Maryland

A fresh and gripping recounting of the seminal battle is told in this exciting history.

The heavy fog that shrouded Antietam Creek on the morning of September 17, 1862, was disturbed by the boom of Federal artillery fire. The carnage and chaos began in the East Woods and Cornfield and continued inexorably on as McClellan's and Lee's troops collided at the West Woods, Bloody Lane and Burnside Bridge. Though outnumbered, the Rebels still managed to hold their ground until nightfall. Chief historian of the Antietam National Battlefield, Ted Alexander renders a fresh and gripping portrayal of the battle, its aftermath, the effect on the civilians of Sharpsburg and the efforts to preserve the hallowed spot. Maps by master cartographer Steven Stanley add further depth to Alexander's account of the Battle of Antietam.

Author Phillip Thomas Tucker reveals the triumph and tragedy of the greatest sacrifice of life of any battleground in America.

On September 17, 1862, the forces of Major General George B. McClellan and his Union Army of the Potomac confronted Robert E. Lee's entire Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Union forces mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank in the idyllic Miller Cornfield. It was the single bloodiest day in the history of the Civil War. The elite combat units of the Union's Iron Brigade and the Confederate Texas Brigade held a dramatic showdown and suffered immense losses through vicious attacks and counterattacks sweeping through the cornstalks.

The first Confederate invasion of the North in the fall of 1862 led to a series of engagements known as the Maryland Campaign. Though best remembered for its climax, there was desperate fighting at both South Mountain and Harpers Ferry prior to the bloodletting at Antietam Creek. These battles in particular were desperate affairs of bloody attacks and determined defense. In this work are the images of thirty Union soldiers, published here for the first time, that help give a face and a history to those men who struggled up the slopes of South Mountain or sheltered from Confederate cannons at Harpers Ferry. Join Matthew Borders and Joseph Stahl as they introduce you to these men, their battles and their stories.

The Battle of Antietam, widely known as the bloodiest day in American history, was also a pivotal point in the Civil War. The battle itself was a draw, but it ended Robert E. Lee's first attempt at invading the North when his troops withdrew back across the Potomac in the aftermath of the engagement. The outcome of the battle caused President Lincoln to reevaluate the performance of his general George B. McClellan, a decision that altered the outcome of the war. Author David Keller provides a fresh look at the command decisions of Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan before, during and after the Battle of Antietam, with insight into President Lincoln's evaluation of McClellan and his use of the Battle of Antietam for political purposes.

Read the story of the Battle of Antietam from the African American perspective.

The African American community around Sharpsburg, Maryland witnessed John Brown’s raid, wartime skirmishes, the Battle of South Mountain, and the aftermath of the bloodiest day in American history. Read stories of encounters with Abraham Lincoln and Union and Confederate generals, and of Black civilian suffering and sacrifice in the cause of freedom. Their experiences during four years of Civil War come to life in vivid detail, often in their own words.

Award-winning historian Emilie Amt recounts the personal stories of African Americans, both enslaved and free, who lived on the battlefield and who worked in the armies who clashed there.

Join historian John Hoptak as he narrates the critical Battle of South Mountain, long overshadowed by the Battle of Antietam.

In September 1862, Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia north of the Potomac River for the time as part of his Northern invasion, seeking a quick end to the war. Lee divided his army in three, sending General James Longstreet north to Hagerstown and Stonewall Jackson south to Harper's Ferry. It was at three mountain passes, referred to as South Mountain, that Lee's army met the Federal forces commanded by General George B. McClellan on September 14. In a fierce day-long battle spread out across miles of rugged, mountainous terrain, McClellan defeated Lee but the Confederates did tie up the Federals long enough to allow Jackson's conquest of Harper's Ferry.

Join Matthew Borders and Joseph Stahl as they share their expertise and grant glimpses into the lives of those who fought to preserve the Union.

The Battle of Antietam, fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland, was the bloodiest day in American history, with more than twenty-three thousand dead, wounded and missing. This book invites the reader to walk the routes of some of the units on the field through the stories of thirty-six individual soldiers who fought on that day. The images of the soldiers in this work, many of which have never been published before, give faces to the fighting men at Antietam, as well as insight into their lives

By the time the American Civil War began, the agrarian, slave-owning South and the rapidly industrializing North had become almost two separate nations. As a border state with ties to both sides, Maryland and its people played a unique role in the war. This series of essays on Maryland's involvement in the conflict and its aftermath highlights some of the personalities and events that make Maryland's Civil War stories unusual and compelling. Author Richard P. Cox draws on original sources and contributions from historians to relate the many ironies, curiosities and legends that abound. This volume will appeal to those who want to be introduced to the Civil War in Maryland as well as to those already well versed in the subject.

Bordered by the Federal capital but separated from Virginia and the Confederacy only by the Potomac River, the citizens of Prince George's County found themselves on the front lines of the Civil War. As Maryland's largest slave-owning county, some--including members of the Bowie and Surratt families--joined the Confederacy. Many remained loyal to the Union, losing sons and property for the cause. Three forts in the county were dedicated to the capital's defense: Fort Foote, Fort Washington and Fort Lincoln. This did not prevent Confederate general Jubal Early's troops from invading in July 1864. The Rebel forces blew up rail lines in Beltsville and took the Rossborough Inn near the Maryland Agricultural College--now the University of Maryland, College Park--as their headquarters. Prince George's County and the Civil War: Life on the Border" charts the course of a community caught in the midst of the bloodiest conflict in American history."

