hour-by-hour tactical history of the battle, beginning before dawn on September 17 and concluding with the immediate aftermath, including General McClellan's fateful decision not to pursue Lee's retreating forces back across the Potomac to Virginia. With 21 unique maps illustrating the state of the battle at intervals ranging from 20 to 120 minutes, this long-awaited companion to Hartwig's To Antietam Creek will be essential reading for anyone interested in the Civil War.

About the Author

D. Scott Hartwig was the supervisory park historian at the Gettysburg National Military Park for twenty years. He is the author of To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign of September 1862.

Endorsements

"Hartwig has written the best and most complete story of the Civil War's bloodiest day. He puts the reader in the middle of the action on every part of the Antietam battlefield during every hour of that horrific and lethal struggle. And he brilliantly places the battle in the context of the war in which it was a major turning point."

- James M. McPherson, author of Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

"This volume triumphantly concludes Scott Hartwig's examination of the Antietam campaign. Equally satisfying in dealing with commanders and soldiers in the ranks, it evokes the unimaginable chaos of the nation's bloodiest day and stands as the finest treatment of a battle that shaped the course of our defining national trial."

- Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis

"The product of a historian who has been considering the nature and impact of war for decades, Scott Hartwig's book on Antietam is a masterpiece. Deeply researched, carefully considered, and beautifully crafted, the book is relentlessly human. America's deadliest battle with its immense stakes has received a treatment worthy of its profound significance to our nation.  "

- John Hennessy, retired NPS historian and author of Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas

"This volume triumphantly concludes Scott Hartwig's examination of the Antietam campaign. Equally satisfying in dealing with commanders and soldiers in the ranks, it evokes the unimaginable chaos of the nation's bloodiest day and stands as the finest treatment of a battle that shaped the course of our defining national trial."

- Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis

"Hartwig has written the best and most complete story of the Civil War's bloodiest day. He puts the reader in the middle of the action on every part of the Antietam battlefield during every hour of that horrific and lethal struggle. And he brilliantly places the battle in the context of the war in which it was a major turning point."

- James M. McPherson, author of Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

"Antietam was the bloodiest day in American history and one of the most consequential—the battle that repulsed Lee's Army and propelled Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Scott Hartwig has written the definitive history of this most important moment. In the process, he has created a remarkable testament to Civil War soldiering. The richness of his sources and the eloquence of his language offer unparalleled access to the lived experience of combat. A feat of historical research and writing!"

- Aaron Sheehan-Dean, Fred C. Frey Professor, Louisiana State University, and author of The Calculus of Violence: How Americans Fought the Civil War
Johns Hopkins University Press
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Hardback
August 22, 2023
$54.95 USD
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Electronic book text
August 22, 2023
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To Antietam Creek

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Jan 2019 - Johns Hopkins University Press
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