The Maps of Antietam: An Atlas of the Antietam (Sharpsburg) Campaign is
the fourth installment in the Savas Beatie Military Atlas Series.
This magisterial work breaks down the entire campaign (and all related
operational maneuvers) into 21 map sets or "action-sections" enriched
with 124 original full-page color maps. These spectacular cartographic
creations bore down to the regimental and battery level. The Maps of
Antietam includes the march into Maryland, the Harpers Ferry operation,
the Battle of South Mountain (Fox's Gap, Turner's Gap, and Crampton's
Gap), operations in Pleasant Valley, the Confederate withdrawal to
Sharpsburg, the Battle of Antietam, the retreat across the Potomac
River, and the sharp fighting at Shepherdstown.
At least one--and as many as ten--maps accompany each "action-section."
Opposite each map is a full facing page of detailed footnoted text
describing the units, personalities, movements, and combat (including
quotes from eyewitnesses) depicted on the accompanying map, all of which
make the story of General Lee's invasion into Maryland come alive.
This original presentation masterfully leads readers on a journey
through the campaign that many historians believe was the most
consequential of the war and marked the beginning of the end for the
Confederacy. Gottfried begins with the position of the opposing armies
after the Second Bull Run Campaign before detailing their joint
movements into Maryland. Readers will stand with D. H. Hill on top of
South Mountain as General McClellan tries to force his way through the
passes; surround, lay siege to, and capture Harpers Ferry (and ride with
Col. Benjamin Davis's cavalry on its breakout); fight blow-by-blow
outside the small town of Sharpsburg (53 maps) through the bloodiest day
in American history; retreat from the battlefield and, finally, revisit
the bloodshed at Shepherdstown. This detailed coverage is further
augmented in explanatory notes. Detailed orders of battle, an interview
with the author, bibliography, and index complete this exciting new
volume.
Perfect for the easy chair or for walking hallowed ground, The Maps of
Antietam is a seminal work that, like his earlier Gettysburg and First
Bull Run studies, belongs on the bookshelf of every serious and casual
student of the Civil War.