On April 19, 1861, the first blood of the Civil War was spilled in the streets of Baltimore. En route to Camden Station, Union forces were confronted by angry Southern sympathizers, and at Pratt Street the crowd rushed the troops, who responded with lethal volleys. Four soldiers and twelve Baltimoreans were left dead. Marylanders unsuccessfully attempted to further cut ties with the North by sabotaging roads, bridges and telegraph lines. In response to the "Battle of Baltimore," Lincoln declared martial law and withheld habeas corpus in much of the state. Author Harry Ezratty skillfully narrates the events of that day and their impact on the rest of the war, when Baltimore became a city occupied.

On July 11, 1864, some residents cheered and others watched in horror as Confederate troops spread across the fields and orchards of Silver Spring, Maryland. Many fled to the capital while General Jubal Early's troops ransacked their property. The estate of Lincoln's postmaster general, Montgomery Blair, was burned, and his father's home was used by Early as headquarters from which to launch an attack on Washington's defenses. Yet the first Civil War casualty in Silver Spring came well before Early's raid, when Union soldiers killed a prominent local farmer in 1862. This was life in the shadow of the Federal City. Drawing on contemporary accounts and memoirs, Dr. Robert E. Oshel tells the story of Silver Spring over the tumultuous course of the Civil War.

From Baltimore natives Lawrence Bopp and Stephen Bockmiller comes Showing the Flag: The Civil War Naval Diary of Moses Safford, USS Constellation, a new perspective on the Civil War and life in the navy in the mid-19th century. As the Civil War raged at home, naval yeoman Moses Safford toured the Mediterranean on the USS Constellation, dispatched in 1862 to "show the flag," or defend American merchant shipping. An attorney and accomplished sailor before the war, Moses kept a diary in his seafarer's way, leaving us one of the most detailed accounts of life aboard a Civil War warship known to exist.

Published for the first time and including insightful annotations and biographical information, this personal journal documents life aboard a navy ship in a time of national turmoil. Although the diary was intended for his own edification and personal remembrance, Safford's writing brings the reader back in time and place and opens a window on the past, allowing a view of Civil War naval life through the eyes of a literate and master seaman.

When the first Federal troops arrived in the spring of 1861, Maryland was in the precarious position of a border state. Predominately loyal to the Union, Marylanders saw the influx of soldiers as defenders. Yet for the minority supporting the Confederacy, the Federals were oppressors. Historian Claudia Floyd explores this complex relationship between Maryland civilians and their Union occupiers. Residents on both sides of the conflict faced pillaging, vandalizing and criminal acts from errant soldiers. Civilians also quickly realized that Federal troops could not guarantee protection from Confederate invasions. Meanwhile, there was a strong backlash over African American emancipation and enlistment in the longtime slave state. Through contemporary accounts, Floyd creates a nuanced portrait of citizens and soldiers caught up in the turbulent upheaval of war.

Just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, Frederick, Maryland, was poised at the crossroads of the Civil War.

Here, Confederate troops passed west to the Battles of Antietam and South Monocacy, while Union troops marched north to Gettysburg and south to raid the resources of the Shenandoah Valley. Both heroes and villains were made in the spired city, such as Dame Barbara Fritchie, who is said to defied General Jackson; General Jubal Early, who threatened to put the town to the torch; and the local doctors and nurses who cared for thousands of wounded soldiers. Join local historian John Schildt as he recounts the fascinating history of Frederick in the Civil War.

On July 9, 1864, young Mamie Tyler crouched in a cellar as Union sharpshooters above traded volleys with Confederate forces. After six excruciating hours, she emerged to nurse the wounded from the Battle of Monocacy. This was life in a border state and the terrifying reality for the women of Maryland. Western Maryland experienced some of the worst carnage of the war, and women turned their homes into hospitals for the wounded of Antietam, South Mountain and Gettysburg. In Baltimore, secessionists such as Hetty Carry fled arrest by Union troops. The Eastern Shore's Anna Ella Carroll plotted military strategy for the Union, and Harriet Tubman led hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Author Claudia Floyd draws on letters and memoirs to chronicle their stories and present a fascinating and nuanced portrait of Maryland women in the Civil War.

Few things in our world today can be described as truly "unique," and yet, this word is aptly attributed to the USS Constellation. The last all-sail warship constructed by the United States Navy, the Constellation is the last surviving vessel afloat that actively served in the Union or Confederate Navies during the Civil War. While hundreds of battlefields commemorate the valor of the legions of soldiers who served in our nation's most divisive conflict, this ship is the last buoyant memorial to those who served their country and their cause upon the precarious seas. From her 1854 mystery-shrouded construction, through her numerous roles and assignments, to her several "restorations" over the last 40 years, this majestic vessel has a fascinating story to tell. USS Constellation: An Illustrated History, the first comprehensive account of the Constellation's journey through the years, tells this story and showcases over 200 images, including photographs, engravings, paintings, and sketches gathered from museums, archives, and private collections. These visual records, and the informative captions that accompany them, testify to the engaging tale of this seminal piece of American history, dispel the myths of her past, and set straight her record of accomplishment and endurance.