Tag Archives: Antietam
Was Lee’s “Lost Order” a Turning Point? (part three)
(part three of three) What exactly the Lost Order told McClellan has been the subject of much heated debate and controversy almost from the moment he glanced its contents. From an intelligence standpoint, the Lost Order was important to McClellan, … Continue reading
Was Lee’s “Lost Order” a Turning Point? (part two)
(part two of three) On September 10, 1862, as he advanced deeper into Maryland, Robert E. Lee began splintering his forces, as outlined in Special Orders No. 191. That day, all of his forces, mustered into five separate columns, started … Continue reading
Was Lee’s “Lost Order” a Turning Point? (part one)
(part one of three) Civil War campaigns could often turn on a dime in favor of one army or the other. A sudden change in initiative marked the turning points of the war that scholars love to toss around the … Continue reading
“Thenceforward and Forever Free”: The Emancipation Proclamation as a Turning Point
We are pleased to welcome Dan Vermilya, author of the upcoming Emerging Civil war Series book That Field of Blood: The Battle of Antietam. Dan, a historian at Gettysburg National Military Park, is also a licensed battlefield guide at Antietam … Continue reading
JFK at Antietam
One of the things I love about revisiting a battlefield is to see what jumps out at me this time. Each visit has the opportunity to bring something new if I remain open to it. Such was the case during … Continue reading
A Place for Historical Fiction: Savas Beatie Tests the Waters
Really? Savas Beatie published a novel? No way! . . . and then I talked to publisher Ted Savas. The following is an interview concerning the publication of Six Days in September, a novel of Lee’s army in Maryland, 1862.
Question of the Week: 9/18-9/24/17
September 17th was the 155th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. Do you have a favorite regiment or officer who fought at that battle?
Voices of the Maryland Campaign: September 17, 1862
The flash of musketry fire illuminated the dark landscape around the sleepy town of Sharpsburg while the few visible stars still hovered in the early morning sky. With each passing moment, as the sun rose higher behind the peaks of … Continue reading
A Confederate at Antietam
You never know what you will find in an archival collection. Back in June, I spent a day at Emory University, digging through their vast Civil War holdings, much of which were collected by the late (and great) Bell I. … Continue reading
September 16, 1862: The Night Of No Return
Civil War soldiers vividly remembered, and recalled, certain days of their military careers, both the highs and lows, the good ones and the bad ones. For those soldier participants in the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, the September 17, … Continue reading