Antietam: The Soldiers' Battle - Softcover

Priest, John M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195084667 ISBN 13: 9780195084665

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1994

Synopsis

On September 13, 1862, in a field near Frederick, Maryland, four Union soldiers hit the jack-pot. There they found, wrapped carelessly around three cigars, a copy of General Robert E. Lee's most recent orders detailing Southern objectives and letting Union officers know that Lee had split his Army into four vulnerable groups. General George B. McClellan realized his opportunity to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia one piece at a time. "If I cannot whip Bobbie Lee," exulted McClellan, "I will be willing to go home." But the notoriously prudent Union general allowed precious hours to pass, and, by the time he moved, Lee's army had begun to regroup and prepare for battle near Antietam Creek. The ensuing fight would prove to be not only the bloodiest single day of the entire Civil War, but the bloodiest in the history of the U.S. Army.
Countless historians have analyzed Antietam (known as Sharpsburg in the South) and its aftermath, some concluding that McClellan's failure to vanquish Lee constituted a Southern victory, others that the Confederate retreat into Virginia was a strategic win for the North. But in Antietam: The Soldiers' Battle, historian John Michael Priest tells this brutal tale of slaughter from an entirely new point of view: that of the common enlisted man. Concentrating on the days of actual battle--September 16, 17, and 18, 1862--Priest vividly brings to life the fear, the horror, and the profound courage that soldiers displayed, from the first Federal cavalry probe of the Confederate lines to the last skirmish on the streets of Sharpsburg. Antietam is not a book about generals and their grand strategies, but rather concerns men such as the Pennsylvanian corporal who lied to receive the Medal of Honor; the Virginian who lay unattended on the battlefield through most of the second day of fighting, his arm shattered from a Union artillery shell; the Confederate surgeon who wrote to the sweetheart he left behind enemy lines in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that he had seen so much death and suffering that his "head had whitened and my very soul turned to stone."
Besides being a gripping tale charged with the immediacy of firsthand accounts of the fighting, Antietam also dispels many misconceptions long held by historians and Civil War buffs alike. Seventy-two detailed maps--which describe the battle in the hourly and quarter-hourly formats established by the Cope Maps of 1904--together with rarely-seen photographs and his own intimate knowledge of the Antietam terrain, allow Priest to offer a substantially new interpretation of what actually happened.
When the last cannon fell silent and the Antietam Creek no longer ran red with Union and Confederate blood, twice as many Americans had been killed in just one day as lost their lives in the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Spanish-American war combined. This is a book about battle, but more particularly, about the human dimension in battle. It asks "What was it like?" and while the answers to this simple question by turns horrify and fascinate, they more importantly add a whole new dimension to the study of the American Civil War.

About this title

About the Author:

John Michael Priest has written widely on the Civil War, and his articles have appeared in Civil War Magazine, America's Civil War, and Civil War Times Illustrated. He is also the author of Before Antietam: The Battle for South Mountain, and editor of The Diary of John T. McMahon of the 136th New York and From New Bern to Fredericksburg.

Review:

"Priest has admirably fulfilled the goal of his book Antietam by giving us a vivid portrait of the individuals who fought at Antietam, their combat, heroism, and death. No one who wants to know more about Civil War combat and the enlisted man can afford to miss this new study. This
well-researched, well-written study is highly recommended to all students of the Civil War."--The Journal of American History

"A very successful treatment of Antietam from the soldiers' eyeview. As such it will take its place along with the more conventional works of Murfin and Sears as one of the indispensable references on the battle."--Military History

"If you only buy one Civil War book this year...this is the book to buy....This volume will grab you and keep you enthralled until the final shots are fired. Don't miss it."--Military Images

"From dawn to dusk, individuals in blue and gray--nearly 200 of them--run, limp, shout, and cry across Priest's stage, each delivering a personal soliloquy from a diary, a letter, or other recollection. The audience is spellbound, mesmerized by tale after tale....Today melts into 1862, and
you experience the soldiers' stories of torture and trauma on September 17....A wonderful companion on the battlefield."--Blue and Gray

"Written in a style that reminds me of John Keegan's The Face of Battle, the author takes you down to the common soldier's level with all the dirt, blood, horror, confusion, cowardice, and heroics....As vivid a portrait of 1860s warfare as I've ever read....An excellent account of a pivotal
battle and I highly recommend it."--Confederate Veteran

"Filled with heroism and cowardice, death, pain, and humor....[Among the] fine works of military history....Has some of the best maps this reviewer has seen on the 12-hour battle."--Roanoke Times and World News

"The best battlefield first-person compilation I have read....Here, in 316 well-illustrated pages, is the closest I have ever come to feeling Civil War combat....Here it all is--the tactics, the movement, the truth about warfare."--The Civil War Times

"An interesting and personal view of the fight....Useful and fascinating....The book is also graced with a splendid introduction by Jay Luvaas, who perhaps knows more about the Civil War than any man alive."--The Washington Times

"Priest has presented the fight at Antietam in a new, refreshing, human, and long-overdue manner....Priest has done a first-rate job of research and a dedicated job of writing."--Richmond News-Leader

"Under Priest's skilled hands, soldiers come to life--and death--in this outstanding piece of work."--Inside Books

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0195084667
• ISBN 13: 9780195084665
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 424