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.
